Canadian Crossing: 2022 TIFF wrapup

Announcing the winner of the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, presented by @canadagoose: TO KILL A TIGER dir. @NishaPahuja. #TIFF22 pic.twitter.com/l6PBgrS42M
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 18, 2022

The Toronto International Film Festival gave us a surprise winner for the Best Canadian Feature Film for the second year in a row. The very experimental film Ste. Anne won last year and To Kill a Tiger from Nisha Pahuja won in 2022.

There was a significant realm of Canadian film on display in Toronto over the last 10 days. Rich Strike had 80-1 odds entering the 2022 Kentucky Derby, better odds than To Kill A Tiger had to win Best Canadian Feature Film.

Viking from Stéphane Lafleur received Special Mention for Best Canadian Feature Film. You might recall that Scarborough received Special Mention for Best Canadian Feature Film in 2021.

To Kill a Tiger is the first Canadian film in name only to win this award since When Jews Were Funny from Alan Zweig in 2013. We also cite Cairo Time from Ruba Nadda in 2009, a film we are reviewing for tomorrow.

The story is about India. The subject matter is significant and relevant, just not in this category.

We sat through The World Before Her from Nisha Pahuja in 2012. That was one of the most boring documentaries your humble narrator has ever watched. Hopefully, To Kill a Tiger is more interesting.

We thought the 2022 version of TIFF was a return to normal but this does not apply to the Best Canadian First Feature Film, which has not been awarded since 2019. TIFF has not said whether the award is closed or will be open at a later date.

The festival is acknowledging Canadian films with other awards, such as the Platform Prize to Riceboy Sleeps from Anthony Shim.

Something You Said Last Night from Luis De Filippis won the Shawn Mendes Foundation Changemaker Award, given to a film that centres youth and social change.

Black Ice from Hubert Davis won the TIFF 2022 People's Choice Documentary Award. 752 Is Not a Number from Babak Payami took 2nd runner-up.

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On from Madison Thomas won Special Mention for Best Feature from an Emerging BIPOC Filmmaker.

Women Talking from Sarah Polley, which somehow is not a Canadian film, did win 1st runner-up in the TIFF 2022 People's Choice Award behind some guy named Steven Spielberg.

Announcing the winner of the #TIFF22 Platform Prize: RICEBOY SLEEPS dir. Anthony Shim. pic.twitter.com/nzxoJlf2c0
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 18, 2022

We're not suggesting the Best Canadian Feature Film award be a populist acknowledgment, such as the win for Antigone in 2019, where that film ended up as the Canadian entry for the Academy Awards. Inconvenient Indian was the logical pick in 2020 and ran into issues not of TIFF's doing. Ste. Anne from Rhayne Vermette, the 2021 winner, hasn't played in a theatre outside of a film festival. The award should go to Canadian films that encourage love for Canadian film.

No one who sees To Kill A Tiger will know the film is Canadian unless they stay for the credits. Women Talking is more Canadian in content and that isn't a Canadian film.

There were plenty of great Canadian films in this year's festival that deserved more recognition. Consider bringing back the Best Canadian First Feature Film to encourage first-time directors.

The Canadian Screen Awards offers up the John Dunning Best First Feature Award. Hard to imagine TIFF wants to be upstaged by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Announcing the winner of the #TIFF22 People’s Choice Documentary Award: BLACK ICE dir. Hubert Davis pic.twitter.com/T6i8VmYmt4
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 18, 2022

2022 TIFF preview

2022 TIFF Canadian film preview

We are critical that CBC Radio shows don't do enough on Canadian film. TIFF is an exception. Here are some recent shows that look into Canadian film at 2022 TIFF. Excerpts are from Q with Tom Power unless otherwise noted.

Emily Hampshire discussed her new Canadian film The End of Sex.

Chandler Levack on her debut feature film I Like Movies.

Canadian director Patricia Rozema on chairing the 2022 TIFF Platform jury.

Actor Lamar Johnson on centreing and celebrating Scarborough in the new film Brother (with Talia Schlanger).

Matt Galloway sat down with Nisha Pahuja to talk about To Kill a Tiger on The Current.

TIFF Rising Stars

We profiled the 2022 class of TIFF Rising Stars. Here is the list from all the years.

