Canada's Top Ten reflects Canadian diversity in film

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      Last week, the Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the diverse and internationally influenced mix of Canadian feature-length and short films that will be included in the 12th annual Canada's Top Ten. The selected films will be screened as a touring festival in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver (at the Cinematheque).

      Well-established Canadian directors such as David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley were included alongside some lesser known filmmakers. Subject matter varied from stories set in India and Africa to Canada's favourite sport: hockey (Goon).  

      Nisha Pahuja's documentary The World Before Her, which compares Indian beauty pageants with a Hindu fundamentalist camp, is currently playing in Vancouver.

      Another selection, Kim Nguyen's Rebelle (War Witch), was also chosen as Canada's official entry to the best foreign-language Academy Award.

      Meanwhile, Sean Garrity's sex comedy My Awkward Sexual Adventure also won the Whistler Film Festival's Audience Award. (Kirk Caouette's Vancouver street movie Hit 'N Strum was a runnerup, which wrapped on December 2.) Michael McGowan's Still, which opened the Whistler Film Festival, was also chosen for Canada's Top Ten.

      Other films chosen include Xavier Dolan's third feature, Lawrence Anyways, about a transgender person's struggles to maintain a relationship while undergoing a transition, and Deepa Mehta's adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children.

      The films, which included two lists (one for features and one for short films), were selected by national panels of filmmakers, journalists, and industry professionals.

      The feature films chosen for the 2012 edition of Canada's Top Ten were:

      Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg

      The End of Time, Peter Mettler

      Goon, Michael Dowse

      Laurence Anyways, Xavier Dolan

      Midnight's Children, Deepa Mehta

      My Awkward Sexual Adventure, Sean Garrity

      Rebelle (War Witch), Kim Nguyen

      Still, Michael McGowan

      Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley

      The World Before Her, Nisha Pahuja

       

      The short films that made Canada's Top Ten were:

      "Bydlo", Patrick Bouchard

      "Chef de meute" ("Herd Leader"), Chloé Robichaud

      "Crackin' Down Hard", Mike Clattenburg

      "Kaspar", Diane Obomsawin

      "Ne crâne pas sois modeste" ("Keep a Modest Head"), Deco Dawson

      "Lingo", Bahar Noorizadeh

      "Malody", Phillip Barker

      "Old Growth", Tess Girard

      "Reflexions", Martin Thibaudeau

      "Paparmane" ("Wintergreen"), Joëlle Desjardins Paquette

       

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