It will be a battle of two Canucks at this year's Oscars, and the pair could hardly come armed with more contrasting styles of filmmaking as they go toe-to-toe for the coveted Best Director title.

With "Avatar," James Cameron has revolutionized the art of movie making once again with a film that combines cutting edge 3-D technology and CGI effects to tell a classic tale of man versus nature. Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" is a hard-hitting look at job loss, the recession and loneliness with standout performances by an all-star cast.

The two films are also nominated for Best Picture.

Cutting-edge technology versus intimate character study; beautiful blue people versus gorgeous George Clooney.

Whichever way the Academy decides to go, or even if they opt for one of the other nominees entirely, having these two directors and their films in the running for Oscars gold is a great thing for Canada, according to Cameron Bailey, co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

"Canadians can be proud that James Cameron and Jason Reitman both have roots here. Jason spends a lot of time here, he's always running around in a Maple Leafs jersey," says Bailey. "(Neither of these are Canadian films but) I think our pride extends to the fact that we might have nurtured them and they have a fondness for this country."

Both directors have made a significant contribution to Hollywood, with Cameron changing the way movies have been made for three decades. With 1997's "Titanic," he garnered a record-tying 11 Oscars, including one for Best Director – making him the only Canadian to ever receive such a recognition.

Reitman, son of famed filmmaker Ivan Reitman, has already received much critical acclaim in his young career with first two features "Thank You For Smoking" and "Juno," which earned him a Best Directing Oscar nod.

Bailey says while Cameron is interested in how cameras and special effects work, Reitman is more concerned with how humans tick.

"In a way what James Cameron does with technology, Jason Reitman does with people. He kind of breaks them down, analyzes the parts and produces an interesting story out of them."

He adds that since their movies appeal to different kinds of people, he thinks the Academy might be split as well.

"'Avatar,' like ‘Titanic,' like ‘Aliens' and all of James Cameron's movies, are just astounding spectacles and they really show you what the art and the technology of cinema can do, whereas a movie like ‘Up in the Air,' it's about a very serious issue; it's about how it affects human beings.

Canada has definitely acknowledged their homegrown directors, awarding Cameron with a honourary degree at Carleton University for "a distinguished career as a Canadian filmmaker" in 1998 and an induction into Canada's Walk of Fame 10 years later. Reitman has also recently had the honour of carrying the torch with his dad for the upcoming Olympic Games.

The young director is also not shy about his love for Canada and Toronto's Ryerson Theatre is his first choice for premiering his films at TIFF.

"He was back in that same cinema on the Saturday night of the festival to premiere his new movie with George Clooney there and of course Oprah Winfrey happened to be in town and was at the screening as well, so you've got this modest movie house on a university campus with two of the biggest stars in the world," says Bailey.

And both critics and audiences were taken aback by "Up in the Air" during the festival, notes Bailey.

"People were surprised that Jason Reitman, who after all is still a young man and only on his third feature, had made a film of such maturity. This is a film that really takes on some big issues; some complex emotional currents and he pulled it off. He really, for me, harkens back to some of the great filmmakers of the classic Hollywood era."

But don't count out Cameron just yet.

"There's no director on the planet like James Cameron. Nobody does what he does," says Bailey.