'So you think you're crazy?'

Argentinian filmmaker Carlos Sorin claims his hometown of Buenos Aires has the most people undergoing psychoanalysis in the world – and that it’s becoming the norm.

He didn’t give a specific reason for the trend, but, speaking through a translator, said the practice is openly discussed with people comparing their pyschologists and psychiatrists.

It’s no surprise then that his latest work – The Cat Vanishes – focuses on a man recently released from a sanatorium to a wife who isn’t quite sure he's cured.

Sorin was speaking at the City To City symposium at the TIFF Lightbox along with a host of other Argentinian filmakers whose work is being featured at this year’s festival.

 Carlos Sorin/Paul Irish photo

It’s the third year for the forum which is described as an “exploration of the urban experience, highlighting the best in emerging cinematic talent in a particular locale."

Cameron Bailey, co-director of the festival and host of the forum, said he and others have been keeping a close eye on what’s been happening in Argentina and that there’s a whole new generation of filmmakers and a thriving film culture.

Eight new films are being featured at the festival including Pablo Trapero’s Crane World, a look at the life of a man trying to make a living as a crane operator in Buenos Aires.

Sorin would not be pigeonholed when the discussion came to genre or a “new wave” of Argentinian filmmakers.

“When people talk to me about The Cat Vanishes they say: "'This is such an Argentinian movie.’” he said. “But that’s very hard for me to see. It’s a movie with no localism.”

But Sorin is certain of one thing: the growing prestige of the Toronto International Film Festival.

“This is a very important festival,” he said. “It has an international audience – a real audience. You can tell by the questions we keep getting asked.”

-Paul Irish