Screen profiles world-class film hub Canada, including the pick of buzz titles coming out of the country this year and interviews with eOne chairman Patrice Theroux and Dallas Buyers Club director Jean-Marc Vallee.

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Canadians are known for being hard workers, but Denis Villeneuve might have taken it too far this year. He’s got not one, but two major new features – Canadian production Enemy and US-based Prisoners – world premiering at TIFF.

That’s just one small example of the strength of Canada’s production sector and the talent it has working both at home and internationally. Toronto also includes new films from Atom Egoyan and Jean-Marc Vallee, plus younger voices such as Xavier Dolan.

So is it something in the Tim Horton’s coffee? No, it’s more down to the supportive infrastructure in Canada – a cross between US efficiency and the European public funding approach. Canada offers stable, lucrative tax breaks and significant support from Telefilm and the National Film Board of Canada. This healthy financial climate has seen the development of world-class studios and crews, and enabled creative to learn their craft.

Looking beyond TIFF, 2013 promises new films from Egoyan (again), David Conenberg and Denys Arcand. That work ethic shows no signs of abating.

Wendy Mitchell, editor, Screen International.

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