It's hard to keep up with the great press that SCC has been receiving, and it's nice to know others are feeling what we've thought all along.

 Short Cuts Canada is the most dynamic and exiting programme that TIFF offers. But talk to any TIFF programmer, and they'll tell you the same about their respective programmes. What can we say, we're a proud bunch, who gets really excited about sharing great work with fantastic audiences.

 We were able to witness one of those fantastic audiences last night at Isabel Bader Theatre for a packed screening of Programme 1. It was a great launch to our programming and set the perfect tone for the week. For those who missed it, get tickets NOW for the 1pm repeat at Jackman Hall. 

 It will be the only tickets for a short programme you'll get today, unless you already have them in hand for Programme 2, cause the Bader will burst again this afternoon with Shorts enthusiasts ready to witness the sold out world premiere of 7 amazing new films including Guy Maddin's newest.

 Now for the reason of this post, to give you access to many of the great stories and interviews our films have been receiving.  

 It would be wrong not to start with Bruce Kirkland's glowing review of the SCC programme.

 "Short Cuts Canada may be the most dynamic, wildly eccentric and visually varied program in the Toronto International Film Festival.

No other single program can boast the breadth of styles, genres and subject matters, from the mainstream to the extreme."

I concur.

And I would add nowhere is this more evident than in programme 2. Guy Maddin has been a favourite for a number of years at TIFF, and the Night Mayor will only add to his lore. Bruce Kirkland talked with Maddin about his inspiration for the film. There's also the Winnipeg Free Press article about the hometown hero, with a glimpse of Maddin's upcoming (COLOUR!!) film. And if you just can't get enough, here's a full length interview transcript the NFB did with Maddin about the project. 

 There will no noubt be some Maddin fans at the screening today, but they'll be a joined by a wide range of cineastes who have caught onto a new wave of filmmakers in the programme, including Sami Khan, Sonya Di Rienzo, Samer Najari, Ryan Mullins, and Kazik Radanski. Radwanski has been quickly gaining a critical following, and if you've seen Princess Margaret Blvd., you'll know why.

Radwanski and his producing partner Dan Montgomery have refined their style and brought another great film to TIFF in Out in that Deep Blue Sea. Adam Nayman sums up the film in his interview with the director. 'Like its predecessor, Out in That Deep Blue Sea adopts a laser-like focus on a single character — a struggling real estate salesman (a superb Peter Bavis) in the throes of personal and professional paralysis. 

Radwanski creates an authenticity that shows he has his finger on the pulse of our times, and can make anyone seem like a seasoned actor with only a few minutes on screen. Inside Toronto profiled the Riverdale resident, and talked to him about his casting choices.

I'd be remiss not to mention the return of Richard Kerr and his film De Mouvement, an experimental collage film that has caught the eye of Norm Wilner of NOW , and Bruce Kirkland of the Toronto Sun, who highlights it as some of the best abstract work at the festival. 

There's no doubt, programme 2 will be a festival highlight today, so count yourself among the lucky if you managed to get your ticket and find yourself sitting in the Isabel Bader theatre come 4pm today.