Canada's Top Ten

Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival and announced in December each year to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films.^[1] The list was first introduced in 2001 as an initiative to help publicize Canadian films.^[1]

The list is determined by tabulating votes from film festival programmers and film critics across Canada.^[2] Films must have premiered, either in general theatrical release or on the film festival circuit, within the calendar year; although TIFF organizes the vote, films do not have to have been screened specifically at TIFF to be eligible.

Originally, only a single list of 10 films was released. Although both short and feature films were eligible, the list was dominated primarily by feature films. Accordingly, in 2007 TIFF expanded the program, instituting separate Top Ten lists for feature films and short films.^[3] However, both lists remain inclusive of both narrative fiction and documentary films.

Each year's list was formerly screened as a Canada's Top Ten minifestival, held in January of the following year.^[4] Prior to 2010, the films were screened at the Art Gallery of Ontario's Jackman Theatre as part of TIFF's Cinematheque Ontario program;^[5] following the opening of the TIFF Bell Lightbox in 2010, the festival was staged at that venue thereafter. For the 2014 festival, TIFF introduced a People's Choice Award for the feature film program, modeled on the existing Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award and conducted in the same manner.^[6]

In 2018, TIFF discontinued the January festival, instead introducing a new model in which each film receives its own standalone theatrical run at the Lightbox in the following year.^[7]

Once per decade, TIFF also polls Canadian film critics and festival programmers to determine a list of the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time, separately from the annual Canada's Top Ten survey.

2000s[]

Year	Feature Films	Short Films
2001^[8]	Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner — Zacharias Kunuk Ginger Snaps — John Fawcett The Heart of the World — Guy Maddin Khaled — Asghar Massombagi Last Wedding — Bruce Sweeney Marriages (Mariages) — Catherine Martin Parsley Days — Andrea Dorfman Soft Shell Man (Un crabe dans la tête) — André Turpin The Woman Who Drinks (La femme qui boit) — Bernard Émond The Uncles — James Allodi	No short film lists were released from 2001 to 2006.
2002^[9]	Ararat — Atom Egoyan Chaos and Desire (La Turbulence des fluides) — Manon Briand Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary — Guy Maddin Flower and Garnet — Keith Behrman Gambling, Gods and LSD — Peter Mettler Marion Bridge — Wiebke von Carolsfeld The Negro (Le Nèg') — Robert Morin Ocean (Océan) — Catherine Martin Spider — David Cronenberg Tom — Mike Hoolboom
2003^[10]	8:17 p.m. Darling Street (20h17 rue Darling) - Bernard Émond The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasion barbares) — Denys Arcand The Corporation — Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott Dying at Grace — Allan King Falling Angels — Scott Smith Far Side of the Moon (La Face cachée de la lune) — Robert Lepage Love, Sex and Eating the Bones — Sudz Sutherland My Life Without Me — Isabel Coixet On the Corner — The Saddest Music in the World — Guy Maddin
2004^[11]	Childstar — Don McKellar The Five of Us (Elles étaient cinq) — Ghyslaine Côté I, Claudia — It's All Gone Pete Tong — Michael Dowse Ryan — Chris Landreth Saint Ralph — Michael McGowan Scared Sacred — Velcrow Ripper Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire — Peter Raymont What Remains of Us (Ce qu'il reste de nous) — , White Skin (La Peau blanche) — Daniel Roby
2005^[12]	C.R.A.Z.Y. — Jean-Marc Vallée Dodging the Clock (Horloge biologique) — Ricardo Trogi Familia — Louise Archambault A History of Violence — David Cronenberg The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico — Michael Mabbott Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company — Allan King The Novena (La Neuvaine) — Bernard Émond A Simple Curve — Aubrey Nealon Water — Deepa Mehta Where the Truth Lies — Atom Egoyan
2006^[13]	Away from Her — Sarah Polley Congorama — Philippe Falardeau The Journals of Knud Rasmussen — Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn Manufactured Landscapes — Jennifer Baichwal Monkey Warfare — Reginald Harkema On the Trail of Igor Rizzi (Sur la trace d'Igor Rizzi) — Noël Mitrani Radiant City — Gary Burns, Jim Brown Sharkwater — Rob Stewart A Sunday in Kigali (Un dimanche à Kigali) — Robert Favreau Trailer Park Boys: The Movie — Mike Clattenburg
2007^[3]	Amal — Richie Mehta Continental, a Film Without Guns (Continental, un film sans fusil) — Stéphane Lafleur Days of Darkness (L'Âge des ténèbres) — Denys Arcand Eastern Promises — David Cronenberg Fugitive Pieces — Jeremy Podeswa My Winnipeg — Guy Maddin A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman — Peter Raymont The Tracey Fragments — Bruce McDonald Up the Yangtze — Yung Chang Young People Fucking — Martin Gero	— Mathieu Denis The Colony — Jeff Barnaby Dust Bowl Ha! Ha! — Sébastien Pilote Farmer's Requiem — Ramses Madina I Have Seen the Future — Cam Christiansen I Met the Walrus — Madame Tutli-Putli — Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski Pool — Chris Chong Chan Fui (Les Grands) — Chloé Leriche —
2008^[5]	Adoration — Atom Egoyan Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain) — Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Ivalu Fifty Dead Men Walking — Kari Skogland Heaven on Earth — Deepa Mehta It's Not Me, I Swear! (C'est pas moi, je le jure) — Philippe Falardeau Lost Song — Rodrigue Jean Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's (Maman est chez le coiffeur) — Léa Pool The Memories of Angels (La Memoire des anges) — Luc Bourdon The Necessities of Life (Ce qu'il faut pour vivre) — Benoît Pilon Pontypool — Bruce McDonald	Beyond the Walls (La Battue) — Guy Édoin Block B — Chris Chong Chan Fui Drux Flux — Theodore Ushev — — Semi Chellas My Name Is Victor Gazon (Mon nom est Victor Gazon) — Patrick Gazé Next Floor — Denis Villeneuve — Passages — Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre Princess Margaret Blvd. — Kazik Radwanski
2009^[14]	Cairo Time — Ruba Nadda Carcasses — Denis Côté Crackie — Sherry White Defendor — Peter Stebbings I Killed My Mother (J'ai tué ma mère) — Xavier Dolan The Legacy (La Donation) — Bernard Émond Passenger Side — Matt Bissonnette Polytechnique — Denis Villeneuve The Trotsky — Jacob Tierney The Wild Hunt — Alexandre Franchi	The Armoire — Jamie Travis — Helen Haig-Brown Danse Macabre — Pedro Pires — Cam Christiansen Life Begins (La Vie commence) — Émile Proulx-Cloutier — Anne Émond Out in That Deep Blue Sea — Kazik Radwanski Runaway — Cordell Barker The Spine — Chris Landreth Vive la rose — Bruce Alcock

2010s[]

Films which won the People's Choice Award are bolded and marked with a †.

Year	Feature Films	Short Films
2010^[15]	Barney's Version — Richard J. Lewis Curling — Denis Côté Heartbeats (Les Amours imaginaires) — Xavier Dolan The High Cost of Living — Deborah Chow Incendies — Denis Villeneuve Last Train Home — Lixin Fan Modra — Ingrid Veninger Mourning for Anna (Trois temps après la mort d'Anna) — Catherine Martin Splice — Vincenzo Natali Trigger — Bruce McDonald	Above the Knee — I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors — Ann Marie Fleming The Legend of Beaver Dam — Lipsett Diaries — Theodore Ushev Little Flowers (Les Fleurs de l'âge) — Vincent Biron The Little White Cloud That Cried — Guy Maddin Marius Borodine — Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais Mokhtar — Halima Ouardiri On the Way to the Sea — Vapor — Kaveh Nabatian
2011^[16]	Café de Flore — Jean-Marc Vallée Citizen Gangster — Nathan Morlando A Dangerous Method — David Cronenberg Hobo With a Shotgun — Jason Eisener Keyhole — Guy Maddin Monsieur Lazhar — Philippe Falardeau The Salesman (Le Vendeur) — Sébastien Pilote Starbuck — Ken Scott Take This Waltz — Sarah Polley Wetlands (Marécages) — Guy Édoin	Choke — Michelle Latimer Doubles with Slight Pepper — Ian Harnarine The Fuse: Or How I Burned Simon Bolivar — Igor Drljaca Hope — Pedro Pires No Words Came Down — , Ora — — Ashley McKenzie — Sophie Goyette — , Francis Leclerc We Ate the Children Last — Andrew Cividino
2012^[17]	Cosmopolis — David Cronenberg The End of Time — Peter Mettler Goon — Michael Dowse Laurence Anyways — Xavier Dolan Midnight's Children — Deepa Mehta My Awkward Sexual Adventure — Sean Garrity War Witch (Rebelle) — Kim Nguyen Still Mine — Michael McGowan Stories We Tell — Sarah Polley The World Before Her — Nisha Pahuja	Bydlo — Patrick Bouchard Crackin' Down Hard — Mike Clattenburg Herd Leader (Chef de meute) — Chloé Robichaud — Diane Obomsawin Keep a Modest Head (Ne crâne pas sois modeste) — Deco Dawson — — Phillip Barker — Tess Girard — (Paparmane) —
2013^[18]	Asphalt Watches — Shayne Ehman, Seth Scriver Enemy — Denis Villeneuve The F Word — Michael Dowse Gabrielle — Louise Archambault Rhymes for Young Ghouls — Jeff Barnaby Sarah Prefers to Run (Sarah préfère la course) — Chloé Robichaud Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme) — Xavier Dolan Vic and Flo Saw a Bear (Vic et Flo ont vu un ours) — Denis Côté Watermark — Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky When Jews Were Funny — Alan Zweig	A Grand Canal — Johnny Ma The Chaperone 3D — , The End of Pinky — An Extraordinary Person (Quelqu'un d'extraordinaire) — Monia Chokri — Noah — Walter Woodman, Patrick Cederberg — Fantavious Fritz Subconscious Password — Chris Landreth Time Flies (Nous avions) — — Kevan Funk
2014^[19]	Corbo — Mathieu Denis Felix and Meira — Maxime Giroux In Her Place — Albert Shin Maps to the Stars — David Cronenberg Mommy — Xavier Dolan Monsoon — Sturla Gunnarsson † The Price We Pay — Harold Crooks Sol — Marie-Hélène Cousineau, Susan Avingaq Violent — Andrew Huculiak You're Sleeping Nicole (Tu dors Nicole) — Stéphane Lafleur	— Kevan Funk The Cut (La Coupe) — Geneviève Dulude-De Celles Cutaway — Kazik Radwanski Day 40 — Sol Friedman Kajutaijuq: The Spirit That Comes — Mynarski Death Plummet — Matthew Rankin Rebel (Bihttoš) — Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers Sleeping Giant — Andrew Cividino — The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer — Randall Okita
2015^[20]	Closet Monster — Stephen Dunn The Demons (Les Démons) — Philippe Lesage The Forbidden Room — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson Guantanamo's Child: Omar Khadr — , Michelle Shephard Hurt — Alan Zweig Into the Forest — Patricia Rozema My Internship in Canada (Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre) — Philippe Falardeau † Ninth Floor — Mina Shum Our Loved Ones (Les êtres chers) — Anne Émond Sleeping Giant — Andrew Cividino	Bacon and God's Wrath — Sol Friedman Balmoral Hotel — Wayne Wapeemukwa Bring Me the Head of Tim Horton — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson Interview with a Free Man (Entrevue avec un homme libre) — The Little Deputy — Trevor Anderson My Enemy, My Brother — Ann Shin Never Steady, Never Still — Kathleen Hepburn — O Negative — Overpass (Viaduc) — Patrice Laliberté
2016^[4]	Angry Inuk — Alethea Arnaquq-Baril † Hello Destroyer — Kevan Funk It's Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde) — Xavier Dolan Mean Dreams — Nathan Morlando Nelly — Anne Émond Old Stone — Johnny Ma Searchers (Maliglutit) — Zacharias Kunuk and Natar Ungalaaq Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves (Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) — Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie Werewolf — Ashley McKenzie Window Horses — Ann Marie Fleming	Blind Vaysha — Theodore Ushev — Martin Edralin — Heather Young Fluffy — Lee Filipovski Frame 394 — Rich Williamson A Funeral for Lightning — Emily Kai Bock Her Friend Adam — Mariner — Thyrone Tommy Mutants — Alexandre Dostie —
2017^[21]	Adventures in Public School — Kyle Rideout Allure — Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez Ava — Sadaf Foroughi The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes) — Simon Lavoie Luk'Luk'I — Wayne Wapeemukwa Never Steady, Never Still — Kathleen Hepburn Our People Will Be Healed — Alanis Obomsawin Ravenous (Les Affamés) — Robin Aubert Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World — , Catherine Bainbridge Unarmed Verses — Charles Officer †	The Argument (with annotations) — Daniel Cockburn — , The Crying Conch — Vincent Toi The Drop In — Naledi Jackson — Amanda Strong — Heather Young Pre-Drink — Marc-Antoine Lemire Rupture — The Tesla World Light — Matthew Rankin Threads — Torill Kove
2018^[22]	Anthropocene: The Human Epoch — Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky Edge of the Knife — Gwaai Edenshaw, Helen Haig-Brown Firecrackers — Jasmin Mozaffari The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles) — Sébastien Pilote Freaks — Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein Genesis (Genèse) — Philippe Lesage Giant Little Ones — Keith Behrman Mouthpiece — Patricia Rozema Roads in February (Les routes en février) — Katherine Jerkovic What Walaa Wants —	Accidence — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson Altiplano — Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) — Amanda Strong Brotherhood (Ikhwène) — Meryam Joobeur Fauve — Jérémy Comte Little Waves (Les petites vagues) — Ariane Louis-Seize My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes — Charlie Tyrell Paseo — Matthew Hannam The Subject (Le sujet) — Patrick Bouchard Veslemøy's Song — Sofia Bohdanowicz
2019^[23]	And the Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux) — Louise Archambault Anne at 13,000 Ft. — Kazik Radwanski Antigone — Sophie Deraspe Black Conflux — Nicole Dorsey The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open — Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn Matthias & Maxime — Xavier Dolan Murmur — Heather Young One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk — Zacharias Kunuk The Twentieth Century — Matthew Rankin White Lie — Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis	Acadiana — , and Cityscape — Michael Snow Delphine — Chloé Robichaud Docking — Trevor Anderson I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain — Sofia Banzhaf Jarvik — No Crying at the Dinner Table — The Physics of Sorrow — Theodore Ushev Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You — Brandon Cronenberg Throat Singing in Kangirsuk (Katatjatuuk Kangirsumi) — Eva Kaukai and Manon Chamberland

2020s[]

Year	Feature Films	Short Films
2020^[24]	Beans — Tracey Deer Fauna — Nicolás Pereda Funny Boy — Deepa Mehta Inconvenient Indian — Michelle Latimer Judy Versus Capitalism — Mike Hoolboom The Kid Detective — Evan Morgan Nadia, Butterfly — Pascal Plante The Nest — Sean Durkin No Ordinary Man — Chase Joynt, Aisling Chin-Yee Possessor — Brandon Cronenberg	Aniksha — Vincent Toi The Archivists — Igor Drljaca Benjamin, Benny, Ben — Paul Shkordoff Black Bodies — Kelly Fyffe-Marshall êmîcêtôcêt: Many Bloodlines — Theola Ross Foam (Écume) — Omar Elhamy How to Be At Home — Andrea Dorfman Scars — Sing Me a Lullaby — Tiffany Hsiung Stump the Guesser — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema". Welland Tribune, November 23, 2001.
^ "TIFF strategically trades champagne for screen time for Canada’s Top Ten movies". Toronto Star, December 6, 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Cronenberg, Arcand make Hogtown film festival's top Canadian movies list". Daily Gleaner, December 12, 2007.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "TIFF announces lineup for Canada's Top 10 Film Festival". CBC News, December 7, 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "TIFF's Top Ten". Vancouver Sun, December 17, 2008.
^ "TIFF’s Top Ten Film Festival: Spotlight on Canadian film". Toronto Star, December 1, 2014.
^ "TIFF scraps popular Canada's Top Ten Film Festival". Now, November 7, 2018.
^ "Lists, lists and lists: Tops in video". Peterborough Examiner, December 20, 2001.
^ "Canada's Top Ten 2002". Film Studies Association of Canada, January 21, 2003.
^ "Canada's Top 10 films". Peterborough Examiner, December 18, 2003.
^ "Best films tells diverse stories; Top Ten Canadian movies honoured New filmmakers being recognized". Toronto Star, December 15, 2004.
^ "Veterans and newcomers alike make annual Top Ten Canadian film list". Whitehorse Star, December 19, 2005.
^ "'Away From Her' makes list of Top 10 Canadian films of 2006". Times & Transcript, December 15, 2006.
^ "Dolan, Nadda films among Canada's best of the year". Waterloo Region Record, December 26, 2009.
^ "Canada's Top Ten for 2010". Now, December 15, 2010.
^ "The Festival group releases Canada's annual top ten". Postmedia News, December 7, 2011.
^ "Rebelle, Goon, Cosmopolis among Canada's Top Ten: Honoured film titles will be shown at Lightbox from Jan. 4 to 13". Toronto Star, December 5, 2012.
^ "TIFF selects top 10 Canadian films". Screen International, December 3, 2013.
^ "TIFF announces its top 10 Canadian films of 2014". CBC News, December 2, 2014.
^ Bruce Kirkland, "TIFF announces its top 10 films of 2015". Toronto Sun, December 8, 2015.
^ Norman Wilner, "Canada’s Top Ten has some glaring omissions". Now, December 6, 2017.
^ "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten list skews a lot younger this year". Now, December 5, 2018.
^ Norman Wilner, "TIFF announces Canada's top 10 films of 2019". Now, December 11, 2019.
^ Victoria Ahearn, "Toronto International Film Festival releases Top Ten lists for 2020" Archived 2021-01-04 at the Wayback Machine. Squamish Chief, December 9, 2020.

[excellence-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema". Welland Tribune, November 23, 2001.

[2] "TIFF strategically trades champagne for screen time for Canada’s Top Ten movies". Toronto Star, December 6, 2018.

[newshorts-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Cronenberg, Arcand make Hogtown film festival's top Canadian movies list". Daily Gleaner, December 12, 2007.

[topten2016-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b "TIFF announces lineup for Canada's Top 10 Film Festival". CBC News, December 7, 2016.

[cinematheque-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b "TIFF's Top Ten". Vancouver Sun, December 17, 2008.

[6] "TIFF’s Top Ten Film Festival: Spotlight on Canadian film". Toronto Star, December 1, 2014.

[7] "TIFF scraps popular Canada's Top Ten Film Festival". Now, November 7, 2018.

[8] "Lists, lists and lists: Tops in video". Peterborough Examiner, December 20, 2001.

[9] "Canada's Top Ten 2002". Film Studies Association of Canada, January 21, 2003.

[10] "Canada's Top 10 films". Peterborough Examiner, December 18, 2003.

[11] "Best films tells diverse stories; Top Ten Canadian movies honoured New filmmakers being recognized". Toronto Star, December 15, 2004.

[12] "Veterans and newcomers alike make annual Top Ten Canadian film list". Whitehorse Star, December 19, 2005.

[13] "'Away From Her' makes list of Top 10 Canadian films of 2006". Times & Transcript, December 15, 2006.

[14] "Dolan, Nadda films among Canada's best of the year". Waterloo Region Record, December 26, 2009.

[15] "Canada's Top Ten for 2010". Now, December 15, 2010.

[16] "The Festival group releases Canada's annual top ten". Postmedia News, December 7, 2011.

[17] "Rebelle, Goon, Cosmopolis among Canada's Top Ten: Honoured film titles will be shown at Lightbox from Jan. 4 to 13". Toronto Star, December 5, 2012.

[18] "TIFF selects top 10 Canadian films". Screen International, December 3, 2013.

[topten2014-19] "TIFF announces its top 10 Canadian films of 2014". CBC News, December 2, 2014.

[topten2015-20] Bruce Kirkland, "TIFF announces its top 10 films of 2015". Toronto Sun, December 8, 2015.

[topten2017-21] Norman Wilner, "Canada’s Top Ten has some glaring omissions". Now, December 6, 2017.

[skewsyounger-22] "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten list skews a lot younger this year". Now, December 5, 2018.

[23] Norman Wilner, "TIFF announces Canada's top 10 films of 2019". Now, December 11, 2019.

[24] Victoria Ahearn, "Toronto International Film Festival releases Top Ten lists for 2020" Archived 2021-01-04 at the Wayback Machine. Squamish Chief, December 9, 2020.

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show v t Toronto International Film Festival
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Related	Canada's Top Ten Film Reference Library Preludes TIFF Bell Lightbox TIFF Cinematheque Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time