Canuck films starring Gyllenhaal, Radcliffe make TIFF’s Top 10 picks

TORONTO – Canadian films featuring international stars including Jake Gyllenhaal and Daniel Radcliffe are among the projects making it onto the Toronto International Film Festival’s annual list of best Canuck features.

The film group’s Top 10 titles include Gyllenhaal’s surreal art film, “Enemy,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, and Radcliffe’s romantic comedy “The F Word,” directed by Michael Dowse. Both were shot and set in Toronto.

TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey says Canuck features are crossing borders and finding increasingly broader audiences.

“Canadian movies are global movies now,” Bailey said in a statement.

Also on the list is “Gabrielle,” Canada’s submission to the Academy Awards for consideration in the foreign-language film category. It’s directed by Quebec’s Louise Archambault.

The list was revealed Tuesday at an industry event in Toronto hosted by CBC Radio personality Steve Patterson.

Also making the cut are: “Rhymes for Young Ghouls,” directed by Jeff Barnaby; “Sarah Prefers to Run,” by Chloe Robichaud; “Tom at the Farm” by Xavier Dolan; “Vic + Flo Saw a Bear,” from Denis Cote; “Asphalt Watches,” by Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver; “Watermark,” by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky and “When Jews Were Funny,” by Alan Zweig.

A 10-day film festival featuring the 10 movies kicks off Jan. 3 at Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox. It will include a discussion by Villeneuve and Gyllenhaal on their collaborative process on Jan. 5. The two also worked together on the U.S.-backed abduction thriller, “Prisoners.”

TIFF also released a Top 10 short film list that includes the latest from Oscar-winner Chris Landreth.

His 11-minute project “Subconscious Password” imagines what goes on inside the mind when it goes searching for information. It’s been shortlisted for a possible Oscar nomination in the animated shorts category.

The short film selections also include: “A Grand Canal,” by Johnny Ma; “An Extraordinary Person,” by Monia Chokri; “The Chaperone 3D,” Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone; “The End of Pinky,” from Claire Blanchet; “In guns we trust,” by Nicolas Lévesque; “Noah,” by Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg; “Nous avions,” by Stephane Moukarzel; “Paradise Falls,” by Fantavious Fritz and “Yellowhead,” by Kevan Funk.

Select films will tour major cities across the country, including Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal. Tickets and ticket packages for the Toronto events go on sale Dec. 4 for TIFF members and Dec. 11 for the public.

Canada’s top 10 films are chosen from features, shorts, documentaries, animation and experimental films.

Each film must have premiered at a major film festival or obtained a commercial theatrical release in Canada in 2013.