BlackBerry, 'Hey, Viktor!' Kanaval, 'Seven Veils' Among TIFF Canada's Top Ten List 2023

TIFF revealed the 10 feature films and 10 short films from some of Canada’s established and emerging filmmakers, selected for the 23rd edition of Canada’s Top Ten.

In Meredith Hama-Brown’s (TIFF Filmmaker Lab participant – 2000) shattering Seagrass and TIFF Rising Star’s Cody Lightning’s hilarious Hey, Viktor!; in Ariane Louis-Seize’s charming Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person and TIFF Studio alum Fawzia Mirza’s rapturous The Queen of My Dreams; in Henri Pardo’s beautiful Kanaval and Carol Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk’s spare, bracing Tautuktavuk (What We See); and in Zack Russell’s urgent documentary Someone Lives Here, these first-time filmmakers share the discovery of new visions, new voices, new passions. With their third features, Solo and BlackBerry, Sophie Dupuis and Matt Johnson both demonstrate a masterful sense of environment and character shaped by their previous work.

In addition, Johnson’s BlackBerry has been selected as the Sloan Science on Film Showcase, spotlighting two compelling scientific feature films annually, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Rounding out the list is Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils. The veteran filmmaker draws on his own history, integrating elements of the operas he’s directed over the decades.

Two of the directors making their feature debuts have seen their short films honored in previous Top Tens: Louis-Seize’s Les petites vagues in 2018, and Mirza’s The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night in 2021. Writer-director Jasmin Mozzaffari (TIFF Writer’s Studio participant – 2020), whose own first feature Firecrackers was a Top Ten honoree in 2018, is also switching sections: her short film, Motherland, is one of this year’s Top Ten shorts alongside Alisi Telengut’s Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal, Zoé Pelchat’s (TIFF Filmmaker Lab participant – 2021) Gaby’s Hills, Ryan McKenna’s I Used to Live There, Julien G. Marcotte and Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush’s Katshinau, Raquel Sancinetti’s Madeleine, Eric K. Boulianne’s Making Babies, Edith Jorisch’s Mothers and Monsters, Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto’s Sawo Matang and Nicole Bazuin’s Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie.

“As we announce TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten for 2023, we applaud the visionary filmmakers who have enriched the Canadian cinematic landscape with their creativity and the power of their stories. These films not only showcase the depth of our homegrown talent, but also underscore the cultural richness of our nation and the many stories we have to tell,” stated Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “Each year, we are proud to celebrate and showcase the best of Canadian cinema, and more importantly, provide a platform and opportunity for audiences in the city and across the country to experience these films together.”

From January 25 to 28, film enthusiasts can immerse themselves in this year’s outstanding lineup at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Following their theatrical runs, several of Canada’s Top Ten films and filmmakers will travel across Canada with TIFF’s popular Film Circuit program. Film Circuit provides access to 100+ Circuit locations in rural, remote, and underserved communities that otherwise would not have an opportunity to see these films, extending their theatrical life beyond their initial release.

Canada’s Top Ten Official Selections of 2023