This year’s Perspective Canada boasts a record 15 world premiere feature films, with Denis Villeneuve’s Maelstrom kicking off the program.

‘It’s very important [for a French-language film to headline Perspective Canada],’ says writer/director Villeneuve. ‘Because of the language barrier, very often the French movies don’t get into the rest of Canada.’

Produced by Roger Frappier (Jesus of Montreal) and Luc Vandal, Maelstrom follows the downward path of a young woman involved in a hit-and-run accident as she deals with the victim’s family. Inspired by his own imagination, Villeneuve says, ‘It is a film that’s haunted me.’

Robert Lepage’s first English-language feature, Possible Worlds, receives its world premiere as a Perspective Canada Special Presentation.

Seven of Canada’s pre-eminent filmmakers return to the festival with the world premiere of their latest features: Clement Virgo’s (Rude) urban drama Love Come Down; Lynne Stopkewich’s (Kissed) mysterious Suspicious River; Gary Burns’ (Kitchen Party) clever Waydowntown; John Greyson’s (Lilies) heartbreaking tale The Law of Enclosures; John L’Ecuyer’s (Curtis’ Charm) darkly poignant Saint Jude; Colleen Murphy’s provocative, crime drama Desire; and Anne Wheeler’s (Better Than Chocolate) thoughtful Marine Life.

Six filmmakers have the world premiere of their debut feature films in the program: Leonard Farlinger’s Perfect Son, the story of two brothers reuniting over their father’s death; Andrea Dorfman’s Parsley Days, the bittersweet tale of a marriage gone awry; Philippe Falardeau’s La Moitie Gauche du Frigo, a comedic and compassionate look at the perils of finding a job; Sheri Elwood’s Deeply, the story of a brokenhearted teen who joins her mother on a trip to the East Coast; Jim Allodi’s The Uncles, a portrait of a young man who cares for his abandoned family; and Anthony Couture’s Red Deer, an enchanting film about loss and longing.

Two documentaries are also featured in the lineup: Zev Asher’s first feature-length doc What About Me: The Rise of the Nihilist Spasm Band, a world premiere that profiles the London, Ont.-based band and their unique brand of improvised noise; and Rocks at Whiskey Trench, which sees veteran doc-maker Alanis Obomsawin return to the incidents at Oka she explored in the award-winning Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance.

In total, the 2000 edition of Perspective Canada consists of 20 features and 29 shorts from across Canada.

Citytv and the City of Toronto return as sponsors for the Toronto-City Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, which awards $25,000 to the winning filmmaker.

For the fourth year, City also sponsors the Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film, worth $15,000.

The nfb’s National Film Board-John Spotton Award for Best Canadian Short Film awards the winning filmmaker with $2,500 in cash and $7,500 worth of benefits from the NFB Filmmaker Assistance Program, to be applied against costs of a future production.

On Sept. 12, a panel discussion moderated by Rhombus Media’s Niv Fichman, called ‘Can I Make the Films I Want to Make in Canada Today?’ looks at the current state of the Canadian film industry. *

-www.bell.ca/filmfest