Canada's Top Ten 2011

Canada's Top Ten for 2011 was announced yesterday and it's fitting that the 2011 films are it's 11th Year. Wow, has it really been that long? I love how Canada's Top Ten celebrates & honours Canadian film each and every year and I always look forward to pouring over the title, noting how many I've seen, loved and looked forward to throughout the year. For this years installment I think I'd best be attending this screening series and I've seen a lonely 1 title for the list and it's the extreme-violence fest of Hobo With a Shotgun from director Jason Eisener (Treevenge) starring Rutger Hauer. And how amazing is it that a film that extreme is in the Top Ten? Gotta love it. I also love that Guy Maddin's Keyhole is on the list and I missed it at TIFF this year and I've heard such good things about Jean-Marc Vallée's Café de flore that it's been firmly planted on my to-see list for weeks. It's also an exciting opportunity to see Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz before it's May 2012 theatrical release and the I'm sure David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method will be a big draw as well. I also love that the list always brings new films to my attention, often Quebec cinema, and this year those new & exciting titles are Marécages and Le Vendeur, both of which are feature film directorial debuts. Often I head out to a few of the films, but I think this year I might have to wild and see them all. It's great timing to as it runs so early in the year when we don't get too many regular theatrical releases to choose from. Just hope for good weather!

Canada's Top Ten will play at TIFF Bell Lightbox from January 5 - 15, 2012, and in addition to the film series, there will be a Filmmaker Panel Discussion: A Canadian Gangster on Saturday, January 7, 2013 with Guy Maddin, Nathan Morlando and Jason Eisener to discuss their crime/gangster films.

Canada’s Top Ten 2011 (Feature Films)

Café de flore
Dir: Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.)
Cast: Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent
Release Date: November 2011

A Dangerous Method
Dir: David Cronenberg (A History of Violence, eXistenZ, Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers)
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortenson, Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassel
Release Date: January 2012

Edwin Boyd
Writer/Dir: Nathan Morlando - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Scott Speedman, Brian Cox, Kevin Durand, Kelly Reilly

Hobo With a Shotgun
Dir: Jason Eisener (Treevenge)
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Gregory Smith, Robb Wells, Molly Dunsworth, Brian Downey, Nick Bateman
Release Date: March 2011 (also available on DVD)

Keyhole
Dir: Guy Maddin (rand Upon the Brain! , The Saddest Music in the World, My Winnipeg)
Cast: Isabella Rossellini, Jason Patric, Udo Kier

Marécages
Writer/Dir: Guy Édoin - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Pascale Bussières, Gabriel Maillé, Luc Picard

Monsieur Lazhar
Writer/Dir: Philippe Falardeau (C'est pas moi, je le jure! / It's Not Me, I Swear!)
Cast: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron
Release Date: January 2012

Starbuck
Dir: Ken Scott (Les doigts croches)
Cast: Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand
Release Date July 2011 (also available on DVD)

Take This Waltz
Dir: Sarah Polley (Away From Her)
Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Aaron Abrams, Luke Kirby, Jennifer Podemski
Release Date: May 2012

Le Vendeur
Writer/Dir: Sébastien Pilote - feature film directorial debut
Cast: Jean-François Boudreau, Jean-Robert Bourdage, Nathalie Cavezzali
Release Date: February 2012

Canada’s Top Ten 2011 (Short Films)

Choke
Dir: Michelle Latimer

Doubles With Slight Pepper
Dir: Ian Harnarine

The Fuse: Or How I Burned Simon Bolivar
Dir: Igor Drljaca

Hope
Dir: Pedro Pires (Phi Group)

No Words Came Down
Dir: Ryan Flowers and Lisa Pham

Ora
Dir: Philippe Baylaucq

Rhonda's Party
Dir: Ashley McKenzie

La Ronde
Dir: Sophie Goyette

Trotteur
Dir: Arnaud Brisebois and Francis Leclerc

We Ate the Children Last
Dir: Andrew Cividino

Curious to know how it all works? Here is the skinny on the nitty-gritty:

Film Qualifiers:
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.

Who chooses the films:
Films are chosen by a national panel of filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals.

2011 Features Panel
Meaghan Brander, Jacqueline Brodie, Helen Faradji, Marc Glassman, Peter Howell, Brenda Lieberman, Andrew Murphy, Patricia Rozema, José Teodoro and Blaine Thurier

2011 Shorts Panel
Manon Dumais, Yves-Etienne Massicotte, Peter Knegt, Karina Rotenstein and Barbara Shrier

Canada's Top Ten will play at TIFF Bell Lightbox from January 5 - 15, 2012 with public screenings with intros and Q&A's with filmmakers plus panel discussion. Select films will also screening in major cities including Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque, Edmonton’s Metro Cinema and Ottawa’s ByTowne Cinema.

Pricing: 10 Screenings plus panel discussion $90 for evening screenings & $65 for day screenings, two shorts programmes for $18; single tickets of film, shorts programme or panel are $12.

Packages & tickets go on sale to TIFF Members on Wednesday December 7, 2011 and then go on sale for non-members on Wednesday December 14, 2011. You can by online 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.