TIFF names best Canadian films of 2010 to be screened at Lightbox

TIFF names best Canadian films of 2010 to be screened at Lightbox

Paul Giamatti at the TIFF premiere for Barney's Version (Image: Stefania Yarhi)

While all of Hollywood fires up its engines for the self-love fest that is awards season, the Toronto International Film Festival took a moment to honour some of our own talent. Yesterday, TIFF released their list of the 10 best Canadian feature films and 10 best short films of 2010.

One notable inclusion that has yet to see its general release is Barney’s Version, the film adaptation of Canadian author Mordecai Richler’s classic Montreal-set novel. The film yesterday won actor Paul Giamatti a Golden Globe nomination and was a gala film at TIFF this year. Barney’s Version will hit Canadian theatres on Christmas Eve.

The sci-fi flick Splice (starring Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody) also made the list, as did four francophone films, including Incendies, Canada’s entry for the Academy Awards’ best foreign film category. In the short film category, Guy Maddin’s The Little White Cloud That Cried was included, as was Ann Marie Fleming’s I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors.

It can sometimes be a challenge to find a theatre playing the fine Canadian films like those on this year’s list. Luckily, all the films being honoured by TIFF this year will be screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox from January 20 to February 1, and will be accompanied by discussions with the filmmakers. Oh, the simple joys of living in a big, dirty, bustling metropolis.

• TIFF: best Canadian films of 2010 [Globe and Mail]
• Barney’s Version, Splice among TIFF Top 10 [CBC]