TIFF celebrates 2019 Top Ten Canadian films

Story by Allan Tong / Photos by Sally Warburton
 
Last week, TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) announced its annual Top Ten Canadian features and shorts at a public panel held at the Samsung Store in the Eaton Centre, breaking away from the Lightbox in past eyars. After a private reception, co-CEO Cameron Bailey (far left, above) moderated a public panel in the store with directors (from left to right) Sophie Deraspe (Antigone), Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis (both White Lie). Per tradition, the Lightbox will screen all the films into January.

Features

And the Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux)
Dir: Louise Archambault | Quebec

Anne at 13,000
Dir: Kazik Radwanski | Ontario

Antigone
Dir: Sophie Deraspe | Quebec

Black Conflux
Dir: Nicole Dorsey | Newfoundland/Quebec

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
Dir: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn | British Columbia

Matthias & Maxime
Dir: Xavier Dolan | Quebec

Murmur
Dir: Heather Young | Nova Scotia

One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk
Dir: Zacharias Kunuk | Nunavut

The Twentieth Century
Dir: Matthew Rankin | Quebec

White Lie
Dir: Calvin Thomas, Yonah Lewis | Ontario

TIFF's Food on Film fuses culinary experts and brilliant cinema

Guests include Wylie Dufresne, Chad Robertson and Vikram Vij
March 11 to June 24 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

Back for its fourth season, TIFF’s popular subscription series Food on Film brings together chefs, food experts and film lovers to enjoy the best of culinary cinema and conversation. Each month, series host Matt Galloway (CBC’s Metro Morning) welcomes celebrated guests from the culinary world to discuss topical and timely food themes, and to explore the intersections of cinema, culture and gastronomy. Launching March 11, the series presents six events that each feature a screening followed by a fascinating and lively discussion.

Food on Film screenings will take place Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. The first 150 subscribers receive a $50 gift card to Momofuku Toronto and a one year print subscription to Toronto Life magazine.

Neon Nights: The Films of Michael Mann – Feb 5 to Mar 26 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

As Michael Mann’s Blackhat makes its premiere in January, TIFF looks back at the big-screen oeuvre of the crime-film auteur, which brought a grit and elegance to action cinema that has influenced nearly every police-procedural show on North American television, as well as successive waves of crime thrillers from Hong Kong and Korea.

Drawing on the influence of such male-centred directors as Sam Fuller, Sam Peckinpah and Stanley Kubrick, Mann’s tough-guy cinema offers a master class on masculinity — its nature and definition, in action and appearance. Mann explored his vision of manhood in a variety of different milieus and genres. Furthermore, his relentless pursuit of realism — whether telling the stories of real historical figures in The Insider, Ali and Public Enemies, recreating eighteenth-century frontier America in The Last of the Mohicans, or bringing a remarkable sense of verisimilitude to the crime fictions of Collateral and Miami Vice — has become as much a defining element of his style as the visual gloss of his rainslicked neon nights, the pulsing beat of his musical scores, and his masterfully staged action set pieces.

Álex de la Iglesia: Dancing with the Devil – Jan. 30 to March 28 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

January 30 to March 28
TIFF Bell Lightbox

Like his cult-cinema contemporaries Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi, Spanish maverick Álex de la Iglesia began his career as an anarchic purveyor of high-grade schlock splashing his every fluid-drenched fever dream across the screen, before achieving international recognition as a bona fide festival-feted auteur. The endorsement and mentorship of Pedro Almodóvar helped in this regard, immediately placing the former comic-book artist on the critical radar and garnering Goya Awards (Spain’s Oscars) for even some of his earliest and strangest work. While his work has grown in scope and ambition, de la Iglesia has never surrendered or compromised his unique vision: his films are as strange and transgressive as ever, his sense of humour every bit as dark, biting and absurd. In this sense, de la Iglesia shares much with Canada’s own purveyor of the peculiar and the perverse David Cronenberg: both filmmakers have forced the film world to adapt to them rather than the other way around.

