It's been an epic year for movies.

From James Cameron's return to the big screen with "Avatar," to "Star Trek" re-imagined to the star-studded cast of Rob Marshall's "Nine," Hollywood has been going big guns this year.

Meanwhile over in independent film a new star was born - Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe - the abused, overweight teen who grabs your heart and won't let go in "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire."

And a few foreign language films - "The White Ribbon" and "A Prophet," in particular - simply blew critics' socks off.

We canvassed a diverse group of movie experts to find out what films they thought were the best of 2009.

To read more click here.

Said Taghmaoui was a crowd favorite at the 9th Marrakech International Film Festival.(PHOTO: AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

In spite of its recent arrival on the global film festival circuit, the 9th Marrakech International Film Festival attracted some of the world’s most respected filmmakers. Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami presided over the jury this year, a role previously held by Roman Polanski, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Milos Forman and Barry Levinson.

The festival manages to showcase both the dynamic Moroccan film industry and the astonishingly diverse protagonists of international cinema.

Since 2005, Moroccan directors have been making between 15 and 20 feature films a year, according to Nour-Eddine Sail, Director General of the Moroccan Film Center.  He told CNN the North African country is dedicated to producing its very own images of its cities and landscapes, as well as promoting Moroccan filmmakers.

Foreign investment is very important to the Moroccan film industry: Mr Sail added that overseas money - coming mainly from Europe and the U.S. - amounted to $100 million in 2008 and $60 million in 2009. Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven,” Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” and the upcoming “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” - starring Ben Kingsley and Jake Gyllenhaal - were all shot in the famous Atlas film studios in Ouarzazate.

The Marrakech International Film Festival is a celebration of cultural diversity. This year 15 nationalities are represented in the international competition. French-Moroccan actor Said Taghmaoui was given a special tribute and his star power was evident on the red carpet, where Moroccan women, men and children showered him with affection and offered him babies’ cheeks for kisses.

Even though Taghmaoui is amongst only a handful of young French actors who have managed to cross over into Hollywood, the 36-year-old was modest when accepting the award, previously given to veteran actor, Sir Ben Kingsley. Taghmaoui moves seamlessly from French to English, considering himself an international actor, and telling CNN “the sky is my home.”

Marrakech also paid tribute to Serbian screenwriter, director and musician Emir Kusturica, who embodies the concept of the international filmmaker. Kusturica attended the Milos Forman Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and then went on to win the Palm D’Or twice in his career for  “When Father Was Away on Business” and “Underground.”

After teaching at Columbia University in New York, Kusturica made “Arizona Dream,” his first film in the United States starring Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway which won him the Silver Bear in Berlin.

In 2008 Kusturica launched a film festival dedicated to helping young filmmakers in the Serbian mountain resort town of Mokra Gora, a town which was developed out of a Kusturica set for the film “Life is a Miracle.”

Kusturica’s future projects include a film about the life of Mexican revolutionary hero Pancho Villa in his upcoming biopic titled "Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman With Six Fingers."

The cast of Fatih Akin's 'Soul Kitchen' with the Festival director Despina Mouzaki. (PHOTO: Vasilis Ververidis)

Arriving in Thessaloniki for the 50th film festival I was met with the Greek sunshine (an exception for northern Greece in November) and festival liaison Aspasia who embodied the efficiency, positive energy and can-do attitude of this unique festival. Aspasia’s name goes all the way back to Greece’s Golden Age when she was one of the few women intellectuals around and a long time partner to Pericles, the founder of democracy.

This is not Cannes, Venice or Toronto. It’s a small festival which nevertheless manages to screen 240 films in its 10-day run and takes pride in involving the Thessalonians in its celebrations in every way it can. Hordes of volunteers and young performers storm the city with imaginative acts inspired by memorable film scenes. From an homage to choreographer Dean Collins who taught actresses such as Shirley Temple and Joan Crawford how to swing dance in the legendary Hollywood film studios of the 1940s and 1950s to an experimental dance performance inspired by the angels in the Wim Wenders film "Wings of Desire."

If one word were to be used to describe this festival, it would be accessibility. Festival-goers can turn up and tap into the wisdom of director Werner Herzog, discover the inspiration for "Pans Labyrinth" from production designer Eugenio Caballero and quiz Fox Studio studio exec Jim Gianopoulos about the real story behind Jim Cameron’s "Avatar."

The best part about these masterclasses? Anybody can attend, they’re informal and they’re free. If you want to follow Herzog’s film seminars at his new Rogue Film School, a few hours will cost you a few hundreds dollars.

The former warehouses of the city’s port authority have been transformed into screening rooms, festival offices and exhibition centers and they are only a hop away from the main city square and the scenic boardwalk that runs along the Thermaikos Gulf.

Once you enter the world of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, you enter a whirlpool of late night film screenings, 3 a.m. film debates in tiny cocktail bars and high profile film-makers who get behind the decks to direct their own DJ sets. You soon realize that the city lives by night. Its Byzantine monuments, like the Belvedere castle, take on another life when lit against the dark sky, and there is something very romantic about watching the bar lights reflect off the Thermaikos Gulf.

The organizers are not kidding when it comes to loving film. It’s bestowing Golden Alexander awards on Herzog and Serbian director Goran Paskaljevic – the latter a nod to the festival’s commitment to showcasing films from the Balkan region. Japanese Pink Erotica and Filipino film-makers (including Lav Diaz, whose film "Melancholia" is an eight hour opus) are featured and the main international competition focuses on first- and second-time film-makers.

Domestically though, the festival’s brightness is somewhat dimmed by the absence of some of the brightest lights in Greek film-making. A boycott of the National Film Awards which follow the festival is intended to alert the newly-elected government to long-running concerns about government commitment to the film industry.

But the new Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos gives a positive message about attracting European film-makers to Greece, the festival’s dynamic director Despina Mouzaki exudes pride in the landmark event and her festival wraps itself around you – you see it in every corner from posters to ticket booths to promotional projections on the city’s ancient building which themselves become cinematic screens and you even go to bed with it if you happen to turn on the TV in your hotel room.

Thessaloniki’s cuisine is eclectic, bringing together the cuisine of Constantinople, the Mediterranean, and even flavors from the large Jewish community of Thessaloniki. Middle-eastern music mixed with Metallica in a suitably eclectic DJ set by Turkish-German director Fatih Akin followed the opening night premiere of his film "Soul Kitchen."

As a stalwart of Thessaloniki, we quizzed him on his reasons for coming back. His reply was simple: "The food, the people, the place."

It may seem stranger than fiction, but George Clooney's latest film, paranormal comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats," was inspired by real events.

"It's funny, there are things that are made up in this screenplay, but the wackiest things are actually the real ones," said Clooney

Like starring alongside a goat.

Clooney's role as Lyn Cassady, an operative of the New Earth Army, required him to play opposite the farmyard animal to demonstrate the army's psychic warfare strategies, among them the ability to kill goats by staring at them.

Known for his dry sense of humor, the actor said of his four-legged co-star: "This goat was a particularly nice goat. The goat was a great actor."

Read more of this article on CNN's The Screening Room here.

Designer Tom Ford directs Colin Firth in 'A Single Man.' (PHOTO: IM Global)

Colin Firth has sparked Oscar buzz with his performance, which won him the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival, and the Weinstein Company bought distribution rights for the movie at Toronto. That means the public will soon get their own chance to judge whether designer-turned-director Ford is as successful behind the camera as he was in bringing sexy silhouettes to the catwalk.

The former creative head at Gucci isn’t the only one to find a second calling in the movies. He joins a long list of "hyphen" directors - musicians, journalists and artists who have switched careers to become filmmakers.

Singers alone could fill up a list. Madonna made her directorial debut last year with "Filth and Wisdom," which was received with about as much as enthusiasm as her earlier attempts at acting, while heavy metal rocker Rob Zombie, who revived the "Halloween" franchise and is reportedly lined up to remake "The Blob," has made a name in horror films.

To be sure, some have been far more successful than others. One of the most notable crossovers of late has been British artist and Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen, who made a splash at Cannes last year with "Hunger." His picture about an IRA hunger striker won the Camera d'Or for best first feature film at the fest.

Former entertainment journalist and film critic Rod Lurie, who broke out with his 2000 film “The Contender” starring Joan Allen as a Vice President nominee under scrutiny, has also developed credibility as a director of political films.

The most successful crossover of all? Perhaps Woody Allen, who started out as a stand-up comic before taking up position behind the camera. But you tell us, who do you think are the best film directors to cross over from other fields? Tell us in the comments below.

If you’ve ever been fired or found yourself to be the casualty of a corporate downsizing, George Clooney’s latest film “Up in the Air” could ring all too true.

George Clooney at a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival

Clooney stars as a so-called “career transition consultant” who crisscrosses the country firing people in the Jason Reitman film, which has been generating buzz at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. 

Are you ready to watch films about the recession or is the stress still too close to home? Share your comments below.

Toronto, which started September 10 and runs until September 19, is one of the key fall film festivals that can shape the race for film awards.

Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who does his job with a remote coolness and revels in racking up air miles. But his elite business traveler status comes under threat when a new colleague proposes firing people via video conferences instead of in person.

The drama is the third film directed by Reitman, who was behind “Thank You for Smoking” and indie hit “Juno,” and is one of a number of films at Toronto this year to reflect on the fallout of the economic turmoil.

But while films like Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” take a provocative look, “Up in the Air” angles for a more introspective examination that goes beyond the pain of job loss.

“The connective tissue is that this is a movie about a man who is searching for purpose in his life, and what seems to be the most heartbreaking result of losing your job is people in the middle of their life searching for purpose,” Reitman told reporters at a press conference during the festival.

Reitman said he started writing the script as a satire, but over the six years it took him to write the movie, the world changed. He realized what once were humorous scenes about people getting fired weren’t funny anymore and decided to take a dramatic approach.

If the film gives off an air of authenticity, that’s because Reitman took out an ad seeking real people who were out of work and filmed those who responded talking about what it was like to lose their job. He said there was a “heartbreaking” response and he ended up featuring 25 real voices in the film.

Clooney said that while working on the film, which is one of two movies he has at Toronto, it became clear that it was less a comedy and much more about real people, and it suddenly felt more timely than ever.

“We ended up I think, fortunately, being able to tell a story that’s sort of important to talk about right now,” he told reporters at a press conference.

For his part, he's earned glowing reviews for his performance. “Clooney has scarcely ever been more magnetic onscreen than he is here as Ryan Bingham,” industry magazine Variety said, while Reitman referred to Clooney’s turn as one his most “vulnerable” performances to date.

We’ll be watching to see if viewers think the same. Like the rest of the films in the Toronto line-up, “Up in the Air” is in contention for the People’s Choice Award at the festival, which is voted on by festival audiences and will be announced September 19.

For more on the Toronto Film Festival, watch The Screening Room on CNN at the following times: Wednesday 23 September: 0930, 1730, Saturday 26 September: 0930, 1800, 2130, Sunday 27 September: 0630, 1830, Monday 28 September: 0400 (all times GMT)

Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe stars as Clareece 'Precious' Jones in gritty ghetto drama 'Precious'.

Toronto is recognized universally as being the start of awards season and the place where studios launch their Oscar campaigns. You can always tell which films they’re going to push by the relative lavishness of the parties. My suspicions were aroused last year by the oyster mountain at Fox Searchlight’s "Slumdog Millionaire" party.

I felt the same inkling at the Blackberry/Lionsgate "Precious" party, as foie gras crostini were pressed on me, that we will be seeing much more of this fine film and in particular Mo'Nique's much talked about performance.

Film festivals can often start with a bang and slowly fizzle until all that is left are some straggly-looking journalists sitting around eating stale sandwiches and trying to file copy on ancient laptops.

But this year, the Toronto International Film Festival flipped things around launching on a low-key note with Jon Amiel’s Charles Darwin biopic "Creation" starring couple Jennifer Connolly and Paul Bettany. Despite good reviews, film has failed, thus far, to secure a U.S. distributor or much coverage.

Things only really started to get going at the weekend with the premiere of Iraq war satire “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges (aka "The Dude"). The weekend's other big hitter was and "Up in the Air," also starring Clooney, which had critics raving and the Oscar pundits buzzing.

Clooney walked the carpet for both films with a bandaged hand, which he also had at Venice; but declined to do any other interviews, which is a shame because I imagine interviewing him would be fun.

"Capitalism: A Love Story" had its first public outing on Sunday to the usual Michael Moore film love/hate reception. However you feel about Moore, the film is certainly entertaining and speaks to the despair of America's working class during tough economic times. Moore has sympathy: "It’s crazy," he tells me, "We live in a democracy. There’s supposed to be some kind of equitable distribution of something here. It’s not set up for just a few to be calling the shots and everyone else scrambling for what’s left."

