D
URING ALESSIA CARA’S 2017 INTERVIEW ON THE TONIGHT SHOW, JIMMY FALLON UNEARTHED YEARS- OLD TWEETS predicting appearances on The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live years before those dreams came true, and gave her another chance to call her shot. Her choice? Star in an animated film.
In classic Cara fashion, this led to her voice-acting debut in Netflix’s The Willoughbys, a film about four neglected siblings driven by their desire to find a caring family. Like her precocious, singing-prone character Jane Willoughby, Cara knows never to underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned dream.
“It was just like an aspirational, random wish,” she says of her Tonight Show answer. “I can’t even believe that they saw that interview!”
Cara better start believing her own hype. The 23-year-old singer, born and raised in Brampton, ON, catapulted to stardom as a teenager after the success of her YouTube channel, and has parlayed that momentum into two acclaimed albums, 2015’s Know-It-All and 2018’s The Pains of Growing, and an international fanbase. Costarring with the likes of Ricky Gervais, Maya
Rudolph and Martin Short is just another line on her impressive resumé.
Though her breakneck schedule has been put on hold due to COVID-19, she’s using the downtime to add a new skill to her never-ending list of talents: music production.
“I’m trying to get into Pro Tools, but I mainly use Logic Pro,” she says of her self-taught production skills. “I know the basics, I can get around production, but I really just want to make a song and not have it be reproduced by someone better than me. I want to be able to make something that’s good enough to be on an album of mine the way that it is.”
It’s hard not to imagine that she can pull it off. After all, when she wants something, she’s bound to get it.
Movie theatres are closed and many Hollywood films have been significantly delayed. While that’s unquestionably disappointing, it also creates an opening for viewers to pay a little more attention to some of the great new Canadian films out digitally.
CANADIAN STRAIN
Legalization has made life a whole lot easier for cannabis consumers, but legal weed has taken a serious toll on weed dealers. Canadian Strain, directed by Geordie Sabbagh, explores this question, following a dealer who campaigned for legalization but now finds herself run out of business by the capitalist machine. It deals with a timely issue — and the film’s funny jokes and heartfelt friendships make it as enjoyable as it is insightful. (Pacific Northwest Pictures)
THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN
The Body Remembers, directed by Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn, is an intimate glimpse into the lives of two Indigenous women, exploring their connections while also highlighting their differences. Although characters Áila and Rosie’s lives are starkly contrasted, this realistic journey through Vancouver fosters mutual empathy. (levelFILM)
BLOOD QUANTUM
Is there really anything new that can be done with the zombie genre? Apparently, yes, since Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum channels the classic attributes of the genre while weaving in Indigenous storytelling and messages about reconciliation. It’s got a brilliant premise, as a zombie outbreak strikes humanity but doesn’t affect Indigenous people, making the local reserve an oasis of safety. (Elevation)
RABID
A remake of David Cronenberg’s 1977 body horror classic, this update from the Soska Sisters (Jen and Sylvia) begins as a disturbing film about insecurity and disfigurement before taking a campy, zombie-like twist. With its portrayal of a public health crisis, it’s oddly prescient — right down to the outspoken blowhard who says it’s nothing more than the flu. (A71 Entertainment)
DISAPPEARANCE AT CLIFTON HILL
Niagara serves as the perfect setting for a neonoir, as Albert Shin’s Disappearance at Clifton Hill explores a long-forgotten mystery amidst the urban decay of tacky casinos and crumbling motels. Full of quirky locals and hokey tourist attractions, this investigative story about a decades-old alleged kidnapping highlights Niagara’s charms while giving it a gloomy twist that’s both poignant and sinister. (Elevation)