TIFF has its first controversy of 2009 as filmmaker and York Professor John Greyson has withdrawn his short Covered from this year's lineup because he disagrees with TIFF's decision to include a spotlight on films about Tel Aviv.

Although I wasn't able to find any details about the film on TIFF's official website, from the Programme Book it looks like Covered was originally scheduled to run in the Short Cuts Canada Programme 5 on September 15th and 16th. Greyson has decided host his own screening by making the film available on Vimeo (embedded above) until the end of the festival.

While Greyson makes it clear he has no beef with the films or filmmakers participating at TIFF, he rejects the spotlight's perceived (but unofficial) affiliation with the Brand Israel campaign that has targeted Toronto since this time last year.

Reviews of TIFF films will be flying fast and furious once the festival begins on September 10th, but until then we've been busy checking out some of the advance media screenings taking place all this past week at the Varsity. For TIFF package holders, picks are due by 1pm on Monday, so to help narrow the options a little, a few of us have pieced together some mini reviews for what we've seen to date.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Antichrist
Is it really that provocative? Yep, I can confirm that Antichrist is in fact bold, disturbing, and cringe-worthy. Lars Von Trier imagines a couple grieving after the loss of their child. She is inconsolable, he comes up with a treatment plan (he's a therapist) that involves spending time in an isolated cottage. Of course, this is just the beginning. Willem Dafoe and gutsy Charlotte Gainsbourg then get violent with each other. And the rest, not for the squeamish and not quite what I expected, is sure to become the subject of many theses. (Chandra)

J'ai tué ma mère
Xavier Dolan's directorial debut suffocates you with your worst family memory, shoves it down your throat, and tops the experience with a slight twist of your balls. If intense family melodrama isn't your bag, cross this off the list; the rest of us can sit back and let this 20-year-old's Cannes-celebrated piece leave an impression. Scathing accusations and vicious scream fests may be frustrating for some moviegoers, but it's this very uneasiness that kept me focused throughout. With great casting pieced together with art-school-esque/self-indulgent montages, this makes for a pretty engaging watch. (Connie)

The movies at TIFF this year might be the best selection in a long, long time. What to do? Guest podcast host Matt Price and I take a timeout during a recent meal to browse the Toronto International Film Festival programme bible and weed out what to see, movies to desperately avoid, and two flicks starring George Clooney. Click the big grey play button below to listen to the podcast.


Want more TIFF? Check out our preview of TIFF 2009 and stay tuned for more of our picks of what to see.

The TIFF schedule was finally announced on Tuesday, officially kicking off a frantic week where ticket package holders like myself must sort through hundreds of films to make a handful of picks for what to see this year. As per usual, the official Toronto International Film Festival web site has the full schedule online but as has become de rigeur in recent years, a number of unaffiliated groups have created user-friendly ways to navigate through and organize all the data.

TIFFR
Mina Mikhail and his friend Ryan from fightingtheboss studios have created TIFFR (pictured above), a web application that makes it simple to shortlist and create an itinerary for films you might be interested in seeing. Your schedule can then be printed, shared with friends or exported to Google or another online calendar. Check out how it works.

When TIFF 2009 officially kicks off in two weeks, I won't be lined up trying to get into the new Coen Bros' movie. Oh no. This year I'm reading the enormous Program Book, drawing up a schedule, and deciding who to stalk before the September 10th film festival opening.

Some modest and foreign films in the lineup might fail to charm distributors and will never be seen again in Toronto. So is it best to catch the latest from Michael Moore and Terry Gilliam or to gamble on something new? And of course Matt Damon will be here for the opening of Soderbergh's The Informant!, but what about stars we actually want to see?