Though he is in the Canada First! program, Philip Hoffman is no newbie.

Based on a novel by George Ryga, Hungry Hills follows the story of a young ’50s-era orphan who returns to his hometown after a three-year stint in a boys home.

Writer/director/producer Alexandre Franchi sees The Wild Hunt as the festival’s best-kept secret.

In 2006, B.C. filmmaker Corey Adams produced a short film called Harvey Spannos for Fuel TV in the U.S. It won him a $1 million production grant to make a feature.

Horror filmmaker George Romero’s latest tale from the gruesome and bloody world of the undead pits two feuding clans in the middle of a zombie epidemic.

Leslie, My Name Is Evil is about ‘a jury member at the Charles Manson trial who falls in love with the hottest Manson girl,’ explains writer/director Reginald Harkema.

Montreal-based filmmaker Denis Côté pushes boundaries once again with his latest no-budget experimental feature Carcasses.

In a four-day crash course, a select group of emerging filmmakers will get up-close and personal with some of the most esteemed artists from around the world.

• The City of Toronto and Astral Media’s The Movie Network Award for best Canadian feature is presented annually to a Canadian filmmaker and includes a cash prize of $30,000. It is jointly sponsored by TMN and the City of Toronto. Rodrigue Jean won the award last year for his film Lost Song.

This year’s edition of Short Cuts Canada includes 41 titles from Canadian artists – all of which will be available to view online during the fest. And while there’s a raft of new directors, a few shorts are from veteran directors such as John Greyson who is experimenting here with Covered; Guy Maddin with Night Mayor and Oscar-winning helmer Chris Landreth who is back with The Spine.

Controversial film National Matters examines Quebec’s struggle for independence

Playboy and entourage coming to TIFF to support doc launch