NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art presents Canadian Front, the sixth annual showcase of new cinema from Canada, from March 18 through 23, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters. Among this year’s eight feature films are the world premiere of The Death of Alice Blue (2008) directed by Park Bench, and three U.S. premieres: Nurse.Fighter.Boy (2008) directed by Charles Officer, Malls R Us (2008) directed by Helene Klodawsky, and Durs à cuire (Well Done) (2008) directed by Guillaume Sylvestre. The other four films among this year’s selections are all east coast premieres.

The films in 2009’s Canadian Front offer fresh, robust interpretations of familiar movie themes, from the undead (The Death of Alice Blue; Pontypool) to unexpected love (Nurse.Fighter.Boy; The Necessities of Life), shopping (Malls R Us), parental abandonment (It’s Not Me, I Swear!; Mommy’s at the Hairdresser), and the joy of feeding friends and strangers (Well Done). Three of the eight filmmakers—Park Bench, Charles Officer, and Guillaume Sylvestre—are represented by their debut feature films. The other directors, Philippe Falardeau, Helene Klodawsky, Bruce McDonald, Benoit Pilon, and Léa Pool, have previously been featured at MoMA in the Canadian Front or New Directors/New Films festivals.

Accompanying Canadian Front is a week-long run of C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005), a rousing coming-of-age tale, and a highly applauded film from MoMA’s 2006 Canadian Front series. (Jean-Marc Vallée’s newest film, The Young Victoria [2009], is being released in the U.K. on March 6.) Taking the first initials of the five sons of a Montreal family in reverse birth order—Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary, and Yvan—C.R.A.Z.Y. is Vallée’s exuberant debut film. It focuses on Zach, the odd duckling of the boys, born on Christmas day in 1960, and his prickly relationship with his feisty family, for whom music plays a significant role. MoMA Presents: Jean-Marc Vallée’s C.R.A.Z.Y. is organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film.