The festival is also careful to make things fun for the city it calls home, showcasing various events in public space Yonge-Dundas Square. A crowd of blood covered zombies lurched there through the city to greet horror icon George Romero, with one over-zealous zombie drooling blue goo onto our cameraman’s white sneaker.

The day after, the square was taken over by a roller derby to celebrate actress Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut "Whip It," which drew crowds of press and onlookers eager for Barrymore and star Ellen Page to recreate their recent smooch in Marie Claire magazine.

Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke with a Bosnian woman wearing traditional dress in Sarajevo. (PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images)

Since then, it has grown into the Balkan region's most important film event and a significant film industry destination. It now draws more than 100,000 people each year, a long way from its humble beginnings in a besieged city back in 1995.

This year's festival presented 232 films from 53 countries screened over nine days.

The festival also draws some of the biggest names in the international arena. Last year, Kevin Spacey, Juliette Binoche, Nick Nolte, Mike Leigh, Charlie Kaufman, Jia Khang-ke and Nuri Bilge Ceylan attended among others, filling Sarajevo locals with the hope that their city can be significant in peaceful times too.

This year, the glamour was less evident, likely due to the recession. But Gillian Anderson and Mickey Rourke made an appearance. Rourke spent few days at the Festival and few dollars around the city, buying some traditional Bosnian linen in the historic center.

Sarajevo is arguably the leading showcase for films from south-east Europe and this year there was a real sense of local patriotism. Winner of the top prize, the “Heart of Sarajevo,” was a Serbian war drama, “Ordinary People” by director Vladimir Perisic. A number of other award-winners also explored aspects of the war in the former Yugoslavia, including short film “The Party” by Croatian Dalibor Matanic.

Sarajevo has established itself as the regional center, not only for competing filmmakers, but also for co-operation. Most of the films coming out of the Balkans international co-productions, which not only benefits the industry but brings a co-operative spirit to a region formerly known mostly for its troubles.

Director Shane Meadows filmed 'Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee' in five days. (PHOTO: Warp X).

The idea of shooting a feature film in less than a week is enough to leave the most seasoned filmmaker in a state of panic.

But that's exactly the challenge British director Shane Meadow set himself with latest film “Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee,” shot in just five days.

The improvised comedy starring long-time Meadows collaborator, Paddy Considine and real-life rapper Scor-zay-zee, premiered to positive reviews at Edinburgh International Film Festival earlier this year. It follows failed musician, Le Donk, as he struggles to reclaim his life after his pregnant girlfriend walks out on him.

BAFTA-winner Meadows recently said filmmakers should adopt a “punk mentality” if they want to follow in his footsteps.

"It’s not about someone stumping up £2 million [for a film] and putting pressure on you - it’s about smaller characters and crazy ideas," he said in an interview with Wired magazine.

The director has introduced his very own moviemaking dogma "Five day features," with long-time producer Mark Herbert who also serves as the head of Warp Films.

The only rule of the “movement” is that films are shot in five days or less and he hopes it will promote the idea that working under restrictions is good for creativity.

“The 'Donk' DVD and website will be a working manifesto of how to do it," Meadows said. "In the end, people are going to have to get off their ar**s and do it themselves."

Further details of the project will be announced on Meadows'  official Web site in the near future.

"Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee" is released in the UK on 9 October and will be available on DVD from 26 October.

VENICE, Italy (CNN) - The bigger the star, the lower the press are prepared to sink in order to get their attention.

An Italian man took off his clothes - down to his boxers - and asked George Clooney for a kiss at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival.

Security seemed reluctant to drag the man, who had an officially accredited badge, away.

"It's hard when you take a big chance and it doesn't work," Clooney grinned in response. "It's always really embarrassing when you take one big swing for the fence and it falls flat ... It was a good try though."

"Have you ever heard the David Niven joke," continued Clooney, "Wasn't it his line at the Oscars one year when he said the biggest laugh he'd ever get is by taking off his clothes and showing us his shortcomings."

Clooney is in Venice to promote Iraq war satire "The Men Who Stare at Goats," which is screening at the Lido.

The film, about a U.S. military unit that experiments with paranormal powers, co-stars Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.