Playback Magazine announces their Top 10 Canadian films of the decade

The Canadian trade magazine Playback polled its readers to determine the top ten Canadian films of the decade and have announced their results. They held their best-of-the-decade survey a full year after most others because clearly they know how to count (there was no year zero A.D., so the decades were 1-10, 11-20, etc. with the decades ending with the zeros).

The results ended with a tie for the number one spot between Sarah Polley's Away From Her and Jean-Marc Vallée's C.R.A.Z.Y. They also made the unusual decision to extend the list to 12, so that there are a full 10 fiction films - as if the two documentaries (The Corporation and Manufactured Landscapes) that made the list somehow might not count.

Four Quebec films made the list. In addition to C.R.A.Z.Y. were Les Invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions), J’ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother) and Polytechnique. Two of the films were made in India - Deepa Mehta's Water and Amal by Richie Mehta (unrelated).

All of the films are excellent, worthy choices. I myself selected Atanarjuat The Fast Runner and Les Invasions Barbares for my best-of-the-decade list (2000-2009).

On December 14, 2010, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will reveal the top 10 best features and top 10 best short films of 2010 for the 10th annual Canada’s Top Ten.

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Playback Magazine's top Canadian films of the decade 2001-2010

1. Away From Her (2006)
Sarah Polley (writer/director), Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl and Jennifer Weiss (producers)

C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
Jean-Marc Vallée (writer/director), François Boulay (writer), Pierre Even (producer)

3. Water (2005)
Deepa Mehta (writer/director), David Hamilton (producer)

4. Les Invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions) (2003)
Denys Arcand (writer/director), Daniel Louis and Denise Robert (producers)

5. Atanarjuat The Fast Runner (2001)
Zacharias Kunuk (director/producer), Paul Apak Angilirq (writer/producer), Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk and Germaine Wong (producers)

6. Eastern Promises (2007)
David Cronenberg (director), Steve Knight (writer), Robert Lantos, Tracy Seaward, Paul Webster (producers)

7. The Corporation (2003)
Jennifer Abbott (director), Mark Achbar (writer/director/producer), Bart Simpson (producer), Joel Bakan, Harold Crooks (writers)

8. It’s All Gone Pete Tong (2004)
Michael Dowse (writer/director), Allan Niblo and James Richardson (producers)

9. Amal (2007)
Richie Mehta (writer/director), Shaun Mehta (writer), Steven Bray (producer)

10. J’ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother) (2009)
Xavier Dolan (writer/director/producer)

11. Manufactured Landscapes (2006)
Jennifer Baichwal (director/producer), Daniel Iron and Nick de Pencier (producers)

12. Polytechnique (2009)
Denis Villeneuve (writer/director), Jacques Davidts (writer), Don Carmody and Maxime Rémillard (producers)

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The greatest Canadian films of all time, according to Playback readers in 2002, were:

1. The Sweet Hereafter (1997) - Atom Egoyan (director/writer)
2. Jesus of Montreal (1989) – Denys Arcand (director/writer)
3. The Red Violin (1998) – Francois Girard (director), Francois Girard /Don McKellar (writers)
4. Hard Core Logo (1996) – Bruce McDonald (director), Noel S. Baker (writer)
5. Goin’ Down the Road (1970) – Donald Shebib (director), William Fruet /Donald Shebib (writers)
6. Leolo (1992) – Jean-Claude Lauzon (director/writer)
7. Exotica (1994) – Atom Egoyan (director/writer)
8. Mon oncle Antoine (1971) – Claude Jutra (director), Clement Perron (writer)
9. Last Night (1998) – Don McKellar (director/writer)
10. The Decline of the American Empire (1986) – Denys Arcand (director/writer)