It was a national holiday up here in Canada yesterday, which left me reflecting on some of my favorite Canadian filmmakers…that, and catching up on Netflix. (Yeah, I admit it)

There’s a curious phenomenon happening in the Canadian film industry right now, where some of our genuinely talented filmmakers are leaving homegrown productions behind and digging their heels in down in Hollywood. At the moment Sarah Polley seems to be doing the hometown fans proud, and ditto Xavier Dolan. However, Jean-Marc Vallée is about to make his third Hollywood feature in a row, so it might be time to wish him the best of luck.

That brings us to Denis Villeneuve.

The brains behind hard-hitting homegrown efforts like INCENDIES and POLYTECHNIQUE created something of a hinge between the American and Canadian film industries when he unleashed ENEMY two years ago. At the same time, he brought PRISONERS to Warner Brothers. It’s possible that film was the point of no return, since he’s currently working on a sci-fi with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, after which he’s taking on a sequel to BLADE RUNNER.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re always happy to see one of our own make good, but it’s always bittersweet back here on the farm when we know one of ours has seen Paris.

So while I look forward to seeing what might be Villeneuve’s version of TRAFFIC, you’ll pardon me if I drown my sorrows in a shot or two of Canadian Club…