Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Canada's Top Ten - TIFF's list of best 2011 films


The Toronto International Film Festival announced their annual selection of Canada's Top Ten films, for both feature films and short films at a special event at the Roxton in Toronto.

As with last year's selection, there was a strong representation of Quebec films. The ten films selected by jury were Café de floreA Dangerous MethodEdwin BoydHobo With a ShotgunKeyholeMarécagesMonsieur LazharStarbuckTake This Waltz and Le Vendeur.

These features and the top ten short films will be screened at a special program in January at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Most will be attended by filmmakers or guests from the films, and there will be a panel discussion on gangster/crime films. The schedule is at http://tiff.net/topten.


Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar will be playing at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. It won the award for Best Canadian Feature at this year's TIFF, was selected as Canada's submission for Best Foreign Language Film consideration at the Academy Awards.

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CAR SALESMAN, BANK ROBBER, GENIUS AND HOBO
CRACK CANADA’S TOP TEN LIST

TIFF CELEBRATES THE YEAR’S FINEST CANADIAN FEATURES AND SHORTS


Toronto — TIFF unveiled the top 10 best features and top 10 best short films of 2011, as determined by a panel of industry professionals, during tonight’s 11th annual Canada’s Top Ten announcement. Established in 2001, Canada’s Top Ten celebrates excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film. Taking place from January 5 to 15, 2012at TIFF Bell Lightbox, the programme features a panel discussion and public screenings accompanied by introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers. Select films will tour major cities across the country, including Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque, Edmonton’s Metro Cinema and Ottawa’s ByTowne Cinema. Tickets and packages go on sale December 7 for TIFF Members and December 14 for non-members.

“TIFF is dedicated to supporting Canadian talent and for over a decade has been celebrating the country’s cinematic successes with Canada’s Top Ten,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. “One of our goals when dreaming up TIFF Bell Lightbox was to provide a year-round platform for Canadian film and filmmakers, and we invite audiences to come join us in January to be blown away by the provocative films on the 2011 list.”

“The 2011 lineup taps into the breadth of talent trailblazing the Canadian film scene,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “From crime dramas to a 3D dance piece, from prolific veterans to emerging filmmakers, this year’s Canada’s Top Ten showcases the wide scope of innovative talent driving the industry.”

Canada’s Top Ten feature film selections for 2011 (in alphabetical order, including release dates where applicable):
Café de flore — Jean-Marc Vallée (Alliance Films) November 2011
A Dangerous Method — David Cronenberg (Entertainment One) January 2012

Edwin Boyd — Nathan Morlando (Entertainment One)
Hobo With a Shotgun — Jason Eisener (Alliance Films) March 2011
Keyhole — Guy Maddin (Entertainment One)
Marécages — Guy Édoin (Mongrel Media)
Monsieur Lazhar — Philippe Falardeau (Entertainment One) January 2012
Starbuck — Ken Scott (Entertainment One) July 2011
Take This Waltz — Sarah Polley (Mongrel Media) May 2012
Le Vendeur — Sébastien Pilote (Entertainment One) February 2012

Canada’s Top Ten short film selections for 2011 (in alphabetical order):
Choke — Michelle Latimer
Doubles With Slight Pepper — Ian Harnarine
The Fuse: Or How I Burned Simon Bolivar — Igor Drljaca
Hope — Pedro Pires (Phi Group)
No Words Came Down — Ryan Flowers and Lisa Pham
Ora — Philippe Baylaucq (National Film Board of Canada)
Rhonda's Party — Ashley McKenzie
La Ronde — Sophie Goyette (Locomotion Films)
Trotteur — Arnaud Brisebois and Francis Leclerc (Phi Group and Cirrus Communications)
We Ate the Children Last — Andrew Cividino

Filmmaker Panel Discussion: A Canadian Gangster
Saturday, January 7 at 7 p.m.
TIFF welcomes three Canada's Top Ten 2011 feature filmmakers, Guy Maddin (Keyhole), Nathan Morlando (Edwin Boyd) and Jason Eisener (Hobo With a Shotgun), as they take the stage to discuss their re-workings of the gangster/crime film — genres rarely explored in Canadian cinema.

2011 Canada’s Top Ten Features Panel  
A national panel of 10 filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals selected the best in Canadian feature films:
Meaghan Brander — Film Circuit manager, TIFF
Jacqueline Brodie — journalist/film critic
Helen Faradji — editor-in-chief, revue24images.com
Marc Glassman — editor, Montage and POV Magazine; film critic, Classical 96.3 FM
Peter Howell — film critic, Toronto Star
Brenda Lieberman — programmer, Calgary International Film Festival
Andrew Murphy  programming manager, Atlantic Film Festival
Patricia Rozema — filmmaker, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing and Mansfield Park
José Teodoro — journalist, Film Comment and Cinema Scope
Blaine Thurier — filmmaker, Low Self-Esteem Girl; musician, The New Pornographers


2011 Canada’s Top Ten Shorts Panel

A national panel of five filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals selected the best in Canadian short films.

Manon Dumais — editor and film critic, Voir
Yves-Etienne Massicotte — television host and producer, TFO
Peter Knegt — journalist and associate editor, indieWIRE
Karina Rotenstein — programming manager, Hot Docs
Barbara Shrier — producer (Mémoires affectives, The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom)


Purchase tickets online 24 hours a day at tiff.net, by phone Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at 416-599-TIFF or 1-888-599-8433, and in person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Box Office at 350 King St. West from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET. Pricing as follows: 10 feature films (evening) plus panel discussion for $90; 10 feature films (day) plus panel discussion for $65; two shorts programmes for $18; single tickets (film, shorts programme or panel) are $12. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the screening. Member pricing available.


Canada’s Top Ten films are chosen from features, shorts, documentaries, animation and experimental films. Each film must have premiered at a major film festival or obtained a commercial theatrical release in Canada in 2011. The filmmaker must be a Canadian citizen or resident, and have a history of working in Canada or on Canadian-financed films.

About TIFF TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels ), The Daniels Corporation, Major Sponsor and official bank RBC and Major Sponsor BlackBerry. For more information, visit tiff.net.

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