Cinema audiences in Ireland and around the world see far more Canadian-shot movies than they might imagine. So many US productions use Canadian cities and areas to double for American locations, that Canada has been dubbed Hollywood North in the film business.

Hence the ironic title of this season, which shows that there is much more to what happens in film in Canada. The festival is delighted to present a stimulating programme of real Canadian cinema.

We are showing seven films from a touring programme assembled by Cam Haynes(one of our favourite guests at JDIFF) and his enthusiastic team in the Film Circuit department of the Toronto International Film Festival Group.

Joining Cam in Dublin this year are guests representing three of the films in the season, and they will join in post-screening discussions with the festival audience. Our special thanks to Cam Haynes and all his Toronto team, and to Edward Fletcher at Soda Pictures in London, for all their assistance with this season.

Canada is particularly well represented at this year's festival. Toronto native Norman Jewison, a remarkably versatile producer and director of international productions, and one of the stalwarts of the Canadian film industry, will attend the festival to receive a Career Achievement award and to participate in a public interview.

Sarah Polley, a gifted Canadian actress, makes her feature film debut as a director with one of the most accomplished films in the festival, Away From Her, and we hope that she, too, will attend.

And we are pleased to be showing Water, the concluding drama in Toronto-based director Deepa Mehta's elemental trilogy that began with Fire (1996) and continued with Earth (1998).