The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled its tenth annual Canada’s Top Ten films today [14] and the list of features includes previous award winners such as Incendies (pictured) and Barney’s Version as well as relatively unknown titles like director Ingrid Veniger’s colourful debut feature Modra.

“One of the best things about the list is that it acknowledges the work of both veterans and debutants and also that there’s great women making films,” Steve Gravestock, TIFF associate director of Canadian programming, told Screen at the event.

Barney’s Version producer Robert Lantos told Screen that part of the importance of the prize was the timing. “By the time the film gets to the consumer, the film comes with a distinguished pedigree,” Lantos said. Barney’s Version, which earlier in the day earned Paul Giamatti a best actor Golden Globe nomination in the comedy or musical category, will be released on January 14 in the US and January 28 in the UK.

Veniger was also beaming at the event and told Screen: “It’s such a huge honour and a big boost for a little tiny film like Modra to be chosen along with these bigger films, and it’s especially important for Modra’s release in February [in Canada].”

Luc Dery, producer of Incendies, laughed when he said: “You take everything you can get in English Canada,” referring to the tricky task of launching a Quebecois film in the rest of the country, even for the likes of eOne. “A film like this needs every opportunity it can get to be positioned.”

Canada’s Top Ten feature film selections for 2010, in alphabetical order:
Les Amours Imaginaires – Xavier Dolan (Alliance Film)
Barney’s Version – Richard J Lewis (Entertainment One)
Curling – Denis Cote (Mongrel Media)
The High Cost Of Living – Deborah Chow (Filmoption International)
Incendies – Denis Villeneuve (Entertainment One)
Last Train Home – Lixin Fan (Kinosmith)
Modra – Ingrid Veninger (Mongrel Media)
Splice – Vincenzo Natali (Entertainment One)
Trigger – Bruce McDonald (Entertainment One)
Trois Temps Apres La Mort d’Anna – Catherine Martin (K Films)

Canada’s Top Ten short film selections for 2010, in alphabetical order:
Above The Knee – Greg Atkins
Les Fleurs De l’Age – Vincent Biron
I Was A Child Of Holocaust Survivors – Ann Marie Fleming (NFB)
The Legend Of Beaver Dam – Jerome Sable
The Little White Cloud That Cried – Guy Maddin
Lipsett Diaries – Theodore Ushev (NFB)
Marius Borodine – Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais (Travelling Distribution)
Mokhtar – Halima Ouardiri (EyesteelFilm)
On The Way To The Sea – Tao Gu
Vapor – Kaveh Nabatian (Locomotion)