THIS year's wave of darker-themed Australian films may challenge international audiences, according to Toronto International Film Festival co-director Noah Cowan.

Cowan also predicts the current crop of locally made films will spark a revival of Australian cinema on the world stage.

Eight Australian films screened as part of the Canadian festival over the past 10 days, covering issues such as drug abuse, suicide and murder.

Screening in different divisions of the festival were The Book of Revelation, Macbeth, Suburban Mayhem, The Silence, Candy, Ten Canoes, 2:37 and Jindabyne.

"Everybody has realised that Australian cinema is a much more complex beast than perhaps they did a year ago," Cowan said.

"The variation in the kind of cinema, the adventurousness, surprised a lot of people.

"But when you intrigue critics, then people will be interested to see them. I think people are still developing a critical eye for Australian films."

That said, Cowan believed it was an exciting time for Australian cinema. "Between Cannes and Toronto, there's a real sense that the sleeping giant of Australian cinema is roaring again," he said.

Many of the Australian films that screened at the Toronto International Film Festival this year had already opened in Australia and screened at Cannes in May.

Geoffrey Wright's modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth had its international premiere in Toronto. The film was inspired by Melbourne's gangland killings.

"Australia has, in recent years, been known for comedies, so we had films this year such as Macbeth and Book of Revelation that were radically different," Cowan said.

"This was more of a learning experience for people in the industry in terms of what to expect from Australia.

"Many of these films will find great success in distribution and a lot of success worldwide."

The Toronto International Film Festival is considered, among other things, a launching pad for films into the North American market.