Celebrating the very best of Canadian cinema 🇨🇦
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) January 8, 2025
Announcing TIFF’s annual Canada’s Top Ten list of features and shorts for 2024, presented by @mubicanada. https://t.co/jP5NP89pn8 #SeeTheNorth #TIFF50 pic.twitter.com/E2NhkgPUDU
The wait for the TIFF Top 10 list of Canadian films in 2024 took us to 2025. There are, dare I say, pleasant surprises in this year's list. 2 films your humble narrator saw at WIFF 24 that I would have put in my Top 10 but wouldn't expect TIFF to do the same.
We have the major TIFF film award winners on the list. This includes the Canadian submission to the Academy Awards, which made the shortlist.
Let's get acquainted with the list of Canadian films. Here is the 2024 Top Ten list with the directors:
40 Acres (R.T. Thorne)
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, Michael Mabbott)
Can I Get A Witness? (Ann Marie Fleming)
Matt and Mara (Kazik Radwanski)
Paying For It (Sook-Yin Lee)
Rumours (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson)
Seeds (Kaniehtiio Horn)
Shepherds (Sophie Deraspe)
The Shrouds (David Cronenberg)
Universal Language (Matthew Rankin)
Universal Language and Shepherds are those TIFF film winners with the former being an Oscars contender. The Shrouds and Rumours are from legendary Canadian filmmakers.
My 2 surprises are Can I Get A Witness? and Seeds (Kaniehtiio Horn) with 40 Acres being less of a surprise. I had high expectations for all 3 films and they delivered more than I hoped.
Matt and Mara and Paying For It are solid choices on the list.
There are 3 Canadian films on the list that we haven't seen. We missed a chance to see Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story at WIFF 24 and have plans to see the major films Rumours and The Shrouds.
We only have 2 films not in English: Shepherds (Sophie Deraspe) in French and Universal Language (Matthew Rankin) in Farsi and French. There is some Cree in 40 Acres; French, Swedish, and German in Rumours; and Kanien’kéha in Seeds.
The only documentary is Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story. There is one Indigenous film with Seeds.
All of these films played at TIFF 24 except for Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story.
We have now seen all of the titles from the TIFF Top Ten of 2023. Crave was a godsend in supplying those films. The reviews of Hey, Viktor! and Kanaval are in the pipeline. There is no film on the 2024 list that we would consider as bad as Solo.
Universal Language is first Canadian film in 8 years to make the Oscars shortlist
TFCA presents the top 6 nominated Canadian films of 2024
TIFF postpones the announcement of the 2024 Top Ten Canadian films until 2025
The TFCA feature finalists are all on the TIFF Top 10 as well as Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story in the documentary category.
The brand new Charles Officer Legacy award will be given on February 5.
Canadian film review: Universal Language
Universal Language is Canada's entry into the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
Universal Language is the first Canadian Oscars entry for Best International Feature Film to make the list since Drunken Birds | Les oiseaux ivres (2021).
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2023
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2022
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2021
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2020
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2019
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2018
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2017
TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2016
Not counting this year's list, there are only 4 films from the TIFF Top 10 that we haven't seen dating, back to 2017.
2021 the almost impossible to find Ste. Anne (Rhayne Vermette); Canadian film in name only The White Fortress (Igor DrljaÄŤa)
2020 Canadian film in name only Fauna (Nicolás Pereda) and Judy Versus Capitalism (Mike Hoolboom)
For an American with limited funds, this is still rather impressive.
The particular elusiveness of Ste. Anne even among Canadian films
2024 WIFF Canadian films in review
2024 TIFF wrapup
TIFF has done these lists since 2001. The lists included feature and short films through 2006 when TIFF put in Top 10 lists for feature and short films (20 in all). We've seen these films from that first list in 2001: Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (Zacharias Kunuk); Ginger Snaps (John Fawcett); Last Wedding (Bruce Sweeney); Parsley Days (Andrea Dorfman); and Soft Shell Man | Un crabe dans la tête (André Turpin).
The Top 10 list has been a guide for Canadian films, some of which we see at Windsor and some to track over the course of the upcoming year. We try to see as many as we realistically can.
One way for those in Toronto to see the Canada’s Top Ten selections is to watch them February 5-9 at the TIFF Lightbox. We also have the list of Top 10 short films from TIFF for 2024.
The total story of Russians at War and the Ukrainian protesters
Who Do I Belong To wins 2024 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film
CanadianCrossing.com film reviews
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
The great thing about the list is that we have Canadian film options to find to watch over the holidays and into the winter. We also have a source for potential conversations about what films would belong on our list.
Twitter capture: @TIFF_NET
photo credit: 40 Acres
video credits: Can I Get a Witness; @TIFF_NET
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