Increasingly-renowned Toronto filmmaker Daniel Cockburn - whose every work is somewhat more frighteningly ingenious than the one before it - will be a part of The Power Plant's Hubbub! series this Saturday at the Rivoli, with his 2002 film Metronome.

I've been known to call Metronome Daniel's masterpiece in the past, but perhaps it's more of a mission statement - it completely defines him as a filmmaker, and sets the stage for everything that comes after. Either way, it's one of the best Toronto-made shorts of the past five years.

The Metronome screening precedes a conversation about the passage of time by artist Robert Linsley and theoretical physicist Lee Smolin. Sound too overintellectualized to be worth it? No fear: Cockburn is a video artist in all the good ways: his work is entertaining, clever, accessible, and even manages to make you think. And the afternoon is gloriously free!

Cockburn is also featured in the current issue of POV Magazine, where Mike Hoolboom has written a few pages of "preliminary notes" about Cockburn's career. Hoolboom uses nasty words like "elan" in his piece (really, I loathe few words in the language more than that one), but the article is still insightful and jaw-droppingly complimentary. You can grab a copy of the magazine at Pages Bookstore, just in time to prep yourself for the Hubbub! screening on Saturday.

The Power Plant presents Hubbub!, Saturday, January 21 at the Rivoli (334 Queen Street West). Free admission.