Canada's Top Ten

#TIFF: CANADA’S TOP TEN FILMS OF 2024 ANNOUNCED

January 08, 2025
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TIFF today announced Canada’s Top Ten, the nation’s top 10 feature films and top 10 shorts of 2024, honouring the best in Canadian cinema. The 24th Canada’s Top Ten showcase, presented by MUBI, runs February 5–9, 2025 at the Lightbox and is curated by TIFF programmers in consultation with festival programmers from across Canada. This year’s features selection includes the directorial debuts of R.T. Thorne (2016 Filmmaker Lab, 2018 Writers’ Studio) with 40 Acres, and Kaniehtiio Horn (2023 Every Story Accelerator participant) with Seeds. The spotlight also includes established filmmakers and past honourees: David Cronenberg, Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and Michael Mabbott; with second showings from Ann Marie Fleming, Kazik Radwanski (2009 Filmmaker Lab, 2017 Pitch This, 2018 Writers’ Studio), Sophie Deraspe, and Matthew Rankin (2007 Filmmaker Lab); plus first showings for Sook-Yin Lee (2005 Filmmaker Lab, 2019 Pitch This) with Paying For It, and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, co-director of Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story.

“This year’s Canada’s Top Ten celebrates the very best of Canadian cinema, showcasing the bold artistry of Canada’s most celebrated filmmakers and the fresh perspectives of emerging voices,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “The selection reflects Canada’s eclectic cultural landscape and a renaissance in risk-taking cinema. We are also honoured to present the inaugural Charles Officer Legacy Award, which recognizes a filmmaker whose impact continues to resonate profoundly with TIFF and the broader Canadian film community.”

On February 5, the opening ceremony for Canada’s Top Ten showcase will celebrate this year’s selections, followed by a presentation of the inaugural Charles Officer Legacy Award by TIFF Industry and CBC. Announced in 2023, the award recognizes a Black Canadian director and/or writer whose body of work exemplifies the creative excellence, strong point of view, and community-mindedness of the award-winning filmmaker.

A special screening of Don McKellar’s 1998 apocalyptic dramedy Last Night will take place on February 6, preceded by A Look Back at Last Night. An extended Q&A with the award-winning Toronto actor, writer, and director will take place following the screening. A classic of the Toronto New Wave, Last Night has an iconically Canadian cast including Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley, and even a cameo by David Cronenberg. Its critical accolades include TIFF’s Best Canadian Feature Film, Cannes’ Prix de la jeunesse, and three Genies (now Canadian Screen Awards).

Canada’s Top Ten Official Selections 2024
Representing a diverse range of new voices in fiction and documentary, the 24th annual showcase of Canadian films celebrates some of our most storied and award-winning filmmakers. These selections offer audiences a variety of perspectives, insights, and experiences from coast to coast to coast. This year’s Canada’s Top Ten Features and Shorts are:
Canada’s Top Ten Feature Films

40 Acres | dir. R.T. Thorne | 113 minutes | English and Cree

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story | dirs. Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee | 98 minutes | English

Can I Get a Witness? | dir. Ann Marie Fleming | 110 minutes | English

Matt and Mara | dir. Kazik Radwanski | 80 minutes | English

Paying For It | dir. Sook-Yin Lee | 85 minutes | English

Rumours | dirs. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson | 103 minutes | English, French, Swedish, and German

Seeds | dir. Kaniehtiio Horn | 82 minutes | English and Kanien’kéha

Shepherds (Bergers) | dir. Sophie Deraspe |113 minutes | French

The Shrouds | dir. David Cronenberg | 119 minutes | English

Universal Language (Une langue universelle) | dir. Matthew Rankin | 89 minutes | Farsi and French

Canada’s Top Ten Short Films

Are You Scared to Be Yourself Because You Think That You Might Fail? | dir. Bec Pecaut | 17 minutes | English

EarthWorm | dir. Phillip Barker | 16 minutes | English

Inkwo for When the Starving Return | dir. Amanda Strong | 18 minutes | English and Tlicho

Julian and the Wind | dir. Connor Jessup | 15 minutes | English

Maybe Elephants | dir. Torill Kove | 17 minutes | English

Mercenaire | dir. Pier-Philippe Chevigny | 15 minutes | French

On a Sunday at Eleven | dir. Alicia K. Harris | 9 minutes | English

One Day This Kid | dir. Alexander Farah | 18 minutes | Dari/Farsi and English

perfectly a strangeness | dir. Alison McAlpine | 15 minutes | No dialogue

Who Loves the Sun | dir. Arshia Shakiba | 20 minutes | Arabic

A selection of Canada’s Top Ten films will also be featured in TIFF’s popular Film Circuit programme. Film Circuit provides access to 100+ Circuit locations in rural, remote, and under-served communities that otherwise would not have an opportunity to see these films, extending their theatrical life beyond their initial release.

