40th Toronto International Film Festival Coverage: List of Films

Here’s the complete list of films that will screen at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival starting on September 10th, 2015:

GALAS

  • Beeba Boys Deepa Mehta, Canada — World Premiere — An adrenaline-charged violent Indo-Canadian gang war mixes guns, bhangra beats, bespoke suits, cocaine, and betrayal. Gang boss Jeet Johar and his loyal, young crew are audaciously taking over the Vancouver drug and arms scene from an old-style crime syndicate. Hearts are broken and family bonds shattered when the Beeba Boys (known as the “nice boys”) do anything “to be seen and to be feared” — in a white world.
  • Demolition Jean-Marc Vallée, USA — World Premiere — In Demolition, a successful investment banker, Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law (Chris Cooper) to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep Karen (Naomi Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two strangers form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
  • Disorder (Maryland) