TORONTO - Emerging filmmakers dominate this year's list of top Canadian features and shorts, as determined by the Toronto International Film Festival.

Actors Liane Balaban and Ennis Esmer announced the top 10 films in each category in a ceremony in Toronto.

The top films include Ruba Nadda's romance, "Cairo Time," which was named best Canadian feature at the Toronto festival; Peter Stebbings' debut super-hero dramedy, "Defendor;" and teen director Xavier Dolan's breakout hit, "J'ai tue ma mere," which drew raves at the Cannes film festival.

The year's top 10 Canadian short films include Pedro Pires's "Danse Macabre," which was named best Canadian short at TIFF; Cordell Barker's "Runaway," which earned a jury prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year; and Chris Landreth's "The Spine," which took top prize at the Melbourne International Animation Festival.

The top films were chosen by a panel of 10 industry professionals while the shorts were picked by a panel of five industry professionals, among them filmmakers, journalists, and festival programmers.

Films were chosen from features, shorts, animation and documentaries that debuted at a major Canadian film festival or had a theatrical release in the past year.

The Top 10 list of Canadian feature and short films of 2009 (in alphabetical order):

  • "Cairo Time," directed by Ruba Nadda
  • "Carcasses," directed by Denis Cote
  • "Crackie," directed by Sherry White
  • "Defendor," directed by Peter Stebbings (due for release early 2010)
  • "La Donation," directed by Bernard Emond (January 2010)
  • "J'ai tue ma mere," directed by Xavier Dolan (February 2010)
  • "Passenger Side," directed by Matthew Bissonnette (due March 2010)
  • "Polytechnique," directed by Denis Villeneuve
  • "The Trotsky," directed by Jacob Tierney (due May 2010)
  • "The Wild Hunt," directed by Alexandre Franchi (due spring 2010)

The top 10 Canadian short films of 2009 are (in alphabetical order):

  • "The Armoire," directed by Jamie Travis
  • "The Cave," directed by Helen Haig-Brown
  • "Danse Macabre," directed by Pedro Pires
  • "Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica," directed by Cam Christiansen
  • "Naissances," directed by Anne Emond
  • "Out in that Deep Blue Sea," directed by Kazik Radwanski
  • "Runaway," directed by Cordell Barker
  • "The Spine," directed by Chris Landreth
  • "La Vie commence," directed by Emile Proulx-Cloutier
  • "Vive la rose," directed by Bruce Alcock