14th annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival announces schedule and tour dates

KICK OFF 2015 IN THE COMPANY OF CANADIAN TALENT DURING
THE 14th ANNUAL CANADA’S TOP TEN FILM FESTIVAL
JANUARY 2–11 AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX
Guests include David Cronenberg, Keanu Reeves, Sturla Gunnarsson, Maxime Giroux, Harold Crooks, Bonnie Sherr Klein, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis

The 14^th annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival kicks off at TIFF Bell Lightbox on January 2, 2015, offering 10 days of public screenings of the year’s top 10 features, shorts and student films. Established in 2001, the Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival celebrates excellence in Canadian cinema and raises global awareness of Canadian achievements in film. The festival features introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers — including Sturla Gunnarsson, Harold Crooks, Maxime Giroux, David Cronenberg, Andrew Huculiak, Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Stéphane Lafleur— as well as two special onstage events: In Conversation With... Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis on January 10, and In Conversation With... Keanu Reeves on January 11.

Canada’s Top Ten Films announced

Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival presents screenings, filmmaker Q&As, free events, and onstage discussions with celebrated Canadians Keanu Reeves, Naomi Klein, Avi Lewis and Sandra Oh

TIFF toasted the nation’s cinematic trailblazers tonight, announcing the top 10 feature, short film and student film selections for the 14th annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. Established by TIFF in 2001, the Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival celebrates and promotes contemporary Canadian cinema and raises awareness of Canadian achievements in film. The 10-day festival runs January 2 to 11, 2015 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto and presents public screenings of the selected films accompanied by introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers, as well as special events and free engagements. On January 10, the festival welcomes Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein and filmmaker Avi Lewis for an onstage conversation and a sneak peek at This Changes Everything, the upcoming documentary inspired by Klein’s new book. The one and only Keanu Reeves will close the festival, taking the stage on January 11 for an intimate discussion about his iconic career. The festival’s tour across Canada includes stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Montreal; Vancouver’s The Cinematheque will host a special onstage conversation with star of the big and small screen Sandra Oh.

WGC's Writers Talking Feature Film presents free screening of The F Word (What If)

Writers Talking Feature Film, with Elan Mastai, "The F Word"

Don't miss the WGC's inaugural "Writers Talking Feature Film" event. Elan Mastai, writer of The F Word, will be interviewed by Michael McGowan, writer of Still Mine.

This intimate evening of conversation about the craft and art of the feature film will include a screening of The F Word (U.S. title: What If), starring Zoe Kazan & Daniel Radcliffe (still in movie theatres). And the on stage conversation will wrap with audience Q&A. It's a great opportunity to get the insiders' view of feature film writing with two very talented writers working in the business. The theatre has limited seating, so please RSVP as soon as possible.

Special guests to attend Stanley Kubrick: A Cinematic Odyssey at TIFF Lightbox

KUBRICK’S COLLABORATORS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY COME TO TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX
Comprehensive Kubrick film retrospective includes appearances from special guests
Alan Cumming, Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea, Douglas Trumbull, Jan Harlan and Christiane Kubrick

TIFF® announced today the lineup of special guests and events that will enhance the in-cinema experience and complement the upcoming exhibition celebrating the life and work of legendary film auteur Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick will make its Canadian premiere at TIFF Bell Lightbox on October 31, 2014 until January 25, 2015. More than a decade has passed since Kubrick was honoured with a retrospective in Toronto, and the exhibition will be accompanied by the comprehensive look at his oeuvre, Stanley Kubrick: A Cinematic Odyssey. Throughout the run of the retrospective several esteemed guests, scholars and Kubrick collaborators will introduce a number of screenings and explore the themes and continued influence of Kubrick’s work.

“Stanley Kubrick’s work remains one of the most important contributions to world cinema, forcing us all to think about who we are, and giving us a deeper look inside human nature,” said Jesse Wente, Director of Film Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox. “This extensive retrospective accompanied by introductions from family, friends and colleagues will offer new insights into the mind of a true cinematic genius and introduce a new generation of audiences to the power of his films.”

