Canucks at Sundance

There will be seven - count 'em, seven - Canadian feature films at the Sundance Film Festival Jan. 21 - 31. The titles were announced by Canada's major government film financing agency Telefilm. They are - ta da! - Last Train Home, in the Documentary category by Lixin Fan, the story of a Chinese family caught up in the country's rapid modernization; Grown Up Movie Star by Adriana Maggs in the World Cinema Narrative Competition, a coming of age story about a 13 year old whose mom abandons the home to become a movie star leaving Ruby to grow up quickly with her "hopelessly rural" dad.... The remaining three films are in the Midnight section: 7 Days by 'Podz' (Daniel Grou), about a father's retribution after the rape and murder of his daughter; Tucker & Dale vs. Evil by Eli Craig (Canada/UK co-production) where college kids mistake a couple of redneck pals for killers (hilarity ensures); and Splice by Vincenzo Natali about the world of DNA splicing and a science experiment that gets way out of hand..... Canadians should be used to Sundance in January. After all, we come from a cold place. (Smile)