The KinoArt Film Festival, which runs from November 5th until November 8th, features new(ish) works from Russia. But it's not the only film fest on the horizon.

By the looks of things on the Toronto festival circuit, film buffs will have more flicks to choose from than time this month. The November movie blitz kicks off on Wednesday with the Regent Park Film Festival's annual community showcase, and some crazy tales will be on at the Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival. But for Russophiles (such as myself) the KinoArt Festival is a priority.

Though this year's lineup is heavy on period pieces and literary adaptations, may I recommend a few mysterious and oddly compelling gems?

Will Jigsaw's grand plan finally be revealed? Saw VI opens today, and with The Stepfather, Zombieland, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, and Paranormal Activity still in theatres, it looks like cineplexes are well stocked with thrillers and chillers to set the mood for Halloween.

Having spent what seems like an eternity skimming through the local listings, I've dug up more on (and off) screen movie picks -- including mainstream, camp, and even some interactive stuff. It's a weeklong creepfest in Toronto... and the 2009 edition has lots and lots of zombies.

I won't be buying flowers anytime soon. I've just finished watching A Blooming Business, a one-hour doc screening this weekend at the Planet in Focus Film Festival. It follows Jane, a Kenyan flower farm employee exposed to chemicals and sexual harassment at work on a regular basis (not to mention less-than-fair wages and excessively long work days). While it's unlikely that Jane picked the flowers at my neighbourhood grocery store, her story sticks with me... as does the fact that I don't know where most of the stuff I buy really comes from.

And so to promote public awareness of environmental (and related social) issues, the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival runs from October 21st to 25th in Toronto. This 10th edition of PIF looks to the future of the movement with a spotlight called Fast Forward Toward a 20/20 Vision. But it's the docs that touch on more personal stories from underrepresented communities, like Jane's, that pack the most punch.

At 10 years and counting, imagineNATIVE is one of the more established specialty film festivals running in the city. The niche has grown leaps and bounds during the past decade, bringing with it a surge of new films to screen in Toronto every year.

With this in mind, imagineNATIVE will give itself a much deserved pat on the back starting on Wednesday, October 14th, with multiple parties and receptions, a retrospective and, of course, an anniversary lineup that will showcase 125 aboriginal film and art works from all over the world.

Read on for my movie picks, pans, and some trailers from the 5 day fete.

Summer is indeed over. I never got that much needed tan and already the Cinematheque is launching its fall programme.



The new season comes with a new branding (Cinematheque Ontario has been ditched for TIFF Cinematheque) in preparation for the big move-in-together with the rest of the festival's operations in the Bell Lightbox (the someday-to-be TIFF megacenter).

First up this season is a showcase of Toronto on Film, a set as diverse as the city itself, kicking off this Friday, October 9th. Not at all interested in movies that disguise our city as New York, Chicago, or Generic City, America, the series - a birthday shout out to Toronto on its 175th - features Toronto playing Toronto with screenings spread over the next couple of weeks and guest appearances by acclaimed local moviemakers.

Over in the Distillery District, what was meant to be quick peek turned into my stomping ground for the better part of the Nuit Blanche night.

The neighbourhood is a year-round car-free and creative zone, so it was easy to toss away the map and the app, meet up with friends and spend hours going from store to pub to gallery to bakery.