The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is more than just its yearly September festival – it’s a year-round operation with various initiatives all dedicated to celebrating cinema and fostering a community of filmmakers and cinephiles. From 2004 to 2012, one of TIFF’s key initiatives was the Student Film Showcase, created to provide a space for emerging filmmakers, still in school, to show their work in a public setting, and start building connections with fellow creators and industry delegates. The showcase featured student films from Canadian schools, aiming for coast-to-coast representation. Alums of the Student Film Showcase have gone on to become some of the country’s most exciting directors, making the jump to features and premiering their work at the most prestigious festivals around the world.

This year, production company MDFF, under its distribution banner MDFF Selects, revived the Student Film Showcase with a screening of ten short films held in Toronto on July 31st. We had a chance to chat with MDFF Selects co-founder and curator Kazik Radwanski – who also happens to be a S/W alum (Cutaway).

“We’re hoping that this spotlight on student work helps propel these young filmmakers to the next step in their careers”

Radwanski noted a decline in opportunities for student filmmakers in Canada compared to previous years, which prompted him to bring back the Student Film Showcase. Creating an opportunity for these emerging filmmakers to present their films and create a cohort atmosphere with creators from all over Canada. “We’re hoping that this spotlight on student work helps propel these young filmmakers to the next step in their careers”, he explained, discussing the goal of the initiative. He also added, “We hope it also helps foster collaborations, and support systems for this new generation of filmmakers”.

Logistically, the team followed the original programming process of the Student Film Showcase. “We reached out to 20 film schools across Canada. Each film school nominated three student films produced in their program. A screening committee was then tasked to create a program of 10 short films”, Radwanski shared.

Photo from the MDFF Student Showcase at TIFF – via the MDFF Facebook

To celebrate this revival, Radwanski also curated a retrospective of standout shorts from the original showcase – films by directors who have since debuted features. He cited his latest film Matt and Mara, where two former classmates reconnect years after finishing school, as well as conversations with fellow filmmaker Matt Johnson about their generation of Canadian filmmakers as an inspiration.

“It was difficult to track down the history of the Student Film Showcase. Very little record of it exists on the internet”, Radwanski admitted. However, he was also quickly able to realize that “many notable Canadian filmmakers of our generation got their first break at the Student Showcase”. After lots of research and digging through archives, this retrospective of five short films was born, allowing these films from now established directors, to make their online debut.

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The Student Film Showcase Retrospective

Broken Tulips – Brandon Cronenberg 

Edward Porris attends an appointment at a spa that caters to his specific tastes.

Cronenberg is now an established director, having already directed three acclaimed feature films that made a strong impact on the festival circuit. Antiviral, which premiered in Cannes in 2012, went on to win Best Debut Feature at both TIFF and Sitges. Possessor, followed in 2020 with a screening at Sundance and a spot on TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten Films list. Most recently, Infinity Pool premiered at Sundance in 2023, had its European premiere at the Berlinale, and was nominated 11-times at the Canadian Screen Awards. 

Broken Tulips was made during his time at Ryerson University (now called Toronto Metropolitan University) and was included in the 2008 Student Film Showcase. In this film, Cronenberg’s unique style and creativity is already evident – marked by his use of distinct body horror and the  unsettling, haunting atmospheres that would become prominent in his features.

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For Wendy – Jacquelyn Mills 

Inspired by true events, three children try to understand the death of their mother through exploring nature.

Mills has worked as an editor, sound designer and cinematographer on many projects, but as a director, she is a Sundance Doc Fund alumni and has been nominated for both an IDA Documentary Award and a Canadian Screen Award. Her first feature, In the Waves, premiered at Visions du Réel in 2017, while her second film, Geographies of Solitude premiered at the Berlinale in 2022, where it won three awards. It also won the Best Canadian Feature Film Award at Hot Docs.

For Wendy was made during her time at Concordia University and was included in the 2008 Student Film Showcase, where it won the award for Best Cinematography. In this film, we can already see that Mills gravitates toward documentary with a very naturalistic, sensorial approach and an immersive atmosphere crafted through the image and sound. 

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Hello Goodbye – Antoine Bourges 

The first and last day of a foreign student in a North-American university with little changes between the two.

Bourges’ shorts films have been selected at multiple festivals including TIFF, the Berlinale, and SXSW. His first feature, Fail to Appear, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2017 and went on to receive theatrical releases in both Canada and Mexico. His second feature, Concrete Valley, premiered at TIFF in 2022 and was also selected at the Berlinale. 

Hello Goodbye was made during his time at University of British Columbia and was included in the 2008 Student Film Showcase. In this film, Bourges already begins to play with the boundaries of fiction and documentary, employing a fascinating narrative structure that cleverly depicts human connections over time. 

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Princess Margaret Blvd. – Kazik Radwanski 

An introduction to Isabelle, as she defiantly confronts the frustration, confusion and loneliness that are the effects of Alzheimer’s.

Radwanski has cofounded the aforementioned MDFF production company and has directed four feature films to date. His feature debut, Tower, premiered at the 2012 edition of Locarno, followed by How Heavy This Hammer, which premiered at TIFF in 2015 and went on to be selected for the Berlinale. His third feature, Anne at 13,000 ft, premiered at the 2019 edition of TIFF and earned four nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards. His latest film, Matt and Mara, premiered at the 2024 edition of the Berlinale and was theatrically released in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Princess Margaret Blvd. was made during his time at Ryerson University (now called Toronto Metropolitan University) and was included in the 2008 Student Film Showcase. While Alzheimer’s is no original topic, especially in short film, Radwanski crafts a narrative grounded in an undeniable authenticity making this film gripping and steering clear of the usual tropes and clichés.

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Hogtown Blues – Hugh Gibson

A Russian woman living in Toronto deals with her son’s illness and her father’s indifference.

Gibson’s feature debut, The Stairs, premiered at the 2016 edition of TIFF, received a Special Mention at Montreal’s RIDM and won the Toronto Film Critics Award for Best Canadian Film of 2016.
Hogtown Blues was made during his time at York University and was included in the 2004 Student Film Showcase. Gibson shows in this film a strong ability to craft a subtle yet poignant tension, while the lead performance is incredibly compelling, bringing nuance and complexity to the role that Gibson created.