It's TIFF time...but we're seeing a different kind of 'stars'

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Hi, art lovers!

Everyone on the CBC Arts team is probably sitting in a movie theatre right this second. (Oh, the magic of auto scheduling!) It's TIFF time again, and the festival takes over Toronto through Sept. 16.

Any films you wish you could see? Personally, we've made a whole list, and these are our top 10 must-watch movies. And if you finish skimming through those selections and are still looking for more, we've also rounded up some TIFF flicks with a Canadian connection.

We have even more TIFF coverage for you below — but first, the eye candy. We've been seeing stars the last few days, and not always ones of the Hollywood variety...

Navid Baraty raids his pantry to come up with out-of-this-world landscapes like this one. The red planet? It's a glass filled with a mixture of OJ, cream, red wine and ketchup. That galaxy of stars is a spray of sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and curry powder. But our favourite detail is definitely the moon. It's a wee potato.

Speaking of everyone's favourite natural satellite... Since July, a perfect scale replica of the moon has been lighting up Edmonton's Muttart Conservatory. It's the first Canadian venue to host "Museum of the Moon," a travelling art installation by U.K. artist Luke Jerram, but it'll be gone soon. The exhibition closes Sept. 16. (CBC Edmonton got a look earlier this summer.)

Or you could just look at the actual stars. They're pretty OK too, we guess. Here's a timelapse (or "astro-lapse") video of by Adrien Maudit, a night sky photographer from France.

You've got to see this

20 years ago, this filmmaker made TIFF history. Now, he's going back to his Nova Scotia roots - Back in 1997, Thom Fitzgerald's The Hanging Garden became the first Canadian feature to win both the coveted People's Chopice Award and Best Canadian Feature, and the director returns to this year's festival with Splinters, another thoughtful drama with LGBTQ themes set in rural Nova Scotia. Watch the trailer here! Then read the story behind his cinematic homecoming.

'I realized I could be an Arab actor after seeing Salma Hayek in Spy Kids. Now we're in the same TIFF movie' - Here's a different take on TIFF. Montreal's Ryan Ali appears in The Hummingbird Project with Salma Hayek this year, and he wrote us this essay about the unexpected impact of seeing yourself represented in the movies.

Arts and craft (beer) - So maybe you're not a movie person. Maybe you're way happier crashing on the couch with a few cold ones. Beer is the new art gallery, friend, and this feature traces how craft breweries have become patrons of the arts.

Follow this artist

Nomi Chi (@nomi_chi) - We want to believe...you'll love the work of Nomi Chi. There's a definite space alien vibe going on in Chi's work, and the Vancouver artist lets us in on how that connects to activist themes in the latest Art Minute video.

Got story ideas? Typo catches? Must-see TIFF picks?

We're always around. Hit us up over email, and we'll do our best to get back to you.

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Until next week!

XOXO, CBC Arts

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