Canada's Top Ten 2009

It's always exciting news when Canada's Top Ten is announced. I love hearing which films have been picked and having the opportunity to see great Canadian film, especially films from Quebec which rarely hit Toronto screens but with the Top Ten they are all shown in January at the Cinematheque in Toronto.

This year is an interesting first when reading the list as I recognized each and ever one of the films. One of the heavy hitters this year are Xavier Dolan's J'ai tué ma mère which has kicked up a storm and received huge acclaim everywhere it's played. Two films on the list that actually did make it to Toronto theatres are drama/romance Cairo Time starring Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig and Polytechnique Denis Villeneuve's film based on the 1989 Montreal Massacre. I'm thrilled to see La Donation included in the ten, it is Bernard Émond's his third film in his humanist trilogy exploring Faith (La neuvaine), Hope (Contre toute espérance) and now Charity and the film is absolutely astounding. I'm over the moon excited to see that Alexandre Franchi's The Wild Hunt has been selected, it's a fascinating (fictional) film that explores when real life and LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) collide. I saw The Wild Hunt at TIFF this year and have been aching to see it again since then. But it's not just features, the shorts program is also impressing including the award winning and haunting Danse Macabre, jovial Runaway and many more.

Screenings of the features, shorts and a panel discussion will take place from January 14 – 21, 2010 at Cinematheque Ontario in Toronto. See more infomation on scheduling and tickets here (it's one of the best deals in town).

List of Canada's Top Ten 2009 (Feature Film)

Cairo Time
Dir: Ruba Nadda
Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Tom McCamus, Elena Anaya, Amina Annabi

Carcasses
Dir: Denis Côté
Cast: Jean-Paul Colmor, Étienne Grutman

Crackie
Dir: Sherry White
Cast: Mary Walsh, Meghan Greeley, Cheryl Wells, Joel Thomas Hynes

Defendor
Dir: Peter Stebbings
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Michael Kelly

La Donation
Dir: Bernard Émond
Cast: Élise Guilbault, Jacques Godin, Éric Hoziel, Françoise Graton, Angèle Coutu

J'ai tué ma mère
Dir: Xavier Dolan
Cast: Xavier Dolan, Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, François Arnaud, Patricia Tulasne

Passenger Side
Dir: Matthew Bissonnette
Cast: Adam Scott, Joel Bissonnette, Robin Tunney

Polytechnique
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Maxim Gaudette, Karine Vanasse, Sébastien Huberdeau, Evelyne Brochu

The Trotsky
Dir: Jacob Tierney
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Liane Balaban, Colm Feore

The Wild Hunt
Dir: Alexandre Franchi
Cast: Mark A. Krupa, Ricky Mabe, Tiio Horn, Trevor Hayes, Nicolas Wright, Terry Simpson, Claudia Jurt

List of Canada's Top Ten 2009 (Short Film)

The Armoire
Dir: Jamie Travis

The Cave
Dir: Helen Haig-Brown

Danse Macabre
Dir: Pedro Pires

Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica
Dir: Cam Christiansen

Naissances
Dir: Anne Émond

Out in that Deep Blue Sea
Dir: Kazik Radwanski

Runaway
Dir: Cordell Barker

The Spine
Dir: Chris Landreth

La Vie commence
Dir: Émile Proulx-Cloutier

Vive la rose
Dir: Bruce Alcock

Canada's Top Ten was established in 2001 by the Toronto International Film Festival Group to honour excellence Canadian film. See more information on the feature films, short films, panel and schedule.

Who chooses the films?
Films are chosen by national panels of filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals.

Feature Film panel:
Craig Adlard, Bart Beaty, Karen Bruce, Jerry Ciccoritti, Tom McSorley, Nicole Robert, Dr. Julietta Sichel, Jay Stone, Ingrid Veninger and Norman Wilner

Short Film Panel:
Shane Belcourt, Michèle Maheux, Adam Nayman, Shane Smith and Sherry White

What kind of films are they?
Features and shorts are selected among narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental films.

What films qualify?
Features Films must have either premiered at a major Canadian film festival or obtained a commercial theatrical release in Canada in the relevant calendar year.

Short Films are selected from among narrative, documentary, animation and experimental films. Each film must have premiered at a major Canadian film festival in the relevant calendar year.