Canada’s Top Ten selections were determined by TIFF’s Canadian programmers and the Senior Programming team, taking into consideration the recommendations of consultant programmers across the country including:

Feature Films
Safia Abdigir, Program Director, Reelworld Film Festival
Pahull Bains, Communications Director, Reelworld Film Festival
Vincent Brulotte, Artistic Director, Edmonton International Film Festival
Vincent Georgie, Executive Director & Chief Programmer, Windsor International Film Festival
Lisa Haller, Director of Programming, Atlantic International Film Festival
Brenda Lieberman, Lead Programmer & Jury Coordinator, Calgary International Film Festival
Zoé Protat, Director of Programming, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma du Montréal
Emily Reid, Artistic and Executive Director, Toronto Outdoor Picture Show
Aram Sui Wai Collier, Artistic Director, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Eric Tisch, Manager, Programming & National Canadian Film Day, Reel Canada

Short Films
Mélissa Bouchard, Programming Director, REGARD: Le Festival international du court métrage au Saguenay
Lisa Haller, Director of Programming, Atlantic International Film Festival
Adam Keresztes, Programmer (Shorts, Generation), Calgary International Film Festival
Kelly Lui, Shorts Programmer, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Sydney Moule, Executive Director, Edmonton International Film Festival
Émilie Poirier, Head of Short Films, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma du Montréal
Casey Wei, Short Forum Programmer, Vancouver International Film Festival

TIFF Members have early access to tickets starting January 15 at 10am, and public tickets go on sale on January 17 at 10am.

Canada’s Top Ten Industry Forum returns with a panel featuring a leading director, producer, distributor, community builder to join a moderated onstage discussion on the future of Canadian cinema. “Perspectives on the Future of the Canadian Film Industry” will take place on February 5, from 4pm–6pm. The discussion will challenge panelists to think differently about our next 50 years, as they will share their vision and role in defining the future of the screen sector in Canada.

This year, TIFF marks a historic milestone with the 50th edition of the Festival. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for an announcement about special events, retrospectives, and new initiatives planned to honour five decades of cinematic excellence, cultural impact, and unforgettable stories.

For additional programming information and screening details, visit tiff.net.

#TIFF: TIFF UNVEIL 2023 CANADA’S TOP TEN

December 06, 2023
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TIFF is proud to reveal the 23rd edition of Canada’s Top Ten, presented by new partner MUBI — an exciting selection curated by TIFF’s programmers in collaboration with their counterparts from across Canada. From January 25 to 28, 2024 film enthusiasts can immerse themselves in this year’s outstanding lineup at TIFF Bell Lightbox. The 2023 feature film roster showcases cinematic gems hailing from British Columbia, Alberta, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. Noteworthy this year is that seven of the films are debut features from filmmakers in the early stages of their promising careers. The shorts lineup, equally compelling, showcases the works of seven Quebecois filmmakers. TIFF Members have early access to tickets starting December 20, 2023 at 10am, and public tickets go on sale on December 22, 2023 at 10am — don’t miss your chance to be part of this cinematic celebration.

“As we announce TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten for 2023, we applaud the visionary filmmakers who have enriched the Canadian cinematic landscape with their creativity and the power of their stories. These films not only showcase the depth of our homegrown talent, but also underscore the cultural richness of our nation and the many stories we have to tell,” stated Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “Each year, we are proud to celebrate and showcase the best of Canadian cinema, and more importantly, provide a platform and opportunity for audiences in the city and across the country to experience these films together.”

Following their theatrical runs, several of Canada’s Top Ten films and filmmakers will travel across Canada with TIFF’s popular Film Circuit programme. Film Circuit provides access to 100+ Circuit locations in rural, remote, and underserved communities that otherwise would not have an opportunity to see these films, extending their theatrical life beyond their initial release.

In Meredith Hama-Brown’s (TIFF Filmmaker Lab participant – 2000) shattering Seagrass and TIFF Rising Star’s Cody Lightning’s hilarious Hey, Viktor!; in Ariane Louis-Seize’s charming Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person and TIFF Studio alum Fawzia Mirza’s rapturous The Queen of My Dreams; in Henri Pardo’s beautiful Kanaval and Carol Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk’s spare, bracing Tautuktavuk (What We See); and in Zack Russell’s urgent documentary Someone Lives Here, these first-time filmmakers share the discovery of new visions, new voices, new passions. With their third features, Solo and BlackBerry, Sophie Dupuis and Matt Johnson both demonstrate a masterful sense of environment and character shaped by their previous work. In addition, Johnson’s BlackBerry has been selected as the Sloan Science on Film Showcase, spotlighting two compelling scientific feature films annually, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Rounding out the list is Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils. The veteran filmmaker draws on his own history, integrating elements of the operas he’s directed over the decades.

Two of the directors making their feature debuts have seen their short films honoured in previous Top Tens: Louis-Seize’s Les petites vagues in 2018, and Mirza’s The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night in 2021. Writer-director Jasmin Mozzaffari (TIFF Writer’s Studio participant – 2020), whose own first feature Firecrackers was a Top Ten honouree in 2018, is also switching sections: her short film, Motherland, is one of this year’s Top Ten shorts alongside Alisi Telengut’s Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal, Zoé Pelchat’s (TIFF Filmmaker Lab participant – 2021) Gaby’s Hills, Ryan McKenna’s I Used to Live There, Julien G. Marcotte and Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush’s Katshinau, Raquel Sancinetti’s Madeleine, Eric K. Boulianne’s Making Babies, Edith Jorisch’s Mothers and Monsters, Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto’s Sawo Matang and Nicole Bazuin’s Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie.

