Music videos will never be the same as they were in the 90's. Opulent sets, armies of extras...that era is over, about as dead as the compact disc.

Lower budgets have brought at least one advantage to the medium; more artistic freedom. Young directors like Sara St. Onge have been remaking the music video industry in their own image, cutting back the corporate slop of the gay 90's and substituting cleverness for cash.

YouTube Project: Direct 2009 is a short film competition in conjunction with the Sundance Film Festival. This year, two Toronto filmmakers - myself (Jake Kovnat) and Ben Goldenberg - have made it to the top 10. The winner gets sent to Sundance 2009 to screen their film and meet with industry executives and the two runners up get their film distributed on DVDs throughout the festival. Along with this, 1st and 2nd place receive $2500 and 3rd receives $1000. So how are the winners chosen?

The low budget flick has received positive reviews to date but hasn't yet opened in Toronto and will likely be playing on a limited number of screens when it gets here. It has also been largely ignored by all other film critics and the Golden Globes although it did get a mention as one of the top ten independent films by the National Board of Review.

Sadly I've only seen one of these films so far (Heaven on Earth - comments here) but I'm looking forward to catching some of the others when all the films screen in Toronto during the first week of February.

A full list of the top ten features and shorts are listed on the Top Ten web site.

Speaking with these relatively new directors (both of TIFF fame, David Weaver for Century Hotel and Siblings, Aaron Woodley for Rhinocerous Eyes and upcoming Tennessee,) I was amazed to learn that affiliating a film with Toronto has something of a reputation for disaster. "We were told, if you put Toronto in the title, no one will want to see it. We decided... let's prove them wrong."

"It's crazy to try to sell it in this market," says Hartt, who started showing films at 463 Bathurst Street, just below College, in 1992. He converted the living room-dining room of his typical Victorian house into a black-walled screening room. No popcorn-sticky stadium seating here: audience members sit on comfy office chairs and are encouraged to bring their own food and drink.

First Weekend Club hosts this monthly screening series that shows the best of Canadian cinema. Typically promoting screenings of accomplished home grown talent over Hollywood blockbusters, the series provides a more intimate setting in which to watch, and then interact with the director, of some talented Canadian film.

Admittedly, The Drake isn't the best place to spend over two hours watching a film. But they did have three screens up, so that no matter where your vantage point, you still had a good view of the movie. And the sound was excellent.

If you felt like a drink to help you enjoy the film, the well-equipped bar was nearby. A glass of red wine felt right when taking in a film at this venue. Even if it started at 2 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon.

Spencer 'Spenny' Rice plays Mark Tobias, a man who has lost everything due to his obsession with porn. In order to salvage his character and himself in court, he decides to document his addiction... and thus we enter the quasi-reality of Confessions of a Porn Addict.

I must admit, I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to talk with Spenny. His persona from Kenny vs. Spenny and that of Mark Tobias can be misleading, and difficult to sort from reality. However with the help of his co-star and Yuk Yuk's Canada owner, Mark Breslin, we got down to the business of sorting out the 'mock' from the 'documentary.'

It's a deal almost too good to be true. Almost everyday of the festival there are screenings at 6 and 8:30pm with the majority playing at Innis Town Hall but a number of the more buzz-worthy films scheduled for the Royal. Earlier this weekend I emailed with Elena Rosauro, intern at the Spanish Consulate, who helped fill me in on some of the festival's finer details.

With over 50 film premiers and entries from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore/Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, USA, and Canada's own Paul Wong, I had to narrow down a few of the best picks at this year's fest. Banzai!

My source at the Cinematheque box office says they've already moved about a quarter of their tickets for the second screening on December 7th.

In addition to the ongoing David Lean retrospective, Cinematheque Ontario will be screening all fifteen intense hours of Berlin Alexanderplatz over three days, starting December 12th. There's also the monumental and ongoing retrospective of Nagisa Oshima's ouvre, which blogTO's own Danielle D'Ornellas beat me to the punch on last week.

Oh, and happy Barack Obama Day.

They're all going to be on the big screen at the Fox Theatre this coming Saturday night, as Shock and Awe: The Grindhouse Experience returns for an all-night homage to classic grindhouse films.

An all-nighter marked by a lineup of not-so-serious B-movies brings serious enjoyment, and this unique experience is a way to ensure that we'll be thoroughly entertained on Saturday night, sleeping on Sunday, and groggy enough on Monday. It wouldn't be grindhouse any other way!

blogTO has tickets to give away to a few lucky readers. Check out the trailers and read on for contest entry details.