Call for submissions: 2014 Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!

TIFF Industry presents Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! for the 15th consecutive year at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival!

Six participant teams have six minutes to pitch their feature film idea to a live audience of over 250 industry professionals. The winners, selected by a jury of international industry experts, are awarded $15,000 from Telefilm Canada to develop the project further.

Eligibility

TIFF Kids announces 17th annual festival programming

TIFF KIDS FESTIVAL BRINGS FILMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO TORONTO’S YOUNGEST AUDIENCES
17th Annual TIFF Kids Festival Targets Children Aged 3–13 and Runs from April 8–21, 2014

The TIFF Kids International Film Festival, one of the premier film festivals for children in North America, returns for its 17thyear with a slate full of premieres of some of the best films from around the world for children aged 3 to 13 that will inspire and delight children and their families alike. The TIFF Kids Festival kicks off on Opening Night with the Canadian premiere of Rio 2, the all-star sequel to the smash-hit 2011 animated adventure, reuniting audiences with Blu and Jewel, voiced by Oscar® nominee Jesse Eisenberg and Oscar® winner Anne Hathaway, and wraps with the Closing Night Film The House of Magic, a gorgeously animated 3D feature from Belgium about a young abandoned cat who finds a new home in an enchanted mansion. All screenings and events take place at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto from April 8 to 21, 2014.

2014 Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Feb 27–Mar 6

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival, a co-presentation between Human Rights Watch and TIFF, returns for its 11th year in Toronto with eight films that bravely bear witness to human rights violations in Canada and around the globe, and make an impassioned call for social change through their empowering stories of perseverance, resilience and hope.

Featuring selections from Cambodia, Tanzania, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, France, the United Kingdom and the USA, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on February 27 with The Square (2013), director Jehane Noujaim’s (Control Room) thrilling documentary chronicle of activism, unrest and revolution in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and closes on March 6 with the world premiere of Canadian director Matthew Smiley's hard-hitting documentary Highway of Tears (2013).

2014 Reel Artists Film Festival, Feb 19–23

The Reel Artists Film Festival returns this year with an exciting selection of 19 international feature-length and short documentary films, screening February 19 to 23 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Presented by the Canadian Art Foundation, RAFF is North America’s only festival of documentaries on visual art and artists.

This year’s festival lineup features films about some of the world’s most compelling visual artists, including the world premieres of the films Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace and Richard Deacon – In Between—both with the artist subjects present and taking part in post-screening discussions.

Michael Landy, one of a very few creators ever named to the position of associate artist of Britain’s National Gallery, will also be doing a live talk following screenings of H2NY and Michael Landy: Saints Alive. The latter film documents how Landy won international acclaim last year for a an exhibition of startling and noisy “junk” sculptures made from that paid homage to art-historical depictions of saints. His appearance in Toronto is a must-see.

Ingrid Veninger announces pUNK Films FEMMES LAB Screenwriting Intensive

INGRID VENINGER ANNOUNCES pUNK Films FEMMES LAB
SCREENWRITING INTENSIVE WITH 6 CANADIAN WOMEN PARTICIPANTS
AND SUPPORT FROM OSCAR WINNER MELISSA LEO

Following a fall festival tour for her latest feature film, The Animal Project, Ingrid Veninger returned to Toronto with a desire to see more fiction features written and directed by Canadian women. On November 18th, she proposed the idea of a screenwriting lab on her Facebook page, and received 20 submissions.

“I want to galvanize the Canadian women who have already completed at least one feature film”, says DIY Queen Ingrid Veninger, “and who want to pursue their filmmaking with an eye on taking bigger creative risks.”

