TIFF announced Canada’s Top Ten, the top 10 Canadian feature films and top 10 Canadian shorts of 2024.
This year’s features selection includes the directorial debuts of R.T. Thorne with 40 Acres, and Kaniehtiio Horn with Seeds. The list also includes established filmmakers and past honorees including David Cronenberg with The Shrouds, along with Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, and Michael Mabbott with Rumours.
Also making the list are Ann Marie Fleming with Can I Get a Witness?, Kazik Radwanski with Matt and Mara, Sophie Deraspe with Shepherds (Bergers), Matthew Rankin with Universal Language (Une langue universelle); plus first showings for Sook-Yin Lee with Paying For It, and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, co-director of Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story.
The 24th Canada’s Top Ten showcase runs February 5–9 at the Lightbox. On February 5, the opening ceremony for Canada’s Top Ten showcase will celebrate this year’s selections, followed by a presentation of the inaugural Charles Officer Legacy Award recognizing a Black Canadian director and/or writer whose body of work exemplifies the creative excellence, strong point of view, and community-mindedness of the award-winning filmmaker.
A special screening of Don McKellar’s 1998 apocalyptic dramedy Last Night will take place on February 6, preceded by A Look Back at Last Night. An extended Q&A with the award-winning Toronto actor, writer, and director will take place following the screening. A classic of the Toronto New Wave, Last Night has an iconically Canadian cast including Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley, and even a cameo by David Cronenberg. Its critical accolades include TIFF’s Best Canadian Feature Film, Cannes’ Prix de la jeunesse, and three Genies (now Canadian Screen Awards).
Canada’s Top Ten Official Selections 2024
Canada’s Top Ten Feature Films
40 Acres | dir. R.T. Thorne | 113 minutes | English and Cree
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story | dirs. Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee | 98 minutes | English
Can I Get a Witness? | dir. Ann Marie Fleming | 110 minutes | English
Matt and Mara | dir. Kazik Radwanski | 80 minutes | English
Paying For It | dir. Sook-Yin Lee | 85 minutes | English
Rumours | dirs. Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson | 103 minutes | English, French, Swedish, and German
Seeds | dir. Kaniehtiio Horn | 82 minutes | English and Kanien’kéha
Shepherds (Bergers) | dir. Sophie Deraspe |113 minutes | French
The Shrouds | dir. David Cronenberg | 119 minutes | English
Universal Language (Une langue universelle) | dir. Matthew Rankin | 89 minutes | Farsi and French
Canada’s Top Ten Short Films
Are You Scared to Be Yourself Because You Think That You Might Fail? | dir. Bec Pecaut | 17 minutes | English
EarthWorm | dir. Phillip Barker | 16 minutes | English
Inkwo for When the Starving Return | dir. Amanda Strong | 18 minutes | English and Tlicho
Julian and the Wind | dir. Connor Jessup | 15 minutes | English
Maybe Elephants | dir. Torill Kove | 17 minutes | English
Mercenaire | dir. Pier-Philippe Chevigny | 15 minutes | French
On a Sunday at Eleven | dir. Alicia K. Harris | 9 minutes | English
One Day This Kid | dir. Alexander Farah | 18 minutes | Dari/Farsi and English
perfectly a strangeness | dir. Alison McAlpine | 15 minutes | No dialogue
Who Loves the Sun | dir. Arshia Shakiba | 20 minutes | Arabic
