(1997 Canadian independent film)

Bruce Greenwood was nominated for a Genie (the Canadian Oscar) for his performance in this profound work from the renowned Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, whose previous collaboration with Greenwood was the extraordinary and widely admired Exotica. Bruce plays Billy Ansel, a widower who loses his two children in a devastating bus accident that rips a small Canadian community apart. Told from the viewpoint of an invasive attorney (played by top billed Ian Holm), Billy becomes his principle protagonist, the one man who refuses to enter into the ensuing law suits, causing him to become the unrecognized moral conscience of the town and the spirit behind its eventual peace.

This Canadian independent film was written, produced and directed by Egoyan, who rose to international prominence with it. Considered his most artistically pure and most widely accessible project, he received two major Academy Award nominations after its release in the United States -- for Best Director and Best Screenplay. The film is based on the Russell Banks novel of the same name and contains brilliant performances from an ensemble of Egoyan's favorite actors, including Sarah Polley as the sole survivor, Arsinée Khanjian as a lamenting mother, Gabrielle Rose as the troubled bus driver, Tom McCamus (who received a Genie for Best Supporting Actor) as Polley's incestuous father, Alberta Watson as another grieving mother (and Greenwood's illicit love interest), Murray Chaykin as Watkins' cuckholded husband and Banks' daughter Caerthan in the role of the lawyer's strung-out daughter.

Even before its American success, The Sweet Hereafter had received more plaudits than any other entry at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival, winning The International Critics Award, The Grand Jury Award and The Ecumenical Council Award. In addition it's been honored by The Los Angeles Film Critics, The National Board of Review, The New York Film Critics, and won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor at the 1997 Genie Awards. It placed first or second on virtually every Best 10 list during the year of its release.

His performance resulted in glowing reviews for Greenwood, who introduced the film at the Genie Awards and joined with Gabrielle Rose in accepting the Best Ensemble award from The National Board of Review in NYC. The New York Times called his performance the best of the year, and Greenwood himself refers to it as his most satisfying acting endeavor.

A video and highly regarded DVD with extras was released in 1998, but the film is also regularly aired over cable stations and independent film channels.

An Ego Arts Production distributed by Alliance Communications Corp with U.S. and international distribution by Fine Line.