The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival felt like a return to the new normal after the pandemic and uncertainty in the film world, especially in Canada.
For the first time since 2020, we don't have to hang our head in shame over the Best Canadian Feature Film Award winner. The Academy Awards nominated film for Canada won a major prize. The People's Choice Award for documentaries went to a Canadian film that drew the attention of the prime minister. The deputy prime minister weighed in on another Canadian film at TIFF24.
We even had a controversy that seemed rather surprising. We know one TIFF filmgoer who is extra tired today.
Announcing the winner of the #TIFF24 Best Canadian Feature Film Award, presented by @canadagoose: SHEPHERDS dir. Sophie Deraspe pic.twitter.com/4VLM766FFa
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 15, 2024
Sophie Deraspe has won this award twice: Shepherds | Bergers (2024) and with Antigone (2019). The new film is about a Montréal copywriter starting a new chapter as a sheep herder in the French Alps.
We had been steadily concerned over the last 3 years about the status of this TIFF award. We obviously haven't seen the film but can promote this award winner with head held high. The irony is that the last one with pride was Inconvenient Indian (2020) before any controversy.
The Best Canadian Feature Film award has been won by a lot of great Canadian directors. Atom Egoyan has had 4 wins in this category: The Sweet Hereafter (1997); Exotica (1994); The Adjuster (1991); and Family Viewing (1987). Denys Arcand has also won this award twice: Les Invasions Barbares (2003) and Le Déclin De L'empire Américain (1986).
Here are some luminary Canadian film directors with only a single award winning film in this category: Alanis Obomsawin, Bruce McDonald, Xavier Dolan, Philippe Falardeau, Denis Villeneuve, Guy Maddin, Jean-Marc Vallée, Léa Pool, Michael Dowse, David Cronenberg, Gary Burns, Jeremy Podeswa, Robert Lepage, and Thom Fitzgerald.
Announcing the winner of the #TIFF24 Best Canadian Discovery Award: UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE dir. Matthew Rankin pic.twitter.com/fV6nViDaXk
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 15, 2024
Before the exile of this award, this was set up so no filmmaker could win this twice. Matthew Rankin has benefited from the new rules: Universal Language | Une Langue Universelle (2024) and The Twentieth Century, TIFF's last winner for Best Canadian First Feature Film in 2019.
While we haven't see the contenders, we feel really good about this win for Rankin.
You Are Not Alone | Vous n'êtes pas seuls (Marie-Hélène Viens, Philippe Lupien) won honourable mention for this award. Part of why this category is so important to have back at TIFF.
Philippe Falardeau has an unusual distinction of being the only director to win both awards: Monsieur Lazhar (2011) and his debut with La Moitié Gauche Du Frigo | The Left-Handed Side of the Fridge (2000). Xavier Dolan has a film in the Best Canadian Feature Film category yet his debut film I Killed My Mother | J'ai tué ma mère didn't play at TIFF.
Universal Language is Canada's entry into the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
Announcing the winner of the #TIFFPeoplesChoiceAward for Documentary, presented by @Rogers: THE TRAGICALLY HIP: NO DRESS REHEARSAL dir. Mike Downie (@MikeCDownie) #TIFF24 pic.twitter.com/uBqLDU1f2k
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 15, 2024
The overall award went to The Life of Chuck (Mike Flanagan) but accolades and kudos to The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal (Mike Downie) for winning this award in the documentary division. More patience is usually required in watching a documentary as Mike Downie, brother of Gord Downie assembled the members of The Tragically Hip "for an emotional look at the origin, impact, and legacy of the band."
Your Tomorrow (Ali Weinstein) was the second runner-up. The documentary is about the final year of Ontario Place. We assume the Wag the Doug podcast from Canadaland has talked about this issue.
2024 TIFF leftovers
Somali-Canadian recording artist K’Naan Warsame won the FIPRESCI International Film Award for Mother Mother. The film is a co-production. Last year's winner was a Canadian film: Seagrass. That film is available on demand.
Canadian public money should not be used to support the production or screening of media that attempts to whitewash Russia’s war crimes.
— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) September 10, 2024
Ukrainians are fighting for their sovereignty and for democracy—there can be no moral equivalency in this conflict.
The deputy prime minister is of Ukrainian heritage and has more than a political interest in what happens in Ukraine. On the surface, we empathize with the stand of the deputy prime minister.
However, what isn't clear is how Russians at War fits into that story. TVO withdrew its support of the documentary and festival officials were concerned enough to postpone the screenings.
We should note that TIFF Lightbox is showing the film on Tuesday, outside of the festival. The Windsor International Film Festival selected the film as one of its 10 nominees for the 2024 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film. Then I can give my full thoughts on the film.
Trailers are not a true reflection of a film. The Russians at War trailer painted a general anti-war picture. What I saw was the frustration of being told this war is important and not seeing the value of what you are doing.
You can see the trailer for yourself and make your own judgment.