“When I won the EDA Award for The Animal Project at the Whistler Film Festival from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists,” adds Ingrid, “I decided to take a chance at the podium. I offered a first look at the 6 scripts written in the Femmes Lab, to the first person who stepped up with $6000… The room was stone silent until Melissa Leo stood up and shouted, “I’ll do it!”… she’s is a true champion. Over the holidays I received Melissa’s cheque, which will be shared between the participating women. Then TIFF offered us a place to meet at the Lightbox. So it’s on!”

2013 Planet in Focus Film Festival, Nov 21-24

PLANET IN FOCUS ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL OPENS TOMORROW
John Walker’s visually evocative feature doc, Arctic Defenders opens the Festival

Wednesday, November 20, 2013: Planet in Focus (PIF), Canada’s largest environmentally themed film festival, is proud to announce its robust line-up of features and short films to be screened at the 14th annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival taking place in Toronto on November 21-24th, 2013.

John Walker’s Arctic Defenders is the Opening Night Film and provides a startling revelation that the Canadian government secretly moved Inuit communities into the High Arctic, without proper resources, in order to defend our sovereignty. Italian filmmaker Enrico Cerasuolo’s Last Call is the Closing Night Film and revisits the writers and the theories presented in the 1972 book “The Limits to Growth”, dubbed ‘one of the most important documents of our age’ by the New York Times, the book, explored the impact of over population, industrialization, pollution, food production and resource depletion.

Spirited Away: The Films of Studio Ghibli, Dec 13-Jan 3

SPIRITED AWAY: THE FILMS OF STUDIO GHIBLI
Featuring the rarely-screened Grave of the Fireflies
December 13 to January 3 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

This holiday season, TIFF Cinematheque presents a retrospective devoted to Japan’s Studio Ghibli — one of the most influential film studios in the world. Following its spectacularly popular run in the spring of 2012, Spirited Away: The Films of Studio Ghibli returns from December 13 to January 3 to delight TIFF Bell Lightbox audiences with a near-exhaustive 18-film collection that includes a blend of new 35-mm and digital prints. The showcase pays homage to the studio’s legendary Japanese animation team led by Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, its trademark animation style, powerful storytelling, and deeply felt humanism.

TIFF is honoured to finally feature the rarely-screened masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies, one of Ghibli's supreme accomplishments and regarded by many as the greatest animated film of all time. The lineup also includes From Up On Poppy Hill, a father-son collaboration between studio co-founder Miyazaki and his son Goro; beloved classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service; rarely seen titles Only Yesterday and The Ocean Waves; and Hayao Miyazaki's Academy Award®-winning Spirited Away.

Stanley Kubrick exhibition announced for 2014 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

STANLEY KUBRICK EXHIBITION COMING TO TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX IN FALL 2014
Immensely popular exhibition celebrating the life and work of Stanley Kubrick to make its Canadian debut in Toronto

“In the whole history of movies, there has been nothing like Kubrick's vision of hope and wonder, of grace and of mystery, of humour and contradictions. It was a gift to us, and now it's a legacy.” -- Steven Spielberg

Toronto – Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF and Noah Cowan, Artistic Director of TIFF Bell Lightbox, have announced that the first exhibition dedicated to the life and work of legendary film auteur Stanley Kubrick will be coming to Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox in fall 2014. Stanley Kubrick, developed in collaboration by the Kubrick estate and Frankfurt’s Deutsches Filmmuseum which premiered the exhibition in 2004, has since travelled to some of the world’s most important cultural institutions in Paris, Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Los Angeles, and most recently São Paulo. TIFF is proud to be presenting the Canadian premiere of Stanley Kubrick.

2013 Toronto International Film Festival, September 5-15

The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off its 38th annual edition tonight. The official opening night film is by Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate, the very timely portrayal of the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange. The dramatic thriller stars Daniel Brühl and Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange.

