The Toronto International Film Festival® announced today the 29 Canadian short films that will light up the screens this September. The 2017 lineup includes the directorial efforts of multiple TIFF alumni, accomplished actors, filmmakers with recent projects at multiple major Festivals and discoveries by TIFF programmers that together round out a powerful and eclectic mix.

In addition to a wide range of genres, the Festival’s Canadian shorts selection also encompasses a variety of perspectives, including 11 titles directed by women and three films by Indigenous filmmakers.

Highlights include: Michelle Latimer’s Nuuca, executive produced by Oscar winner Laura Poitras, and the latest by Latimer, who was part of Sundance’s The New Climate program earlier this year; Sol Friedman’s An Imagined Conversation: Kanye West & Stephen Hawking, a hilarious black-and-white animation right out of a parallel universe; Caroline Monnet’s Creatura Dada, which stars Alanis Obomsawin and is Monnet’s first project since becoming the first Canadian filmmaker to be selected for the prestigious Cannes Cinéfondation Residence program; and Naledi Jackson’s The Drop In, at Toronto-set sci-fi immigration thriller that takes place entirely in a hair salon.

Bird

The Festival’s Canadian short film slate also includes: Molly Parker’s Bird, the compelling directorial debut of the B.C. actor known for her roles in Deadwood, House of Cards and other TV hits; TIFF Rising Star alumnus Connor Jessup’s Lira’s Forest, the actor-turned-director’s second short at the Festival; Matthew Rankin’s Cannes selection The Tesla World Light (Tesla : Lumière Mondiale), a luminescent black-and-white animation and live-action mix centred around the famous inventor; and Gabriel Savignac’s Stay, I Don’t Want to Be Alone (Reste, je ne veux pas être toute seule), a touching, beautifully crafted portrait of a pastry factory worker with an intellectual disability at a difficult moment in her life.

All 24 Canadian Short Cuts titles are eligible for the IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film. All films in the Short Cuts programme are eligible for the IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Film. This year’s jury includes Marit van den Elshout, Head of CineMart at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; award-winning filmmaker Johnny Ma (Old Stone); and Cannes 2017 Art Cinema Award winner Chloé Zhao (The Rider).

The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017.

Creatura Dada

SHORT CUTS

The Argument (with annotations) Daniel Cockburn, Canada/UK
World Premiere

Bickford Park Linsey Stewart, Dane Clark, Canada
World Premiere

Bird Molly Parker, Canada
World Premiere

Charles Dominic Etienne Simard, Canada/France
World Premiere

Creatura Dada Caroline Monnet, Canada
Toronto Premiere

Crème de menthe Philippe David Gagné, Jean-Marc E. Roy, Canada
North American Premiere

The Crying Conch (Le cri du lambi) Vincent Toi, Canada
North American Premiere

The Drop In

The Drop In Naledi Jackson, Canada
World Premiere

For Nonna Anna Luis De Filippis, Canada
World Premiere

Grandmother (ʔEtsu) Trevor Mack, Canada
World Premiere

homer_b Milos Mitrovic, Conor Sweeney, Canada
World Premiere

An Imagined Conversation: Kanye West & Stephen Hawking Sol Friedman, Canada
World Premiere

Latched Justin Harding, Rob Brunner, Canada
World Premiere

Lira’s Forest

Lira’s Forest Connor Jessup, Canada
World Premiere

Midnight Confession Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Canada/USA
World Premiere

Milk Heather Young, Canada
World Premiere

Nuuca Michelle Latimer, Canada
World Premiere

Pre-Drink Marc-Antoine Lemire, Canada
World Premiere

Rupture

Rupture Yassmina Karajah, Jordan/Canada
World Premiere

Shadow Nettes Phillip Barker, Canada
World Premiere

Stay, I Don’t Want to Be Alone (Reste, je ne veux pas être toute seule) Gabriel Savignac, Canada
World Premiere

The Tesla World Light (Tesla : Lumière Mondiale) Matthew Rankin, Canada
North American Premiere

Threads Torill Kove, Canada/Norway
North American Premiere

We Forgot to Break Up Chandler Levack, Canada
World Premiere

WAVELENGTHS

Heart of a Mountain Parastoo Anoushahpour, Ryan Ferko, Faraz Anoushahpour, Taiwan/Canada
World Premiere

Palmerston Blvd. Dan Browne, Canada
World Premiere

Scaffold Kazik Radwanski, Canada
North American Premiere

some cities Francesco Gagliardi, Canada
World Premiere

Turtles Are Always Home (Sokun Al Sulhufat) Rawane Nassif, Canada/Lebanon/Qatar
Toronto Premiere

For film synopses, cast lists, images and more information, see tiff.net/sc and tiff.net/wavelengths.