Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) announces Canada’s Top Ten feature and short films for 2008. Public screenings with introductions and Q&As by filmmakers, and topical panel discussions will be held from January 30 to February 7 at Cinematheque Ontario. Tickets go on sale December 16 on topten.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM (toll-free 1-877-968-FILM) and at the year-round box office’s new location at 2 Carlton Street, West Mezzanine. Please note, the new operating hours are Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. A selection of the films will tour to Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque and Ottawa’s Canadian Film Institute in early 2009.

"This is an exceptional list. We are thrilled with the diversity of the selected films this year, as it reflects the strength and health of the Canadian film industry," said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group. "For eight years now, Canada's Top Ten has been celebrating Canadian films and talent, leading the world in building markets and audiences for Canadian work."

Canada's Top Ten films are chosen by national panels of filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals. The Top Ten features and Top Ten shorts are selected among narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental films. Each film must have either premiered at a major Canadian film festival or obtained a commercial theatrical release in Canada in 2008. The filmmaker must be a Canadian citizen or resident and have a history of working in Canada or on Canadian-financed films.

Here are the top ten Canadian feature films of 2008 (in alphabetical order, including future release dates):
Adoration – Atom Egoyan (Entertainment One/Seville Pictures, May 2009)
Before Tomorrow – Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu (Alliance Films, February 2009)
Ce qu’il faut pour vivre (The Necessities of Life) – Benoit Pilon (Entertainment One/Seville Pictures)
C'est pas moi, je le jure! (It’s Not Me, I Swear!) – Philippe Falardeau (Entertainment One/Seville Pictures)
Fifty Dead Men Walking – Kari Skogland (TVA Films, Spring 2009)
Heaven on Earth – Deepa Mehta (Mongrel Media)
Lost Song – Rodrigue Jean
Maman est chez le coiffeur (Mommy Is at the Hairdresser’s) – Léa Pool (Equinoxe Films)
La Mémoire des anges (The Memories of Angels) – Luc Bourdon (National Film Board of Canada)
Pontypool – Bruce McDonald (Maple Pictures, March 2009)

The top ten Canadian short films of 2008 are as follows (in alphabetical order):
La Battue – Guy Édoin (Locomotion Distribution)
Block B – Chris Chong Chan Fui (Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre)
Drux Flux – Theodore Ushev (National Film Board of Canada)
Ghosts and Gravel Roads – Michael Rollo (Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre)
Green Door – Semi Chellas (Foundry Films)
Next Floor – Denis Villeneuve (Prends ça court!)
Nikamowin (Song) – Kevin Lee Burton (Vtape)
Passages – Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre (Vidéographe Distribution)
Princess Margaret Blvd – Kazik Radwanski (MDF Films)
Mon nom est Victor Gazon – Patrick Gazé (Disk4t_diffusion)

CANADA'S TOP TEN SCREENINGS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS: JANUARY 30 to FEBRUARY 7
All films screen with introductions and Q&As by filmmakers when available. Two panel discussions are also featured. Screenings and panel discussions take place at Cinematheque Ontario (the Art Gallery of Ontario's Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas Street West).

The Female Gaze
Saturday, January 31, 4 p.m.
Top Ten filmmakers Semi Chellas (Green Door), Léa Pool (Maman est chez le coiffeur), Kari Skogland (Fifty Dead Men Walking), as well as other special guests, will discuss their experiences as women filmmakers in a male-dominated industry, and the notion of a distinctly female perspective in filmmaking. The panel will be moderated by filmmaker and scholar Brenda Longfellow.

Telling Aboriginal Stories Saturday, February 7, 4 p.m. Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, co-directors of Before Tomorrow, and Benoit Pilon, director of Ce qu’il faut pour vivre will discuss issues related to telling aboriginal stories. The panel will be moderated by Toronto International Film Festival programmer and film critic Jesse Wente.

The 2008 Canadian Features Panels
Canada's Top Ten feature films are chosen by a national panel of 10 filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals:

Ann Marie Fleming – Writer of the award-winning graphic novel The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (2007), based on her featurelength documentary of the same name; filmmaker, The French Guy (2005), Blue Skies (2002), and You Take Care Now (1989)
Cameron Bailey – Co-director, Toronto International Film Festival
Camelia Frieberg – Director/producer, A Stone’s Throw (2006); producer, Bollywood/Hollywood (2002), The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Damon D'Oliveira – Producer, Poor Boy’s Game (2007), Lie With Me (2005), Proteus (2003) and Rude (1995)
Glenn Sumi – Associate Entertainment Editor, NOW Magazine
Jim Brown – Radio host, The Calgary Eyeopener (CBC Radio One; guest host of CBC’s This Morning, As It Happens, The House and Sounds Like Canada; co-writer and co-director, Radiant City (2006)
Joanne Senécal – Independent consultant, formerly Vice-president of Distribution, Christal Films
Jody Shapiro – Producer, My Winnipeg (2007), The Saddest Music in the World (2003); director/producer, Ice Breaker (2005)
Matthew Hays – Film critic, Montreal Mirror and programmer of Canadian features for the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Yung Chang – Filmmaker, Up the Yangtze (2007)

The 2008 Canadian Shorts Panel
Canada's Top Ten short films are chosen by a national panel of five filmmakers, journalists, programmers and industry professionals:

Alex Rogalski – Programmer, Short Cuts Canada, Toronto International Film Festival
Daniel Cross – Producer, RiP: A Remix Manifesto (2009), Up the Yangtze (2007), The Colony (2007)
Deco Dawson – Filmmaker, The Last Moment (2007), Elizabeth Short (2006), FILM(dzama)(2001)
Gisèle Gordon – Programmer, Canadian section, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Katherine Monk – Film writer, CanWest News Service and author of Weird Sex and Snowshoes: And Other Canadian Film Phenomena

Tickets go on sale December 16 on topten.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM (toll-free 1-877-968-FILM) and at the year-round box office’s new location at 2 Carlton Street, West Mezzanine. Please note, the new operating hours are Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ticket prices are as follows: See all 10 films and both shorts screenings for $65.00; single tickets (film, shorts programme or panel) are $8.00. Prices do not include GST, building- fund fee or service charges. All screenings and panel discussions take place at Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas Street West (McCaul Street entrance). Doors open 30 minutes prior to each screening. Visa† is the only credit card accepted by Canada’s Top Ten.

Bell Lightbox
Currently under construction in downtown Toronto, Bell Lightbox is soon to be the world's leading destination for film lovers. This major new cultural institution on the Canadian and international landscape will be structured around five state-of-the-art cinemas celebrating film from around the world. Bell Lightbox programming will give context to films through innovative cross-media exhibitions, lectures, and film-related learning opportunities for all ages. Designed by innovative architecture firm KPMB, Bell Lightbox's fluid design encourages exploration, movement and play within its soaring atriums.

The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario each have contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family – acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, Visa†, Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million, three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million. For more information on the Bell Lightbox campaign, visit belllightbox.ca

We are a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. Our vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.

Canada's Top Ten is generously supported by RBC, the Government of Ontario, The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

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For more information, please contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or email proffice@tiffg.ca