TORONTO — TIFF® has today unveiled its Canada’s Top Ten list of features and short films of 2018. Compiled by TIFF’s team of programmers in collaboration with film experts from across the country, the list showcases the best in Canadian screen storytelling: 10 must-see movies presenting the latest work by some of Canada’s finest filmmakers, and 10 essential shorts from exciting new voices and bold innovators.
“TIFF is thrilled to present its uniquely Canadian list that offers a richness of voices, perspectives, and insights into adolescent identity,” says Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head of TIFF. “These films expertly examine heritage, family, the fragility of friendships, and the importance of challenging the current state of our world, and are testament to the fact that our Canadian filmmakers are among the most daring and innovative. TIFF is incredibly proud to celebrate their tremendous achievements in 2018.”
This year’s Top Ten list — spanning regions across Canada — covers a range of genres, from science fiction to fantasy, from myth to documentary. The list features four directorial debuts, three Indigenous filmmakers, and the first feature-length film made in Haida, a UNESCO-classified endangered language. The shorts and features lineups showcase works by 11 of Canada’s most talented female filmmakers.
New this year, in a move to further amplify its support of Canadian creators, TIFF will offer a theatrical run at TIFF Bell Lightbox of the Top Ten features, a crucial opportunity for filmmakers to present their work to audiences on the big screen. The Top Ten Canadian shorts will be presented in a winter screening as part of TIFF’s year-round shorts programming.
The TIFF Top Ten Canadian Films of 2018 are:
Features
ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky | Ontario
Sgaawaay K’uuna (Edge of the Knife) Gwaai Edenshaw, Helen Haig-Brown | British Columbia
Firecrackers Jasmin Mozaffari | Ontario
The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles) Sébastien Pilote | Quebec
Freaks Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein | British Columbia
Genèse (Genesis) Philippe Lesage | Quebec
Giant Little Ones Keith Behrman | Ontario
MOUTHPIECE Patricia Rozema | Ontario
Roads in February (Les routes en février) Katherine Jerkovic | Quebec
What Walaa Wants Christy Garland | Ontario
Shorts
Paseo Matthew Hannam | Ontario
Veslemøy’s Song Sofia Bohdanowicz | Ontario
My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes Charlie Tyrell | Ontario
The Subject (Le sujet) Patrick Bouchard | Quebec
Brotherhood (Ikhwène) Meryam Joobeur | Quebec
Fauve Jérémy Comte | Quebec
ALTIPLANO Malena Szlam | Quebec
Accidence Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson | Manitoba
Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) Amanda Strong | British Columbia
Little Waves (Les petites vagues) Ariane Louis-Seize | Quebec
The Canada’s Top Ten list was curated by TIFF’s internal programming team (features by Cameron Bailey, Kerri Craddock, Steve Gravestock, Danis Goulet, Ming-Jenn Lim, and Kathleen Drumm; shorts by Jason Anderson, Lisa Haller, Lydia Ogwang, Laura Good, and Geoff Macnaughton), in collaboration with the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma.
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