Didn't think the week would go so quickly.

Great afternoon at the Match Club for our first Short Cuts Canada Round table. At a festival this size, there's a lot of industry, and talk about big deals, it's easy to forget about the emerging market for shorts. SCC filmmakers had a great opportunity to have meetings with distributors, buyers, funders, and any one else you can imagine who deals with short films. Great opportunity for our short filmmakers to network and realize (for those with first films) that making your short is just half the fun. The other half is getting people to see it! That's where the round table came it with industry folk from across the country and internationally.

 Not to mention, what a great chance for the industry to meet the incredible talent behind the 40 shorts at our festival, and put faces and names to the great films they've seen. 

 With all this excitement, it's hard to believe we have only one screening left. The repeat of programme 3 is on Friday night at 7pm at Jackman Hall. Word has spread far and wide about this fantastic line up (and people's last chance to feed their need for shorts on the big screen), so get in the rush line soon, as tickets are sold out!

 Speaking of audiences we were very pleased to host Robert Lepage at the premiere of programme 4. Mr. Lepage was the inspiration behind the concept for Danse Macabre, and it was very generous of him to join us for the entire screening.

 Keep watching for some festival highlight postings to come in the next few days.

So, it's day 5, you're crushed that you've missed a couple of Short Cuts programmes, and need something to tide you over until you can see our programmes in the evening.

 Well, we'll take care of you. TIFF is presenting a selection of 5 shorts from SCC online during the festival. Click here to link to the site where you can see THE ISLAND, TUNGIJUQ, THE TRANSLATOR, 5 DYSFUNCTIONAL PEOPLE IN A CAR, and POINTLESS FILM. 

 Forward to your friends, so they don't have to waste their work day on facebook. And if you like any of these, you'll love our programmes. We only have a few screenings left, so come check out

Programme 4 3pm TODAY - Jackman Hall (AGO)

Programme 5 7:15 pm TODAY - Isabel Bader Theatre

Programm 5 4pm (TOMORROW 16TH) - Jackman Hall (AGO)

Programme 3 7pm (FRIDAY 18th) - Jackman Hall (AGO)

Bad News. There are absolutely no tix. available programme 4 premiere tonight.

Good News. We have sold out Programme 4!!!! (and there are still some tix availabe for the repeat tomorrow afternoon).

 Just a bit of advice, get your tickets NOW for programme 5 premiere tomorrow night. If history has taught us anything SCC premieres SELL OUT. The screening starts at 7:15pm at the Isabel Bader.

 And if you need a preview of the programme, tune into CBC Metro Morning (99.1fm) at 7:50 am. Mio Adilman will be talking about his directorial debut with UNLOCKED. If you're a cyclist in this city, it's a film you can definitely relate to.

Programme 4 premieres tonight, and no knocks against our other programmes (cause we think they're awesome), but Norm Wilner of NOW found something something extra special about it.

"Programme 4 is the highlight, a lineup of meditations on death and regret from strong, confident filmmakers. Nicolas Pereda’s grim fictionalized documentary Interview With The Earth; Pedro Pires’s striking dance piece Danse Macabre; Anne Emond’s muted two-hander Naissances; Nikos Theodosakis and Linda Theodosakis’s West Coast drama Smoke; Jamie Travis’s suburban mystery The Armoire; Ed Gass-Donnelly’s silent Sixty Seconds Of Regret; Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s experimental M: every one’s a winner."

Guy Dixon of the Globe and Mail highlighted the shorts programme in today's issue. Saying this about programme 4 "Possibly the most intriguing short is Nicolas Pereda's Interview With The Earth , featuring two young brothers in a Mexican town coming to terms with the loss of their father."

And it's day 4 of the festival, you've been patient enough, the wait is over for Jamie Travis' The Armoire. Check out this great article from Xtra, talking to Jamie about his past work, and how The Armoire came about.

But as always, don't take the critics word on this, come out to programme 4 and judge for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

Canada thrives on having a reputation of being a multifaceted country of many heritages that co-exist. What stood out for me in Short Cuts Canada Programmes 2 is the investigation of how immigrants express their individuality upon settling in a foreign land, and the struggles that befall those who don't feel a sense of belonging in their immediate communities.

 75 El Camino is coyly set in Sarnia's Chemical Valley, where director Sami Khan grew-up.  The fate of couple Travis and Marianne becomes split into two possible paths when they lose everything they have except for a shiny Chevy El Comino. Homeless, they are faced with holding on to this car as a token of their more prosperous past, or the chance to abandon the life they once had to break-free and travel on un-chartered adventures. The idea of a settled home is literally snatched as a present reality from the isolated couple, resulting in them being left to face some difficult challenges.

Snow Hides the Shade of Fig Trees (La Neige Cache l'ombre des Figuiers) is a touching story of 6 immigrant men that work together and deliver flyers. Though very different in appearance from one another, the common thread that binds these men together in a brotherhood is the nostalgia for their homelands. Touching and sad, the story pushes the reality of struggle and depression that many immigrants feel once displaced from their hereditary cultures.

Director Ryan Mullins, on the other hand, highlights remoteness from modern living and knowledge in his thoughtful documentary. Volta pieces together a larger understanding of the separation felt in many remote areas of less developed nations from the larger well-developed world. Rural Ghana is the setting of this passionate examination of the continual battle to balance the old world traditions within the new world order. Hope comes in the forum of using Ghana's abandoned theatres being used as a gathering spot to communicate ideas and information that would otherwise be inaccessible.

I have often pondered and written about my own diaspora as an East Indian-African-British-Canadian and these shorts all manage to show that this is a struggle that is universally faced by immigrants. Together these works are a powerful appeal for human empathy and recognition of the challenges that face the preservation of cultural diversites world-wide, not only in Canada.

The time is 9:16pm. The location is the Isabel Bader Theatre on Charles St., one of the many theatres that will be hosting TIFF 2009 films. Tonight is a very special night-the launch of Short Cuts Canada Programming with instalment 1. There is no doubt that the line-up is out in full force tonight, and those who have had a helping of this healthy dose of Canadiana before will know that this series brings together an array of eclectic national talent.

The crowd seems to generally between 25-35 and there is no shortage of colourful chatter amongst the excited people. A woman in-line declares that she hopes to catch all of the Canada Short Cuts Programming as she finds it a great opportunity to see works of multiple artists under the cover of one ticket price. Once seated in the theatre it is clear that the support for Canadian shorts lives large in the hearts of a close to sell-out venue that anxiously wait to see what's in store.

Now it's time for the show.... An exhale releases from me when the lights turn back on and I smile with satisfaction:

A conscious mind can take a journey of real vs. surreal, humans often battle with the stillness of welcoming life vs. the movement of being faced with death and this is a metaphor and reality on screen tonight. Caitriona Cantillon's Swimming Lesson transports to a place of domestic familial awkwardness but still manages to touch the heartstring of feeling realistic and relative to family life.  The stillness of the water somehow manages to make the moments of this short flow with intensity of wanting to know more about how the relationships have become so confrontational between 2 daughters and a mother, that though overbearing, feels painfully estranged from her children.

The Spine is a melancholic and beautiful walk through the journey of a long-term relationship of a couple that seems to love madly and love each other madly. That is, madly both in a hopelessly tragic and romantic way. The main side-effect through all the years of marriage is a loss of communication and respect of what brought them to each other in the beginning. Dan and Mary are two multi-faceted characters and Academy Award winner Chric Landreth's quirkiness is strong and bold.

Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq staring in Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael's Tungiijuq proves to be an intelligent collaboration of unique minds. My exposure earlier in the summer to Tagaq singing at Harbourfront Centre and now on-screen, wins me over as a fan of her intensity and rawness. Scenes of graphic carnivore behaviour ignite reaction and the briskness is perfect as a setting. The connection of Inuit culture and nature is never lost as the guiding spirit of life and death. Being transfixed to Tagaq's anthropomorphism is simply stunning. 

An education is given about what a baby is exposed to through dangerous hazards in everyday life, from eating to the ingestion of led in toys and paint finishes.  My Toxic Baby is a lively journal of Min Sook Lee's commitment to her daughter, Song Ji, and the devotion of mother to child is warming and motivating to promote activism and awareness. Helping is the fact that all the babies in the film seem to be ridiculously cute!

La Chute falls into the distress of elementary school teacher Marie's life in a moment that provokes her to make a choice to confront a parent of one of her students about child abuse. Whether what motivates her is an act of obsession as a persecutor or the mindfulness of a caregiver is in question.

Short Cuts Programme 2 continues today at 4pm at Isabel Bader Theatre.

It's hard to keep up with the great press that SCC has been receiving, and it's nice to know others are feeling what we've thought all along.

 Short Cuts Canada is the most dynamic and exiting programme that TIFF offers. But talk to any TIFF programmer, and they'll tell you the same about their respective programmes. What can we say, we're a proud bunch, who gets really excited about sharing great work with fantastic audiences.

 We were able to witness one of those fantastic audiences last night at Isabel Bader Theatre for a packed screening of Programme 1. It was a great launch to our programming and set the perfect tone for the week. For those who missed it, get tickets NOW for the 1pm repeat at Jackman Hall. 

 It will be the only tickets for a short programme you'll get today, unless you already have them in hand for Programme 2, cause the Bader will burst again this afternoon with Shorts enthusiasts ready to witness the sold out world premiere of 7 amazing new films including Guy Maddin's newest.

 Now for the reason of this post, to give you access to many of the great stories and interviews our films have been receiving.  

 It would be wrong not to start with Bruce Kirkland's glowing review of the SCC programme.

 "Short Cuts Canada may be the most dynamic, wildly eccentric and visually varied program in the Toronto International Film Festival.

No other single program can boast the breadth of styles, genres and subject matters, from the mainstream to the extreme."

I concur.

And I would add nowhere is this more evident than in programme 2. Guy Maddin has been a favourite for a number of years at TIFF, and the Night Mayor will only add to his lore. Bruce Kirkland talked with Maddin about his inspiration for the film. There's also the Winnipeg Free Press article about the hometown hero, with a glimpse of Maddin's upcoming (COLOUR!!) film. And if you just can't get enough, here's a full length interview transcript the NFB did with Maddin about the project. 

 There will no noubt be some Maddin fans at the screening today, but they'll be a joined by a wide range of cineastes who have caught onto a new wave of filmmakers in the programme, including Sami Khan, Sonya Di Rienzo, Samer Najari, Ryan Mullins, and Kazik Radanski. Radwanski has been quickly gaining a critical following, and if you've seen Princess Margaret Blvd., you'll know why.

Radwanski and his producing partner Dan Montgomery have refined their style and brought another great film to TIFF in Out in that Deep Blue Sea. Adam Nayman sums up the film in his interview with the director. 'Like its predecessor, Out in That Deep Blue Sea adopts a laser-like focus on a single character — a struggling real estate salesman (a superb Peter Bavis) in the throes of personal and professional paralysis. 

Radwanski creates an authenticity that shows he has his finger on the pulse of our times, and can make anyone seem like a seasoned actor with only a few minutes on screen. Inside Toronto profiled the Riverdale resident, and talked to him about his casting choices.

I'd be remiss not to mention the return of Richard Kerr and his film De Mouvement, an experimental collage film that has caught the eye of Norm Wilner of NOW , and Bruce Kirkland of the Toronto Sun, who highlights it as some of the best abstract work at the festival. 

There's no doubt, programme 2 will be a festival highlight today, so count yourself among the lucky if you managed to get your ticket and find yourself sitting in the Isabel Bader theatre come 4pm today.

As part of our illustrious guests attending the premiere of Programme 1 tonight, we're very pleased to announce that Tanya Tagaq will be attending the screening.

If you are not familiar with her work, you're missing out. If you are a fan, this is a great chance to see a great on screen performance in Tungijuq and see her in person.

Wow, just when we thought this screening was as fantastic as it could be, nice surprises like this occur. Only at TIFF.

Todd Brown of Twitch film lines out his top picks of the fest. He limits it to 10 (but considering we have 40, that's a pretty favourable percentage of recommends).

He highlights some great animation, including M, Runaway, and The Spine which happens to be in programme 1 tonight (in a packed programme with more incredible animation in Tungijuq).

There are still some tickets available for the Isabel Bader 9:30 screenings (but don't wait, they won't last long).

 Check back later today, for some great highlights from programme 2 premiering tomorrow (including the world premiere of Guy Maddin's newest, and a new short from Kazik Radwanski)

The bard said it best 'Brevity is the soul of wit'.

And Adam Nayman expresses this so well with summations of his top picks from the Short Cuts Canada program.

Rarely does one read reviews of short films that exhibit film criticism of a competency usually reserved for journals.

If you haven't already made your picks, this is a sure place to start. If nothing else it's just a great read.

Sure, we're all excited about the opening night gala of Creation at Roy Thomson Hall on Thursday night, but the truth is, the first film screening at TIFF this year has three very important and little know facts.

 1. It is Canadian

2. It's FREE!

3. It's a short!

 As part of the Yonge Dundas Square activities, the first of the free noon hour films is 'Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man'. And to celebrate this film and the NFB's 70th anniversary, we're preceding the feature with a great short film by the NFB called POEN, released 1967 by director Josef Reeve. If you've never had a chance to see this great short featuring Cohen's poetry from 'Beautiful Losers'. there's no better opporunity than this Thursday (september 10) at noon in the sunshine at Dundas Square.

I can't think of a better way to kick off TIFF.

The venerable Jason Anderson, weighs in with his top picks for Short Cuts Canada.

"Again, the bounty and quality of work points to the vitality of Canada's film scene, especially when it comes to shorts."

Jason Anderson
Special to the Star

Whether they have several hours or only a few minutes to work their mojo, filmmakers need to make the most of every moment.

That notion is amply demonstrated by the best selections in Short Cuts Canada, TIFF's annual showcase of homegrown short films. Their lengths range from the size of a half-feature (such as My Toxic Baby, a 46-minute documentary by Toronto's Min Sook Lee about her efforts to protect her newborn from everyday toxins) to the extremely brief (e.g. Ed Gass-Donnelly's self-explanatory Sixty Seconds of Regret).

Again, the bounty and quality of work points to the vitality of Canada's film scene, especially when it comes to shorts. Making features in this country might remain a daunting challenge, but established and emergent filmmakers have a vibrant and often adventurous-minded support system for shorts, thanks to BravoFACT, the National Film Board and provincial agencies such as Quebec's SODEC.

The sheer diversity is also impressive, what with so many filmmakers eager to break convention.

Filmmakers from Quebec make a particularly strong showing this year with dramatic shorts that boast characters and situations more sharply defined than the kinds you find in most features. Anne Émond's Naissances is a striking vignette about a nighttime encounter between a single dad and a teenaged hitchhiker.

In Ivan Grbovic's stern La Chute, a similarly fraught relationship develops between a teacher and a student she suspects is being abused. In Samer Najari's melancholy and mildly fantastical Snow Hides the Shade of Fig Trees, a group of immigrant men share a day's work in wintry Montreal.

As for dramatic shorts by Toronto filmmakers, the strongest is by the same team that made Princess Margaret Blvd., an entry on the Canada's Top Ten shorts list for last year. Director Kazik Radwanski and producer Daniel Montgomery return with Out in That Deep Blue Sea, an unsettling portrait of a middle-aged man failing to cope with challenges in his family life and career.

Equally haunting is The Armoire, the latest by Jamie Travis, the creator of several shorts that show a distinct visual flair. Here, an adolescent boy copes with the disappearance of his friend by sleeping in the titular piece of furniture, which turns out to be his way of hiding from the truth.

But it's not all grim news at Short Cuts Canada. Among the more comedic shorts are Dylan Reibling's Record, a true-life vignette about an unlikely musical moment one afternoon in Kensington Market, and Spencer Maybee's Man v. Minivan, in which a young man's wedding-day nerves lead to much calamity and several blows to the head. The great David Fox delivers a delightful turn as Saint Peter in A Hindu's Indictment of Heaven, a wry slice-of-afterlife by Toronto's Dev Khanna.

Many of the animated shorts are just as remarkable. Runaway is a rollicking new effort by Cordell Barker, a filmmaker best known for his NFB fave The Cat Came Back. Scored to a traditional Newfoundland ballad, Bruce Alcock's Vive la Rose mixes new and old animation styles to wondrous effect.

If you'd rather see a demonstration of CGI's real artistic potential when it isn't used to depict battles between giant robots, Oscar winner Chris Landreth's The Spine is as visually mesmerizing as it is emotionally heart-wrenching.

Then there are the selections that really don't belong in any category. Most startling of all is Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël's Tungijuq, which draws gorgeous and grisly images from Inuit mythology and combines them with performances by throat singer Tanya Tagaq and Atanarjuat director Zacharias Kunuk.

Paramita Nath's Found creates something similarly magical and poetic by drawing from the history of a Laotian-Canadian family, as recorded in a discarded scrapbook.

A collaboration between filmmaker Pedro Pires and the ever-industrious Robert Lepage, Danse Macabre lives up to its name by charting the postmortem experience of a particularly lively corpse.

If you need a bit of a backgrounder before seeing My Toxic Baby premiere on Friday Night, check out this interview Adriana Barton did with director Min Sook Lee.

 You can also read Rita Zekas article in the Star.