Also screening tonight are Unbeatable by Dante Lam, To Repel Ghosts: Urban Tales from the African Continent (African short films), A Story of Children and Film by Mark Cousins, Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen, Tim's Vermeer by Teller, The Summer of Flying Fish by Marcela Said, the Palme d'Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color by Abdellatif Kechiche, Salinger by Shane Salerno, Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch, Exit Marrakech by Caroline Link, Standing Aside, Watching by Yorgos Servetas, Closed Curtain by Jafar Panahi and Kambozia Partovi, An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker by Danis Tanovic, The Past by Asghar Farhadi, Something Necessary by Judy Kibinge, Story of My Death by Albert Serra, and the Midnight Madness opening film All Cheerleaders Die by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson.

TIFF announces 2013 fall programming at TIFF Bell Lightbox

TIFF ANNOUNCES A LANDMARK FALL LINE-UP
Season highlights include: The Cronenberg Project, Guillermo del Toro Master Classes, major retrospectives on Claire Denis and Coen Brothers, new releases from Jennifer Baichwal, Alanis Obomsawin and more.

Toronto – Starting October 3, TIFF Bell Lightbox audiences will be treated to an inspiring celebration of the best Canadian and international cinema, both past and present. This season includes a world premiere exhibition, major filmmaker retrospectives, free screenings, film-related workshops and new releases highlighting the best of contemporary world cinema.

TIFF proudly presents The Cronenberg Project, a multifaceted celebration of all things Cronenberg, including the world premiere of David Cronenberg: Evolution the most ambitious large-scale exhibition curated by TIFF. Visitors will experience an up-close and personal look at costumes, props, photographs, audio-visual elements, art work and set-design drawings from Cronenberg’s extensive filmography, including the typewriters from Naked Lunch, the instruments from Dead Ringers and the fly pod from The Fly. This exhibition will be accompanied by two film programmes, From Within: The Films of David Cronenberg, a full retrospective of Cronenberg’s films and Psychoplasmic Panic: Cronenberg and the Rise of Body Horror, a 10-film sidebar programme showcasing works by filmmakers influenced by Cronenberg’s vision.

TIFF announces The Cronenberg Project for fall 2013

TIFF’s original film exhibition David Cronenberg: Evolution spearheads an ambitious, multi-platform celebration of the work of the iconic Canadian filmmaker

Toronto – Details of The Cronenberg Project, a multi-platform celebration of the work of one of the world’s greatest filmmakers, David Cronenberg, were announced today by Piers Handling, CEO and Director, TIFF and Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox. Running from November 1, 2013 to January 19, 2014, the core component of The Cronenberg Project is a comprehensive film exhibition titled David Cronenberg: Evolution, curated by Handling and Cowan. The exhibition, which will be presented at TIFF Bell Lightbox in the HSBC Gallery, explores the world of David Cronenberg by tracing his development and progression as a filmmaker through the themes of physical and psychological transformation that define his cinema; from telepaths and scientists to television producers and twin doctors. This also marks the first major original exhibition curated and launched by TIFF that will tour internationally with locations to be announced at a later date.

TIFF Bell Lightbox announces upcoming A Century of Chinese Cinema programme

TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX CELEBRATES A CENTURY OF CHINESE CINEMA WITH UNPRECEDENTED FILM SERIES, EXHIBITIONS AND SPECIAL GUESTS
- Programme features 80 films, free exhibitions and guests including Chen Kaige, Johnnie To and Jackie Chan -
- Tickets on sale May 21 at 10 a.m. for TIFF Members, May 27 at 10 a.m. for non-members -

Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox, announced today details for a comprehensive exploration of Chinese film, art and culture. A Century of Chinese Cinema features a major film retrospective of over 80 titles, sessions with some of the biggest names in Chinese cinema, and a free exhibition featuring two internationally acclaimed visual artists. The flagship programme of the summer season, A Century of Chinese Cinema runs from June 5 to August 11, 2013.

"A Century of Chinese Cinema exemplifies TIFF's vision to foster new relationships and build bridges of cultural exchange," said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. "If we are, indeed, living in the Chinese Century, it is essential that we attempt to understand what that entails. There is no better way to do so than through film, which encourages cross-cultural understanding in our city and beyond."