This writer makes an argument to see the film.
While we empathize with Ukraine and the deputy prime minister, we are very much anti-censorship. We seem to love violence but not show the true costs of war. I couldn't sit through All Quiet on the Western Front (the newest one) for a lot of reasons, violence more than war.
Your humble narrator has sat through films that were clearly propaganda. We do understand the power of propaganda for those who don't know what they are watching is propaganda. When people say they've never seen propaganda, I remind them that Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck had their propaganda take.
The film is a Canada-France co-production from Russian-Canadian documentary director, producer and cinematographer Anastasia Trofimova.
While we are not associating this film with the outside world, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly (former Heritage Minister) responded to growing concerns of Russian interference in Canadian politics.
TVO has refused to run the documentary, which will limit its potential for Canadians to find out for themselves. We will follow the saga of this film in the coming months.
2024 TIFF Canadian film preview
Eric Tisch has been a programming manager with Reel Canada since August 2018. Tisch is my new hero.
Tisch saw every Canadian film at TIFF23 and the plan was to repeat the task at TIFF24 as well as set a Guinness World Record for most films seen at a film festival.
As we noted earlier, the goal was 80 films. Tisch caught 63 films, including every Canadian film, at TIFF 2023.
This felt personal to me given that I go to a film festival to see a bunch of different films. I've been doing 55-60 films over 11 days in the past couple of years. I'm not as young as Tisch.
This video of what he keeps in his backpack gave me goosebumps. My backpack is larger but also harder to find everything, sometimes in the dark. I could literally relate to Tisch in that video.
The unofficial count is 78 films. There is documentation involved for Guinness World Records. We know the woman who set the Windsor record at 77 (unofficial, no world record at stake) and were impressed by that feat.
Our advice to Eric Tisch: closing your eyes versus deep sleep. Get real sleep to replenish your body. Deep sleep cures a lot. Don't worry about food but consider a sit down meal, vegetables included. Accept that you will be tired for awhile. Good luck!! Thanks for your diligence for Canadian film.
2024 TIFF preview
The Windsor International Film Festival announced its 2024 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film nominees.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (Michael Mabbott & Lucah Rosenberg-Lee)
Hunting Daze (Annick Blanc)
Lucy Grizzli Sophie (Anne Émond)
On Earth As in Heaven (Nathalie Saint-Pierre)
Paying for It (Sook-Yin Lee)*
Really Happy Someday (J Stevens)*
Russians at War (Anastasia Trofimova)*
Sharp Corner (Jason Buxton)*
Universal Language (Matthew Rankin)*
Who Do I Belong To (Meryam Joobeur)
The surprise of sorts is that only 5 of the 10 Canadian films played at TIFF24 (marked with an asterisk).
Shepherds | Bergers has been announced as the opening night film. WIFF doesn't usually have a Canadian film as the opening night film. The festival setlist also includes The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal.
The WIFF Prize in Canadian Film has gone to Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Ariane Louis-Seize) in 2023, Riceboy Sleeps (Anthony Shim) in 2022, and Kuessipan (Myriam Verreault) in 2021.
We will have more on this as we prep that festival, which begins on October 24.
2023 WIFF Canadian films in review
TIFF Rising Stars
We should remember these up and coming Canadian acting stars because TIFF put a pin in Rising Stars for 2024. We profiled the 2023 class of TIFF Rising Stars, which might be the last one for awhile, given TIFF's track record. 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
2023 Amrit Kaur, Cody Lightning, Kudakwashe Rutendo, Mark Clennon
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
Went on an Atom Egoyan run earlier this year. Saw The Adjuster (finally) and rewatched Exotica. Both are brilliant films.
We also caught up and finally watched the 2022 winner.
If I had to pick 4 films to add from this list, I would go for Nô (Robert Lepage), Live Bait (Bruce Sweeney), Family Viewing (Atom Egoyan), and La Femme De L'hôtel (Léa Pool). If only Canada had an equivalent of Turner Classic Movies.
I have seen way more Canadian films on this list than the "first film" one. The only films I haven't seen in the last 20 years were the Canadian films from 2008, 2016, 2021, and, of course, 2024. We wrote about our frustrations with finding Ste. Anne.
Best Canadian Feature Film
| Year | Film | Director | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Shepherds | Sophie Deraspe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Solo | Sophie Dupuis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I saw Edwin Boyd and The High Cost of Living within the last year. The latter film had its issue yet was entertaining. Still want to see Love, Sex and Eating The Bones. Marion Bridge and Last Night are 2 of my favourite Canadian films of all time.
Best Canadian Discovery
| Year | Film | Director | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Universal Language | Matthew Rankin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Canadian Discovery (2024-present); Best Canadian First Feature Film (1997-2019). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Twitter captures: @TIFF_NET (x3); @cafreeland
photo credits: Shepherds | Bergers; Instagram CanFilmDay
video credits: WIFF; TIFF Trailers
Comments