Variety on TIFF: the Hollywood paper names six trends from the film festival

1. Canadian films can be both good and bad “If Toronto has taught us anything over the years, it’s to be wary of the Canadian-made feature,” the authors write. Okay, they have a point. But we’re getting better—and Variety agrees, citing Incendies, Heartbeats, The Whistleblower and Barney’s Version as show-off works from The Great White North. (Score: A Hockey Musical, not so much.)

2. TIFF’s full of young ‘uns Apparently TIFF is good at showcasing the precocious, as “some of the strongest performances came from thesps in their 20s and 30s.” Were we specializing in old timers before?

3. The films are “emotional” We had lovey-dovey (Blue Valentine), inspiring (The Way), endearing (Let Me In, Beginners) and sad (Never Let Me Go). Glad to hear TIFF hasn’t succumbed to the Botox stoicism Variety has observed at other festivals.

4. Toronto caters to Michigan and Asia Sure, the former provides the backdrop to Stone, Conviction, Trust and Vanishing on 7^th Street, but the latter didn’t seem to make it into too many TIFF selections (except, of course, this year’s Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives).

5. There’s too much theatre Many films this year drew from—of all things—plays. See: Rabbit Hole, Potiche, Incendies.

6. Ziga-ziga ah The best trend of all, though, was the abundance of “girl power” (yes, they did use those exact words). Feminist prowess was on offer in Conviction, Made in Dagenham and The Whistleblower.

• Hitting highs and lows at Toronto [Variety]