2011 Sarah Allen, Katie Boland, Sarah Gadon, Keon Mohajeri

2012 Tatiana Maslany, Connor Jessup, Charlotte Sullivan, Charlie Carrick

2013 Megan Park, Johnathan Sousa, Evelyne Brochu, Cara Gee

2014 Shannon Kook, Sophie Desmarais, Alexandre Landry, Julia Sarah Stone

2015 Deragh Campbell, Stephan James, Aliocha Schneider, Karelle Tremblay

2016 Jared Abrahamson, Grace Glowicki, Mylène Mackay, Sophie Nélisse

2017 Daniel Doheny, Mary Galloway, Théodore Pellerin, Ellen Wong

2018 Devery Jacobs, Lamar Johnson, Michaela Kurimsky, Jess Salgueiro

2019 Kacey Rohl, Mikhail Ahooja, Nahéma Ricci, Shamier Anderson

2020 Madeleine Sims-Fewer

2021 Arooj Azeem, Emma Ferreira, Phillip Lewitski, Thomas Antony Olajide

2022 Natalia Aranguren, Isaiah Lehtinen, Carmen Madonia, Joshua Odjick

Best Canadian Feature Film

Best Canadian Feature Film
Year	Film	Director
2022	To Kill A Tiger	Nisha Pahuja
2021	Ste. Anne	Rhayne Vermette
2020	Inconvenient Indian	Michelle Latimer
2019	Antigone	Sophie Deraspe
2018	The Fireflies Are Gone	Sebastien Pilote
2017	Les Affamés	Robin Aubert
2016	Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves	Mathieu Denis, Simon Lavoie
2015	Closet Monster	Stephen Dunn
2014	Felix and Meira	Maxime Giroux
2013	When Jews Were Funny	Alan Zweig
2012	Laurence Anyways	Xavier Dolan
2011	Monsieur Lazhar	Philippe Falardeau
2010	Incendies	Denis Villeneuve
2009	Cairo Time	Ruba Nadda
2008	Lost Song	Rodrigue Jean
2007	My Winnipeg	Guy Maddin
2006	Manufactured Landscapes	Jennifer Baichwal
2005	C.R.A.Z.Y.	Jean-Marc Vallée
2004	It's All Gone Pete Tong	Michael Dowse
2003	Les Invasions Barbares	Denys Arcand
2002	Spider	David Cronenberg
2001	Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)	Zacharias Kunuk
2000	Waydowntown	Gary Burns
1999	The Five Senses	Jeremy Podeswa
1998	Nô	Robert Lepage
1997	The Sweet Hereafter	Atom Egoyan
	The Hanging Garden	Thom Fitzgerald
1996	Long's Day Journey Into The Night	David Wellington
1995	Live Bait	Bruce Sweeney
1994	Exotica	Atom Egoyan
1993	Kanehsatake: 270 Years Of Resistance	Alanis Obomsawin
1992	Requiem Pour Un Beau Sans-Coeur	Robert Morin
1991	The Adjuster	Atom Egoyan
1990	H	Darrell Wasyk
1989	Roadkill	Bruce McDonald
1988	The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick	Allan Goldstein
1987	Family Viewing	Atom Egoyan
1986	Le Déclin De L'empire Américain	Denys Arcand
1985	Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga Of Hal C. Banks	Donald Brittain
1984	La Femme De L'hôtel	Léa Pool
Best Canadian Feature Film (1991-present); Excellence in Canadian Production (1984-1990).

Best Canadian First Feature Film

Best Canadian First Feature Film
Year	Film	Director
2019	The Twentieth Century	Matthew Rankin
2018	Roads in February	Katherine Jerkovic
2017	Luk' Luk'l	Wayne Wapeemukwa
2016	Old Stone	Johnny Ma
2015	Sleeping Giant	Andrew Cividino
2014	Bang Bang Baby	Jeffrey St. Jules
2013	Asphalt Watches	Shayne Ehman, Seth Scriver
2012	Antiviral	Brandon Cronenberg
	Blackbird	Jason Buxton
2011	Edwin Boyd	Nathan Morlando
2010	The High Cost of Living	Deborah Chow
2009	The Wild Hunt	Alexandre Franchi
2008	Before Tomorrow	Marie-Hélène Cousineau
		Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
2007	Un Film Sans Fusil Continental	Stéphane Lafleur
2006	Sur La Trace D'igor Rizzi	Nöel Mitrani
2005	The Life And Hard Times Of Guy Terrifico	Louise Archambault, Michael Mabbott
2004	La Peau Blanche	Daniel Roby
2003	Love, Sex and Eating The Bones	Sudz Sutherland
2002	Marion Bridge	Wiebke Von Carolsfeld
2001	Inertia	Sean Garrity
2000	La Moitié Gauche Du Frigo	Philippe Falardeau
1999	Just Watch Me:	Catherine Annau
	Trudeau and The 70's Generation
1998	Last Night	Don McKellar
1997	Cube	Vincenzo Natali
As determined by the Toronto International Film Festival.

Twitter captures: @TIFF_NET (x3)
photo credit: Riceboy Sleeps
video credit: Toronto International Film Festival

Canadian Crossing

Bienvenue and welcome to the Canadian Crossing. I am a U.S. citizen and a fan of things Canadian.
I am also a working journalist who wants Americans to better understand Canada. So here is my take on things Canadian.

September 19, 2022

2022 TIFF wrapup

2022 TIFF preview

2022 TIFF Canadian film preview

Canadian film review: Black Bodies

Eternal Spring gets the nod from Canada for Best International Feature Film

2022 TIFF Rising Stars

Canadian film review: Inconvenient Indian