Leading up to the big Oscarshowdownbetween Kathryn Bigelow and ex-hubbie James Cameron this weekend, theWorld of Comedy Film Festivalis presenting its annual blitz of funny flicks. Sure, humour is a very subjective thing. But whether you're keen on dark, silly, satirical, screwball, animated, romantic, political or sex comedies, World of Comedy should have you covered.

The deets: 59 shorts and features from Canada and around the world, from Friday, March 5 to Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the Innis Town Hall Theatre.

Veteran film and TV character actorPaul Dooley's presents his directorial debutHead Over Heelsin the opening night program "A Feast of Comedy Shorts". The headlining set also includesBill Plympton's latest from his "dog" series,Horn Dog, and aFrench film I quite like calledThe Business Trip (Voyage D'affaires)in which a timely opportunity (sort of) presents itself to a man who's just been dumped.

Dooley有多达155学分上市on IMDB, including stints onALF,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, andCurb Your Enthusiasm. He'll be hosting a workshop about "Improv for Character Actors" on Friday, March 5, 2010 from 2pm to 5pm atToronto's Second City Training Centreto kick off the festival.

On Saturday, go animated or edgy. The afternoon program "Animation and Other Wonders" is dominated by the adventures ofShaun the Sheep, featuring four fresh new episodes from UK-based Aardman Animation (Wallace & Gromit,Chicken Run).

Later at 9:30 p.m., "Shorts on the Line!" (and maybe just over it) has some solid picks, likeThe Resurrection of Officer Rollins, a zombie paramedic flick with a supernatural twist - that also makes time for its two heroes to get into a couple of philosophical discussions. There are a few too many sex comedies for my liking in this program, but I found some of the characters inTake My Wifesurprisingly charming.

Plus, somewhere in the mix there's an action hero spoof calledThe Action Hero's Guide To Saving Lives,Frank Dancoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer, and yetanother friendly poke at Herzog,Cooking with Werner, where the acclaimed filmmaker (not played by the acclaimed filmmaker) hosts a cooking show to fund his next movie.

The World of Comedy Film Festival will inspire chuckles from March 5 to 7, 2010. Ticket are $10/$60 for a pass (cash only) at Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue.

Stills from Take My Wife and Horn Dog.