Sunday, September 7-------Although low clouds hover over Toronto this morning, the sun should be out by later this afternoon when the Canadian Film Centre hosts its annual CFC BBQ, a Toronto highlight for local and visiting filmmakers and professionals.

Held on the picturesque grounds of Windfields Estate about 20 miles outside of town, the CFC and its founder director Norman Jewison will be welcoming a who's who of Canadian and international filmmaking talent, as CFC celebrates its 20th anniversary as a vital organization for the promotion of Canadian talent.

The CFC is Canada's largest institution for advanced training in film, television and the new media, with more than 1000 alumni working in the field both in Canada and abroad. CFC is committed to promote and investing in Canada's diverse talents and to showcase emerging filmmakers both on its home turf and at international events around the globe. CFC was a co-presenter of the Future of Cinema conference at the Cannes Film Festival, along with website filmfestivals.com. For more information on the CFC, visit their website: www.cfccreates.com

CFC also has a substantial presence at TIFF, with two Centre-produced films and a collection of films created by CFC alumni being prominently showcased. Nurse.Fighter.Boy, a fiction feature written and directed by debut director Charles Officer, will have its world premiere here as part of the Canada First! program. An urban love story abut the soul of a mother, the heart of a fighter and the faith of a child, the film also includes CFC alumni Ingrid Veninger as producer and current CFC Feature Film Project Director Justine Whyte as Executive Producer.

Pudge, produced throught the 2008 CFC Short Dramatic Film Program, will screen in the Shorts Cuts Canada program later this week. a heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship, the short boasts several CFC alumni, including director Annie Bradley, writer Tina Cooper, producer Antonella Lacaprara and editor Dominique Naipaul

Other CFC alumni are participating in the Talent Lab industry initiative and both the Shorts Cuts Canada and Canada First! strands. CFC alumni also are prominent in several of the Special Presentations this year, including director Justin Simms, the director of Down To The Dirt; Ingrid Veninger, co-director of Only; and Randall Cole, director of Real Time. And last, but not least, the world premiere of Toronto Stories, an anthology film boasting the contributions of an array of Canadian acting, writing and directing talents, includes prominent contributions from director David Weaver and editor Kathy Weinkauf.

So enuff info, please pass the bbq sauce.....

Sandy Mandelberger, Toronto FF Dailies Editor