Toronto – The 37th Toronto International Film Festival®’s Masters programme presents a cinematic feast of 14 films by modern masters of celluloid, including the world premieres of new films by Goran Paskaljevic and Bernard Émond.
“These Masters films represent cinema’s living legacy,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. “We are proud to present new work from directors as renowned as Manoel de Oliveira, Michael Haneke, Bernardo Bertolucci and Abbas Kiarostami. All 14 filmmakers command the respect of audiences, critics and above all their filmmaking peers.”
Amour Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany
North American Premiere
Screen legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are ineffably moving as an elderly couple facing their own mortality in the Palme d'Or-winning new work by modern master Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon).
Beyond the Hills (Dupa Dealuri) Cristian Mungiu, Romania/France
North American Premiere
Palme d'Or winner Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) returns with this magisterial drama about a young Romanian woman who sets out to retrieve her childhood friend from “captivity” in a remote Romanian monastery, and soon comes into violent conflict with the archaic strictures of this traditional community.
Everyday Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Everyday tells the story of four children separated from their father, and a wife separated from her husband. The father, Ian (John Simm), is in prison. The mother, Karen, (Shirley Henderson) has to bring up a family of four children by herself. Filmed over a period of five years, Everyday uses the repetitions and rhythms of everyday life to explore how a family can survive a prolonged period apart.
Gebo and the Shadow (Gebo et l'ombre) Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/France
North American Premiere
Cinematic legends Jeanne Moreau, Claudia Cardinale and Michael Lonsdale star in the new film from legendary Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira.
In Another Country (Da-Reun Na-ra-e-suh) Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
North American Premiere
South Korean master Hong Sang-soo teams with French superstar Isabelle Huppert for this inventive and wonderfully witty three-part film, in which three different but strikingly similar women — all named Anne, and all played by Huppert — meet and interact with the same group of people in a seaside Korean town, with each encounter producing a set of intriguing new outcomes and new possibilities.
Like Someone in Love Abbas Kiarostami, Japan/France
North American Premiere
An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him; he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her body. But the web that is woven between them in the space of 24 hours bears no relation to the circumstances of their encounter.
Me and You Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy
North American Premiere
In Italian master Bernardo Bertolucci's first feature in 10 years, Lorenzo is a quirky 14-year-old loner who plans to fulfill his teenage dream of happiness by hiding out in his apartment building’s abandoned cellar. To escape his overwrought parents, Lorenzo will tell them that he is going away on a ski trip with school friends. For an entire week, he will finally be able to avoid all conflicts and pressures to be a “normal” teenager. But an unexpected visit from his worldly older half-sister Olivia changes everything. Their emotional time together will inspire Lorenzo to come to terms with the challenge of casting aside his disguise of troubled youth and prepare to soon be thrown into the chaotic game of adult life.
Night Across the Street (La Noche de Enfrente) Raúl Ruiz, France/Chile
North American Premiere
Three intersecting ages of a man who can see approach of death. Three rival souls. The final testament of Raúl Ruiz.
Pieta Kim Ki-duk, South Korea
North American Premiere
In the new film by controversial Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk, a brutal man employed by a loan shark is forced to reconsider his violent lifestyle when a mysterious woman appears claiming to be his long-lost mother. But, as his attachment to her grows, he begins to discover the gruesome and tragic secret that made her seek him out.
Something in the Air (Après mai) Olivier Assayas, France
North American Premiere
At the beginning of the seventies, Gilles, a high school student in Paris, is swept up in the political fever of the time. Yet his real dream is to paint and make films, something that his friends and even his girlfriend cannot understand. For them, politics is everything, the political struggle all-consuming. But Gilles gradually becomes more comfortable with his life choices, and learns to feel at ease in this new society.
Student Darezhan Omirbayev, Kazakhstan
North American Premiere
Master director Darezhan Omirbayev transposes Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment to modern-day Kazakhstan, in this tale of a university student who takes the ruthless social Darwinist principles of his post-communist, pirate-capitalist society to their murderously literal extreme.
When Day Breaks Goran Paskaljevic, Serbia/Croatia/France
World Premiere
Misha Brankov is a retired music professor. One morning he receives a letter requesting him to contact the Jewish Museum in Belgrade. At the museum, he learns that during some excavations on the sewers at the city’s Old Fairgrounds, an iron box was found, in this same place where during the Second World War an infamous concentration camp was set up for Serbian Jews and Gypsies. The contents of the box will change the Professor’s life.
Previously announced Masters films include: Bernard Émond’s Tout Ce Que Tu Possèdes (All That You Possess) and Peter Mettler’s The End of Time.
FESTIVAL’S DISCOVERY PROGRAMME SPOTLIGHTS 27 DYNAMIC WORKS
FROM AROUND THE GLOBE INCLUDING 14 WORLD PREMIERES
Toronto — The Toronto International Film Festival® shines a spotlight on first and second feature films from up-and-coming filmmakers, with 27 diverse features charging up its Discovery programme. The lineup showcases dynamic films by enterprising directors from around the world including Paraguay, France, Sweden, Estonia, Ivory Coast and Serbia.
"North American audiences have first found films like Athina Rachel Tsangari's Attenberg and Steve McQueen's Hunger in our Discovery programme," said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. "With another strong crop of films this year and two prizes specifically for Discovery filmmakers, Toronto continues to be a prime place for debut films."
Films in the Discovery programme are eligible for two awards: the new Grolsch Film Works Discovery Award that honours a filmmaker in the Discovery programme for their exceptional journey to date and that includes a $10,000 cash prize to support the winner’s next project, and the juried International Federation of Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI Prize) for the Discovery programme.
One additional title has also been added to the TIFF Kids programme, the world premiere of Vincent Bal’s Nono the ZigZag Kid.
DISCOVERY
7 Boxes Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori, Paraguay
International Premiere
It's Friday night in Asunción and the temperature is 40ºC. Víctor, a 17-year-old wheelbarrow-boy, dreams of becoming famous and covets a cell phone in Mercado 4. He is offered the chance to deliver seven boxes with unknown contents in exchange for $100. This sounds like an easy job but it soon gets complicated. Something in the boxes is highly coveted. Víctor and his persecutors find themselves caught up in a crime they know nothing about. Starring Celso Franco, Lali González, Víctor Sosa and Nico García.
Augustine Alice Winocour, France
International Premiere
Paris, winter 1885. At the Pitié-Salpêtriere Hospital, Professor Charcot is studying a mysterious illness: hysteria. Augustine, 19 years old, becomes his favourite guinea pig and the star of his demonstrations of hypnosis. The object of his studies will soon become the object of his desire. Starring Soko, Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni.
Blancanieves Pablo Berger, Spain/France
World Premiere
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who never knew her mother. She learned the art of her father, a famous bullfighter, but was hated by her evil stepmother. One day she ran away with a troupe of dwarfs and became a legend. Set in southern Spain in the 1920s, Blancanieves is a tribute to silent film. Starring Maribel Verdú and Daniel Giménez Cacho.
Boy Eating the Bird's Food Ektoras Lygizos, Greece
North American Premiere
A 22-year-old boy in Athens has no job, no money, no girlfriend and no food to eat. He has only a canary bird and a beautiful singing voice. When he finds himself without a home, he must seek shelter for his bird. Starring Yiannis Papadopoulos.
The Brass Teapot Ramaa Mosley, USA
World Premiere
John and Alice are in their 20s, married, very much in love, and broke. In high school, gorgeous Alice was voted “most likely to succeed” but now she’s just trying to make ends meet while her friends are enjoying the good life. Her husband John, loving but immature, just wants to get the bills paid. After they get into an accident and end up at a roadside antique shop, Alice is uncharacteristically drawn to shoplift a brass teapot. It isn’t long before they realize this is no ordinary teapot. Starring Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel, Alia Shawkat, Bobby Moynihan, Stephen Park, Billy Magnussen and Debra Monk.
Burn It Up Djassa Lonesome Solo, Ivory Coast/France
World Premiere
In the busy streets of Abidjan, Tony, an out-of-school youth, scrapes together a living by hawking cigarettes but he soon turns to violence. Shot in 11 days in Abidjan, Burn It Up Djassa breathes new life into Ivory Coast film. Starring Abdoul Karim Konaté, Adélaïde Ouattara, Mamadou Diomandé and Mohamed Bamba.
Call Girl Mikael Marcimain, Sweden/Ireland/Norway/Finland
World Premiere
Stockholm, late 1970s. Within a stone’s throw of government buildings and juvenile homes lies the seductive world of sex clubs, discotheques and private residences. Call Girl tells the story of how young Iris is recruited from the bottom of society into a ruthless world where power can get you anything. Starring Pernilla August, Sofia Karemyr, Simon J Berger, Sven Nordin, David Dencik, Ruth Vega Fernandez, Josefin Asplund, Magnus Krepper and Kristoffer Joner.
Clip Maja Milos, Serbia
North American Premiere
Jasna is a beautiful girl in her mid-teens, leading a crude life in postwar Serbia. With a terminally ill father and dispirited mother, she is disillusioned and angry with everyone and everything, including herself. Having a huge crush on a boy from school, she goes on a spree of sex, drugs and partying, constantly filming with her mobile phone. Still, in that very harsh environment – love and tenderness emerge. Starring Isidora Simijonovic, Vukašin Jasnic, Sanja Mikitišin, Jovo Makisc and Monja Savic.
The Color of the Chameleon Emil Christov, Bulgaria
World Premiere
This is a story without innocents. A maniacal informant creates his own phantom secret-police department. He recruits a group of intellectuals to spy on each other and uses his secret archive to wreak havoc on the government. Secret policing reveals its dark nature not only in its nauseating cruelties, but in its deviant pleasures. Starring Ruscen Vidinliev, Irena Milyankova, Rousy Chanev, Deyan Donkov, Svetlana Yancheva and Samuel Finzi.
The Deflowering of Eva van End Michiel ten Horn, The Netherlands
World Premiere
The Deflowering of Eva van End is a tragicomedy about the van End family who, after the arrival of an impossibly perfect German exchange student, can no longer imagine how they ever managed to live with their imperfect selves. Starring Vivian Dierickx, Abe Dijkman, Tomer Pawlicki, Jacqueline Blom, Ton Kas and Rafael Gareisen.
Detroit Unleaded Rola Nashef, USA
World Premiere
Caught between the cultures of contemporary Detroit and traditional Arab-America, Sami works behind the bulletproof glass of a 24-hour gas station with his cousin Mike. Inside this unique East-side neighborhood, the once university-bound Sami is forced to put his dreams aside and resign himself to a world composed of junk food, overpriced Tigers baseball memorabilia, and cheap, long-distance phone cards. And then the beautiful Naj walks in. Starring E.J. Assi, Nada Shouhayib, Mike Batayeh, Mary Assel, Akram El-Ahmar and Steven Soro.
Eat Sleep Die Gabriela Pichler, Sweden
North American Premiere
When the forceful young Muslim Swedish/Balkan factory worker Raša loses her job, she must navigate the unemployment system. With no high school diploma, no job – but her boots deeply stained with the mud of the small town she grew up in – Raša finds herself on a collision course with society and its contradictory values and expectations. First time amateur actors play all of the main characters in the film. Starring Nermina Lukac, Milan Dragišic, Peter Fält, Ružica Pichler and Jonathan Lampinen.
Fill the Void Rama Burshtein, Israel
North American Premiere
Fill the Void tells the story of an Orthodox Hassidic family from Tel Aviv. Eighteen-year-old Shira is the youngest daughter of the family. She is about to be married to a promising young man of the same age and background. It is a dream come true and Shira feels prepared and excited. When her 28-year-old sister, Esther, dies while giving birth to her first child, Shira's promised match is postponed. When Shira’s mother finds out that Esther’s widower may leave the country with her only grandchild, she proposes a match between Shira and the widower. Shira will have to choose between her heart's wish and her family duty. Starring: Hadas Yaron, Yiftach Klein, Irit Sheleg, Chaim Sharir, Razia Israely, Hila Feldman, Renana Raz, Yael Tal, Michael David Weigl and Ido Samuel.
The Interval Leonardo Di Costanzo, Italy
North American Premiere
A boy and a girl have been locked up in an enormous abandoned building in Naples. The boy has been forced by a Camorra gang to act as her jail-keeper. But as the hours go by, hostility gives way to a form of exchange and when the Camorra gang members make their appearance at sunset, the pair are different from what we were expecting. Starring: Francesca Riso, Alessio Gallo, Carmine Paternoster, Salvatore Ruocco, Antonio Buil, Jean Yves Morard
Janeane from Des Moines Grace Lee, USA
World Premiere
A conservative housewife wants to “take America back” in the 2012 election, but a tough economy causes some difficulties in her life, leading her to confront Republican contenders as they criss-cross her state during the Iowa Caucuses. But will anyone hear her story? Starring Jane Edith Wilson, Michael Oosterom, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich.
La Sirga William Vega, Colombia/France/Mexico
North American Premiere
Alice is helpless. War memories invade her mind like threatening thunder. Uprooted by the armed conflict, she tries to reshape her life in La Sirga, a decadent hostel on the shores of a great lake in the highlands of the Andes. There, on a swampy and murky beach, she will try to settle down until her fears and the threat of war resurface again. Starring Joghis Seudin Arias, David Fernando Guacas, Julio César Roble, Heraldo Romero and Floralba Achicanoy .
The Land of Eb Andrew Williamson, USA
World Premiere
The Land of Eb relates a compassionate portrait of the Marshallese diaspora in Kona, Hawaii from the point of view of a hard-working and loving family man. Jacob forgoes cancer treatment in order to provide for his family when he’s gone. An insightful and ultimately joyful reminder of the lasting effects of the nuclear age. Starring Jonithen Jackson, Rojel Jonithen, Jeff Nashion and Hilary Monson.
Nights with Theodore Sébastien Betbeder, France
World Premiere
A party in a Parisian flat. Theodore meets Anna. Later in the night, while walking through Paris, they decide to climb the fence of Buttes-Chaumont Park. There, they will share their first night and they will continue to come back until this strange attraction begins to separate them. In Nights with Theodore, fiction meets documentary to show the mysteries and fantasies of Buttes-Chaumont Park. Starring Pio Marmaï and Agathe Bonitzer.
Mushrooming Toomas Hussar, Estonia
North American Premiere
Politician Aadu and his wife set out to pick mushrooms on a day when he gets a call from a journalist confronting him with suspected corruption. By coincidence, the married couple find themselves in a car with a pompous rock idol named Zäk. After discovering the spot his wife chose to pick mushrooms is full of vacationers, Aadu decides to find a quieter place. The woods where he ultimately ends up however, are perhaps too deep and inhospitable. Finding a way out may not be easy. This black comedy, with touches of political satire, aims at the often unscrupulous behaviour of contemporary politicians and media stars on their way to power and popularity. Starring Raivo E. Tamm, Elina Reinold, Juhan Ulfsak, Üllar Saaremäe and Hendrik Toompere Jr.
Our Little Differences Sylvie Michel, Germany
International Premiere
The seemingly harmonious relationship between the prestigious Doctor, Sebastian and his Bulgarian cleaning lady, Jana, develops into a vicious power game, when her daughter Vera and Arthur, the doctor’s son, vanish without a trace. Starring Wolfram Koch, Bettina Stucky, Leonard Bruckmann, Silvia Petkova, Wilhelm Eilers, Cornelia Brunig, Katharina Kubel and Jacqueline Macaulay.
Out in the Dark Michael Mayer, Israel/USA
North American Premiere
Two young men—a Palestinian grad student and an Israeli lawyer—meet and fall in love amidst personal and political intrigue in this striking debut feature. As their relationship deepens, Nimer is confronted with the harsh realities of a Palestinian society that refuses to accept him for his sexual identity, and an Israeli society that rejects him for his nationality. Starring Nicholas Jacob and Michael Aloni.
Satellite Boy Catriona McKenzie, Australia
World Premiere
While trying to save his home from being bought up by developers, a young Aboriginal boy becomes lost in the Outback with his smart-mouthed friend, and must call on the wisdom and survival skills passed down to him by his grandfather (played by legendary Australian actor David Gulpilil) in order to lead them out of the wilderness. Starring David Gulpilil, Cameron Wallaby, Joseph Pedley, Rohanna Angus and Dean Daley-Jones.
Wasteland Rowan Athale, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Denton sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West has no doubt as to Harvey’s part in a foiled robbery and his subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper. Denying nothing, Harvey agrees to tell his version of events in full. As the story unfolds, we discover that a malevolent and unjust act perpetrated by Roper put Harvey in prison and now he has a score to settle. What unfolds is a tense and exhilarating heist of unexpected proportions. Starring: Luke Treadaway, Iwan Rheon, Matthew Lewis, Gerard Kearns, Timothy Spall, Vanessa Kirby and Neil Maskell.
Canadian films previously announced in the Discovery programme include: Jason Buxton’s Blackbird, Igor Drljaca’s Krivina, Kate Melville’s Picture Day and Kazik Radwanski’s Tower.
TIFF KIDS
Nono, The Zigzag Kid Vincent Bal, Belgium/The Netherlands World Premiere
Nono wants to be like his father – the best police inspector of the world – but he gets into trouble all the time. Two days before his Bar Mitzvah, he's sent away to his uncle Sjmoel, in order to keep to the straight and narrow. However, during the train ride Nono gets a last chance to prove himself. Along with master burglar Felix Glick – an old acquaintance of his father – he's able to stop the train. He then enters a world of disguises, chases, French chansons, and of Zohara, a mysterious lady whose secrets will change Nono's life forever.
MAVERICKS CAPTIVATES AUDIENCES WITH COMPELLING CONVERSATIONS FROM THE FILM WORLD AND BEYOND
In-person appearances by Jackie Chan, David Geffen, Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Natalie Maines, Danny Glover, Slavoj Žižek, and the team behind Shit Girls Say
TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival® presents a stellar lineup of notable newsmakers in this year’s Mavericks lineup, inviting audiences into intimate discussions with leaders in the film industry and beyond. Chronicling anecdotes and engaging in revealing conversations about their latest projects, guests in attendance include filmmakers Amy Berg, Tom Donahue, Sophie Fiennes, Kyle Humphrey, Susan Lacy, Álvaro Longoria and Graydon Sheppard; actors Javier Bardem, Jackie Chan, Johnny Depp, and Danny Glover; producers Damien Echols and Lorri Davis; media mogul David Geffen, philosopher Slavoj Žižek, musician Natalie Maines and casting director Ellen Lewis.
“Daring filmmakers, philanthropic trailblazers, political activists and provocative storytellers fill the diverse slate of talent in this year’s programme,” said Thom Powers, Toronto International Film Festival Mavericks Programmer. “The Festival’s Mavericks sessions offer audiences a rare experience into the minds of these creative leaders and a fascinating glimpse into their remarkable stories.”
This year, the Mavericks programme showcases the world premieres of American Masters Inventing David Geffen, Casting By, The Pervert's Guide to Ideology, the North American premiere of Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony, and the Canadian premiere of West of Memphis.
American Masters Inventing David Geffen
Notoriously press and camera-shy, David Geffen reveals himself for the first time in this unflinching portrait of a complex and compelling man. His far-reaching influence — as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, billionaire and philanthropist — has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. Following the world premiere screening of this new film, Geffen and filmmaker, American Masters creator and executive producer Susan Lacy hit the stage for a live conversation with Thom Powers.
Casting By
Director Tom Donahue’s new documentary showcases filmmaking’s unsung hero — the casting director — taking audiences on a fastpaced journey through the last half century of Hollywood history from an entirely new perspective. Paying tribute to the legacy of the legendary casting director Marion Dougherty, Donahue shines a light on one of the most overlooked and least understood crafts in filmmaking. An iconoclast pioneer in her field, Dougherty helped usher in the New Hollywood with movies like Midnight Cowboy and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film features interviews with top stars and filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall. This world premiere screening culminates with a live onstage discussion with Donahue, actor Danny Glover, and casting director Ellen Lewis (Hugo, Hyde Park on Hudson). Moderated by Thom Powers.
Graydon Sheppard and Kyle Humphrey (Shit Girls Say)
With their now-iconic Twitter-feed-turned-web-series Shit Girls Say, Toronto-based filmmaking duo Graydon Sheppard and Kyle Humphrey unleashed a deluge of gender and culturally-specific memes. In this intimate and inevitably irreverent conversation, every topic is on the table as Sheppard and Humphrey discuss their sudden entry into pop culture history and present a brand-new episode of SGS (a world premiere — also screening separately as part of Short Cuts Canada).
In Conversation With... Jackie Chan
Actor, director, writer, producer, comedian, stuntman, action choreographer and martial artist Jackie Chan continues to do it all. His tireless work in more than 100 films over four decades has made him a global icon. There may be no corner of this planet where his face — and fists — are unknown. In this exclusive Mavericks Conversation, Chan will discuss the full range of his career. In a Festival exclusive, he will also offer a sneak preview glimpse of his upcoming film, Chinese Zodiac. Moderated by Cameron Bailey.
Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony
Produced by and starring Academy Award®-winning actor Javier Bardem, Álvaro Longoria’s documentary Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony examines the current political turmoil in Northern Africa, and the role of the Western world’s realpolitik foreign policies. These policies have generated tremendous instabilities that have erupted into violence and chaos. The film focuses on Western Sahara, the last African colony according to the UN, and a region on the brink of war. The film follows Bardem’s personal journey through the path of world diplomacy and the devastating reality of an abandoned people. Following the North American premiere screening, Bardem joins Longoria onstage to discuss how he discovered this catastrophic human rights issue, and his determination to bring the cause of the Saharan refugees to the attention of the UN Assembly.
The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology
Depending on one’s view, the philosopher and academic superstar Slavoj Žižek is a genius, madman, contrarian, clown, sensationalist, radical leftist, scourge of liberals, or all the above. What he never fails to be is wildly entertaining and provocative. Director Sophie Fiennes reunites with the very funny provocateur Žižek for the sequel to their collaboration The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema. Žižek examines film clips, both famous and obscure, for their overt and hidden ideological implications, tracing their connections to current times, while Fiennes does a masterful job editing Žižek’s commentary into film scenes and placing him into clever recreations of famous film sets. Fiennes and Žižek (making his first visit to the Festival) will engage in an onstage discussion following this world premiere screening.
West of Memphis
From Academy Award-nominated director Amy Berg, in collaboration with first-time producers Damien Echols and Lorri Davis along with acclaimed Academy Award-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, comes West of Memphis — a powerful examination of a catastrophic failure of justice in Arkansas. This infamous case of three teenagers — known as the West Memphis Three — who were imprisoned for a heinous crime despite overwhelming evidence of their innocence, has galvanized grassroots supporters and high-profile advocates such as Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and musician Natalie Maines. Told and made by those who lived it, Berg’s unprecedented access to the inner workings of the defence allows the film to show the investigation, research and appeals process in a way that has never been seen before. A pre-taped video introduction by Jackson precedes the screening, which is followed by a live discussion about the case and the movement it inspired with Berg, Echols, Davis, Maines and Depp. Moderated by Thom Powers.
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL’S TWO-DAY TIFF DOCS CONFERENCE OPENS TO THE PUBLIC
Featuring guests Sheila Nevins, Ken Burns and Shola Lynch and World Premieres of Rafea: Solar Mama and The Last White Knight, plus sneak peeks of anticipated new docs
Toronto – The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® today announced that TIFF Docs Conference returns for its fourth year as an intensive showcase for conversations with leaders in the documentary field, world premieres of new films and sneak previews of works-in-progress. This year the conference expands from one to two days (September 10 and 11). Previously open only to TIFF Industry delegates, passes will be on sale to the public for the first time this year. Attendees will hear from leaders in the world of docs including a keynote address from HBO Documentary Films’ Sheila Nevins, Ken Burns in conversation with Shola Lynch, and world premieres of docs from Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief, and Paul Saltzman, as well sneak peeks from new films by Yung Chang and Patrick Reed.
“TIFF Docs Conference is an annual opportunity to engage with the doc filmmaking community,” said Thom Powers, lead documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival. “We wanted to open our home to growing audiences and industry delegates alike who share our passion for non-fiction filmmaking.”
“We've put a special emphasis on Canadian documentary filmmakers," said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. "You'll see Canada's strong documentary heritage reflected in new work from veterans like Paul Saltzman and Peter Raymont, as well as newer doc stars like Montreal's Yung Chang.”
Monday, Sept 10
Keynote Conversation with Sheila Nevins
9:30 – 10:45 am
Sheila Nevins, the President of HBO Documentary Films, speaks on the topic of “How Far Can Documentaries Go?” in a conversation moderated by film critic John Anderson. Nevins makes her first trip to the Festival with two films that she executive produced: Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God and First Comes Love.
Making History: A Conversation with Ken Burns and Shola Lynch
11 am – 12:15 pm
Acclaimed filmmakers Ken Burns (The Central Park Five) and Shola Lynch (Free Angela and All Political Prisoners) talk about directing historical documentaries in a conversation moderated by author and filmmaker Nelson George (Brooklyn Boheme).
The Fruit Hunters sneak preview
1 pm – 2:15 pm
Yung Chang (Up the Yangtzee; China Heavyweight) presents an exclusive sneak preview of selected scenes from his much anticipated new film The Fruit Hunters, based on the best-selling book.
World Premiere of Rafea: Solar Mama
2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Egyptian-American filmmakers Jehane Noujaim (Control Room) and Mona Eldaief present the world premiere of Rafea: Solar Mama, a documentary that follows an illiterate mother from Jordan to the Barefoot College in India that trains impoverished women in technology for solar energy. The film is part of the ambitious Why Poverty? series coming this fall. After the film, the directors will take part in a conversation with commissioning editors Nick Fraser (BBC's Storyville) and Mette Meyer Hoffman (DVTR / Denmark).
Tuesday, Sept 11
World Premiere of The Last White Knight
9:30 am – 11:30 am
Filmmaker Paul Saltzman (Prom Night in Missisissippi) presents the world premiere of his latest work The Last White Knight. A former civil rights worker and 1960s activist, Saltzman returns to Mississippi to meet a man who once attacked him — Byron "Delay" De La Beckwith, the son of the man convicted of murdering Medgar Evers — in this affecting documentary about racism, the South (new and old) and the possibilities of reconciliation.
Maximizing the Education Market
11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Leading distributors who specialize in bringing documentaries to the educational market discuss how filmmakers can maximize opportunities in this area. Co-presented by DOC Toronto.
New Trends in Documentary Broadcasting
1:15 – 2:15 pm
Representatives from leading broadcast brands in North America discuss new initiatives for documentaries on their channels.
Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children
2:30 – 4:30 pm
Director Patrick Reed (Triage), producer Peter Raymont and the general-turned-author and advocate Roméo Dallaire appear in person to present and discuss sections from their work-in-progress Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children.
STARS ALIGN IN SEPTEMBER AS TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL GUEST LIST OF FILMMAKERS AND ACTORS
Toronto – The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford, Riz Ahmed, Ryan Gosling, Robert De Niro, Stephen Dorff, Dennis Quaid, Jennifer Connelly, Billy Bob Thornton, Bradley Cooper, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Colin Firth, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Hiroshi Abe, Elle Fanning, Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Zhang Ziyi, Greta Gerwig, Helen Hunt, Laura Linney, Logan Lerman, Keira Knightley, Mads Mikkelsen, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zhang Ziyi, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Greg Kinnear, Gael García Bernal, Sridevi, Saoirse Ronan, Selena Gomez, Salman Rushdie, Sam Rockwell, Naomi Watts, Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave. Speakers and documentary subjects: Ice-T, Thelma Houston, Janice Stein, Michael Ignatieff, Angela Davis, Slavoj Žižek and Snoop Lion.
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Lenny Abrahamson, Gabriel Abrantes, Andrew Adamson, Ben Affleck, Ashim Ahluwalia, John Akomfrah, Hala Alabdalla, Henry Alex Rubin, Dan Algrant, Paul Thomas Anderson, Nicolaj Arcel, Dante Ariola, Rodney Ascher, Olivier Assayas, Rowan Athale, Yvan Attal, Stephane Aubier, Jacques Audiard, Benjamín Ávila, David Ayer, Licínio Azevedo, Ramin Bahrani, Vincent Bal, Vasan Bala, Jeremy Ball, Dibakar Banerjee, Philip Barker, Noah Baumbach, J.A. Bayona, Marco Bellocchio, Lewis Bennett, Amy Berg, Pablo Berger, Barry Berk, Brad Bernstein, Sébastien Betbeder, Antoinette Beumer, Susanne Bier, Wang Bing, Vincent Biron, Wayne Blair, Stuart Blumberg, Billy Bob Thornton, Nicholas Bonner, Josh Boone, Patrick Bouchard, Maxence Bradley, Manon Briand, Stéphane Brizé, Edward Burns, Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, Rama Burshtein, Jason Buxton, Laurent Cantet, Andrew Capper, Juan Carlos Medina, Nick Cassavetes, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Sergio Castellitto, Stephen Chbosky, Soi Cheang, Ali Cherri, Nenad Cicin-Sain, Daniele Ciprì, Abdoul Aziz Cissé, Mary Helena Clark, Mike Clattenburg, Joe Cobden, Jem Cohen, Robert Connolly, Matthew Cooke, Catherine Corsini, Don Coscarelli, Brandon Cronenberg, Jonas D'Adesky, Lee Daniels, Nina Davenport, Deco Dawson, Brian De Palma, Leonardo di Costanzo, Xavier Dolan, Tom Donahue, Choi Dong-hoon, Ziad Doueiri, Ben Drew, Stephen Dunn, Sophie Dupuis, Ava DuVernay, Mona Eldaief, Jeroen Elsinga, Heinz Emigholz, Bernard Émond, Pelin Esmer, Habib Faisal, Sophie Fiennes, Mahdi Fleifel, Fantavious Fritz, Stephen Fung, Zézé Gamboa, Anand Gandhi, Jesper Ganslandt, Liz Garbus, José Luis García, Adrían Garcia Bogliano, Matteo Garrone, Connor Gaston, Costa-Gavras, Ernie Gehr, Bahman Ghobadi, John Gianvito, Alex Gibney, Tess Girard, Marcelo Gomes, Miguel Gomes, Michel Gondry, Dan Gordon, Danis Goulet, Sophie Goyette, Joana Hadjithomas , Asoka Handagama, Michael Haneke, Toke Constantin Hebbeln, Shai Heredia, Julio Hernández Cordón, Jorge Hinojosa, Dustin Hoffman, Toomas Hussar, Luu Huynh, Markus Imhoof, Annemarie Jacir, Andrzej Jakimowski, Sophie Jarvis, Jim Jennings, Hur Jin-Ho, Sara Johnsen, Rian Johnson, Bill Jones, Neil Jordan, Khalil Joreige, Jon Jost, Marie-Ève Juste, Chen Kaige, Girish Kasaravalli, Anurag Kashyap, Shambhavi Kaul, Mika Kaurismäki, Jean-Paul Kelly, Ryuhei Kitamura, Harmony Korine, Baltasar Kormákur, Tony Krawitz, Amit Kumar, Kiyoshi Kurosawa , Susan Lacy, Jun Robles Lana, Pablo Larraín, Elizabeth Lazebnik, Jeanne Leblanc, Grace Lee, Spike Lee, Barry Levinson, Ben Lewin, Ying Liang, Tobias Lindholm, Álvaro Longoria, Nicolás López, Chuan Lu, Frieda Luk, Johann Lurf, Ektoras Lygizos, Shola Lynch, Johnny Ma, Catriona MacKenzie, Dusty Mancinelli, Juan Carlos Maneglia, Mikael Marcimain, Minda Martin, Anna Marziano, Michael Mayer, Martin McDonagh, Scott McGehee, Michael McGowan, Ashley McKenzie, David McMahon, Justin McMillan, Hansal Mehta, Deepa Mehta, Brillante Mendoza, Sylvie Michel, Roger Michell, Maja Milos, Dror Moreh, Evan Morgan, Reem Morsi, Ramaa Mosley, Cristian Mungiu, Ruba Nadda, Mira Nair, Rola Nashef, Yousry Nasrallah, Christopher Nelius, Mike Newell, Kim Nguyen, Miwa Nishikawa, Bahar Noorizadeh, Aleksander Nordaas, Jehane Noujaim, Seán Ó Cualáin, David O. Russell, Charles Officer, Joshua Oppenheimer, Sakay Ottawa, Rafaël Ouellet, Saïd Ould-Khelifa, Damien Ounouri, Véréna Paravel, Francois Ozon, Goran Paskaljevic, Vincent Patar, Peaches, JT Petty, Aaron Phelan, Gabriela Pichler, Matias Piñeiro, Ana Piterbarg, Sarah Polley, James Ponsoldt, Sally Potter, Luis Prieto, Robert Pulcini, Robert Redford, Kelvin Redvers, Dylan Reibling, Benjamin Renner, Nicholas Rey, Eran Riklis, Chloe Robichaud, João Pedro Rodrigues, Joachim Roenning, Kasia Roslaniec, João Rui Guerra da Mata, Li Ruijun, Javier Ruiz Caldera, Evgeny Ruman, Dror Sabo, Matt Austin Sadowski, Walter Salles, Espen Sandberg, Valeria Sarmiento, Tana Schémbori, Ulrich Seidl, Dan Setton, Nik Sexton, Graydon Sheppard, Gauri Shinde, Ben Shirinian, Cate Shortland, David Siegel, Fern Silva, Jeff Simpson, Manjeet Singh, Sion Sono, Patrick Sisam, Iannis Smaragdis, Josh Solondz, Eva Sørhaug, Carlos Sorin, Shari Springer Berman, Jeffrey St. Jules, Andrew Stanton, Pablo Stoll Ward, Peter Strickland, Barbara Sukowa, Jo Sung-hee, Carla Susanto, Bruce Sweeney, Mohit Takalkar, Yuki Tanada, Peng Tao, Genny Tartakovsky, Julien Temple, Michiel ten Horn, Martin Thibaudeau, Ben Timlett, Janet Tobias, Jose Torregrossa, Pablo Trapero, Pete Travis, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Tom Tykwer, Kenji Uchida, Theodore Ushev, William Vega, Nacho Vigalondo, Thomas Vinterberg, Friedl Vom Groeller, Margarethe von Trotta, Arien Vromen, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Marc-Henri Wajnberg, Kieron J. Walsh, Peter Webber, Ben Wheatley, Joss Whedon, Marc Wiese, Travis Wilkerson, Blake Williams, Jonathan Williams, Andrew Williamson, Adam Wingard, Alice Winocour, Michael Winterbottom, Jeff Wong, Jessica Woodworth, Joe Wright, Treva Wurmfeld, Kang Yi-kwan, Soon-Mi Yoo, Zhang Yuan, Marina Zenovich, Yaron Zilberman and Rob Zombie.
The following guests are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Konate Abdoul Karim, Hiroshi Abe, Ben Affleck, Riz Ahmed, Michael Angarano, Angelababy, Onata Aprile, Carlos Areces, Alan Arkin, Gemma Arterton, Penn Badgley, Doona Bae, Javier Bardem, Jason Bateman, Monica Bellucci, Imad Benchenni, Halle Berry, Magdalena Berus, Ruba Blal, Billy Bob Thornton, Park Bo-Young, Stéphane Breton, Jim Broadbent, Pierce Brosnan, Nichola Burley, Edward Burns, Jackie Chan, Jonas Chernick, Lily Collins, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Darren Criss, James Cromwell, Penelope Cruz, James D'Arcy, Johnny Dark, Keith David, Angela Davis, Robert De Niro, Andrea del Campo, Catherine Deneuve, Johnny Depp, Stephen Dorff, Fran Drescher, Patrice Dubois, Robert Duvall, Trine Dyrholm, Zac Efron, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gad Elmaleh, Alice Englert, Nilay Erdonmez, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell, Alexia Fast, Alexander Fehling, America Ferrara, Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Matthew Fox, James Franco, Patrick Fugit, Josh Gad, Sarah Gadon, Victor Garber, José Luis García, Gael García Bernal, Greta Gerwig, Alex Gibney, Selena Gomez, John Goodman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ryan Gosling, Holliday Grainger, Martina Gusman, David Gyasi, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emily Hampshire, Tom Hanks, John Hawkes, Garrett Hedlund, Christina Hendricks, Emile Hirsch, Chen Hong, Pedro Hossi, Thelma Houston, Kate Hudson, Helen Hunt, Adil Hussain, Ice-T, Jeremy Irvine, Toby Irvine, Connor Jessup, Terry Jones, Neeraj Kabi, Catherine Keener, Anna Kendrick, Greg Kinnear, Keira Knightley, Sebastian Koch, Olga Kurylenko, Hugh Laurie, Jude Law, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicolas Lea, Tommy Lee Jones, Logan Lerman, Jared Leto, Liano Liberato, Laura Linney, Snoop Lion, Ray Liotta, William H. Macy, Deborah Mailman, Makinov, Sarah Manninen, Tatiana Maslany, Jessica Mauboy, Rachel McAdams, Callan McAullife, Martin McCann, Ewan McGregor, Eva Mendes, Mads Mikkelson, Ezra Miller, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Bill Murray, Mehdi Nebbou, Alessandro Nivola, Chris O'Dowd, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paula Patton, Michael Pena, Marija Pikic, Oliver Platt, Julien Poulin, Dennis Quaid, Aida Radwan Mostafa Elkashef, Lázaro Ramos, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Sam Riley, Tim Robbins, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Gabrielle Rose, Saskia Rosendahl, Eli Roth, Mark Ruffalo, Salman Rushdie, Winona Ryder, Vik Sahay, Andy Samberg, Adam Sandler, Shriya Saran, Susan Sarandon, Matthias Schoenaerts, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Shari Sebbens, Suresh Shah, Michael Shannon, Molly Shannon, Siddarth, Alexander Siddig, Olgun Simsek, Saleem Sinai, Alexander Skarsgård, Maggie Smith, Will Smith, David Spade, Timothy Spall, Sridevi,Terence Stamp, Janice Stein, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Sumner, Kiefer Sutherland, Miranda Tapsell, Audrey Tautou, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Juno Temple, Marisa Tomei, Nele Trebs, Aya Ueto, Karl Urban, Carice Van Houten, Jelka Van Houten, Emma Watson, Naomi Watts, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Kristen Wiig, Alex Williams, Bruce Willis, Jane Edith Wilson, Nat Wolff, Zhou Xun, Ronald Zehrfield, Zhang Ziyi and Slavoj Žižek.
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL® DELIVERS FILMS FROM THE MOST COUNTRIES EVER, AS WELL AS LARGEST NUMBER OF WORLD PREMIERES IN FESTIVAL HISTORY
Festival boasts 146 World Premieres and films from 72 countries
FACT SHEET
(Numbers in parentheses are last year's statistics)
372 Total Features — 289; Shorts — 83 (337 Total: Features — 269; Shorts — 68)
270 Features that are World, International, or North American Premieres: 146, 31, and 93 respectively
(248 Total: 122 World; 28 International; 98 North American)
93% Feature-length films that are World, International, or North American Premieres (90%)
4,143 Total Submissions: International — 3,191, Canadian — 952 (3,461: International — 2,502, Canadian — 959)
72 Countries (65)
75 First Features (61)
34 Screens Used (33)
15 Programmes (17)
30,918 Minutes of Film (28,526)
270’ Longest Film: Penance (The Story of Film: An Odyssey — 900')
1’40” Shortest Film: Pacific Sun (349 (for Sol LeWitt) and Ars Colonia — 1’)
32 Canadian features, including co-productions (34)
20 Canadian features making their World Premiere, including co-productions (21)
47 Canadian shorts, including co-productions (49)
8 Installations mounted in venues across the city as part of Future Projections (11)
The Festival’s Official Film Schedule was released today, and is available at the Festival Box Office or by visiting tiff.net/festival.
Copies will also be distributed in The Grid on Thursday, August 23. Thursday’s issue of the Toronto Star will contain a 24-page section on the Festival, which includes the full film schedule.
Festival single tickets go on sale September 2. Purchase tickets online at tiff.net/festival, by phone Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433, and in person at the Festival Box Office located at 225 King St West. The 37th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 6 to 16, 2012.
About TIFF
TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.
The Toronto International Film Festival is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC, L'Oréal Paris, Visa and Audi, and Major Supporters the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada and the City of Toronto.
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