Representing a diverse range of new voices in fiction and documentary, the annual showcase of Canadian films celebrates some of our most storied and award-winning filmmakers offering audiences a variety of perspectives, insights, and experiences from coast to coast to coast.

Canada’s Top Ten Official Selections of 2023

Feature Films

Short Films

Canada’s Top Ten champions 10 feature films and 10 short films that reflect a richness of voices and perspectives from some of Canada’s finest established and emerging filmmakers. The final selections for Canada’s Top Ten were determined by TIFF’s Canadian Programmers and the Senior Programming team, taking into consideration the recommendations of consultant programmers from film festivals across the country.

Committee Members – 2023 Canada’s Top Ten: Feature Films & Shorts

Feature Film Committee
Pahull Bains, Safia Abdigir (Reelworld Film Festival)
Vincent Georgie (Windsor International Film Festival)
Lisa Haller (Atlantic International Film Festival)
Brenda Lieberman (Calgary International Film Festival)
Émilie Poirier (Festival du Nouveau Cinéma)
Alex Rogalski (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)
Curtis Woloschuk (Vancouver International Film Festival)

Short Film Committee
Mélissa Bouchard (REGARD: Le Festival international du court métrage au Saguenay)
Lisa Haller, Sandi Rankaduwa, Seán Maheux Galway (Atlantic International Film Festival)
Adam Keresztes (Calgary International Film Festival)
Patrick O’Hearn, Michael Scherzinger, Brandon Patry, Christa Corbiere (Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival)
Émilie Poirier (Festival du Nouveau Cinéma)
Casey Wei (Vancouver International Film Festival)
Miriam Zaidi (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)

#FIRSTLOOK: CANADA’S TOP TEN FILMS TO SCREEN AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

December 08, 2022
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TIFF is delighted to announce its Canada’s Top Ten list of both features and short films for 2022. Selected by TIFF’s programmers in consultation with industry panelists, including filmmakers and festival programmers from across Canada, this year’s list represents a diverse range of new voices in fiction and documentary. It celebrates some of our most storied and award-winning filmmakers offering audiences a variety of perspectives, insights, and experiences from coast to coast.

TIFF would also like to recognize the privilege we have to celebrate these filmmakers on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, the Wendat, and the Haudenosaunee. Today, the meeting place of Toronto (also known as Tkaronto) is home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island, and we are grateful to work on this land and to be able to screen works of Indigenous filmmakers at TIFF Bell Lightbox for audiences.

“Bold and unapologetic, this year’s Canada’s Top Ten reflects one of the most diverse editions to date and heralds an exciting new wave of Canadian storytelling,” stated Anita Lee, TIFF, Chief Programming Officer. “I am so thrilled to present this stellar selection of films in my first year as TIFF’s Chief Programming Officer.”

Canada’s Top Ten selections will screen January 26–29 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. More details to come in 2023.

On January 26, the Canada’s Top Ten programme will feature a multi-session Industry Conversations featuring special guests and TIFF Talent alumni, as well as an opening reception to celebrate this year’s selections.

Canada’s Top Ten Industry Forum – January 26, 2023

Addressing Systemic Racism in Canada’s Media Sector Part 2: Where Are We Now?
Time: 12pm–1:30pm
Guests confirmed to date:
Chanda Chevannes, Executive Producer, National Film Board of Canada
Marcia Douglas, Director, English Content, International and Export, Canada Media Fund
Joan Jenkinson, Executive Director, Black Screen Office
Gosia Kamela, Head of CBC Films
Mehernaz Lentin, National Director of Feature Film, Telefilm Canada
Kerry Swanson, Executive Director, Indigenous Screen Office
Moderator: Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF

SPOTLIGHT: New Canadian Talent
Time: 2:30pm–3:30pm
Guest details to come
Moderator: Jason Anderson, Programmer, Short Cuts, TIFF

PERSPECTIVES: The Future of Canadian Content
Time: 4:30pm–5:30pm
Guests confirmed to date:
Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, Canada Media Fund
Noah Segal, Co-President, Elevation Pictures
Moderator: Barry Hertz, Deputy Arts Editor and Film Editor, The Globe and Mail

Ticket holders for the Canada’s Top Ten Industry Forum receive access to all three sessions in addition to a catered lunch and an invitation to the Canada’s Top Ten Opening Cocktail Reception on the evening of January 26. Tickets on sale December 14. For more information, and additional guest details to come, visit tiff.net/ctt.

A special selection of titles will be available on digital TIFF Bell Lightbox, celebrating previous Canada’s Top Ten breakouts. More information coming soon to http://digital.tiff.net/.

(Photo credit: Elevation Pictures)

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Canada's Top Ten

#TIFF: CANADA’S TOP TEN FILMS OF 2024 ANNOUNCED

#TIFF: TIFF UNVEIL 2023 CANADA’S TOP TEN

#FIRSTLOOK: CANADA’S TOP TEN FILMS TO SCREEN AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX