At the heart of the film and TV business lies the talent – the creatives who conceive, execute and bring life to the shows, movies and interactive content audiences want to see. Each year, Playback‘s editorial staff selects 10 individuals from across these disciplines as the hottest up-and-comers.

Below, meet four of this year’s Ten (well, 11… there’s a writing team) to Watch. Look for full coverage in our TIFF print issue – along with our annual Festival coverage and this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.

Adam Barken
Age: 36
Residence: Whitby, Ontario
Agency: The Alpern Group (Toronto)

You could say Adam Barken has a flair for the dramatic… certainly if you were describing his professional work. His love for writing drama has led him to career that’s been on a huge spike in the last two years. After a stint at the CFC, he met producer Anne Marie La Traverse, who brought him on board as a story editor on Flashpoint. He returned for season two as a senior story editor, snagging the honours for episodic hour-long at the WGC Screenwriting Awards in 2009, and then moved on to Rookie Blue, where he co-penned the season finale. Now, Barken has been tapped as a showrunner for a yet-to-be-named pilot.

Kyle Mac
Age: 22
Residence: Toronto
Agency: Characters Talent Agency (Toronto)

Edmonton-born Kyle Mac first turned heads after appearing on season one of CBC’s reality talent show Triple Sensation in late 2007. It wasn’t long after that he was wooed by agents in Toronto, and made the move out there in 2008. There, he landed a guest spot on Flashpoint and snagged a lead vampire role in MTV’s Valemont. He’s now part of the cast of Shaftesbury’s new tween series Baxter on Family Channel, and has recently wrapped a guest spot on new kids actioner Unnatural History.

Cole Bastedo
Age: 28
Residence: Toronto
Agent: Meridian Artists (Toronto)

Matt Huether
Age: 30
Residence: Toronto
Agent: The Characters Agency (Toronto)

Cole Bastedo and Matt Huether went from sitting side-by-side as assistants at The Characters Agency to becoming full-fledged screenwriters. Though they’ve been collaborating for the last six years, they’ve really come into the spotlight recently, after spending time at Degrassi: The Next Generation, as well as other youth series — from How to Be Indie, Overruled! and Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5. The duo always works together on original projects and are currently in development with Shaftesbury on an adult sitcom, Stay at Home Dad. They are also in discussions with Temple Street for other series, as well as APB Pictures on their first feature.

Tomorrow: four more of Playback‘s Ten to Watch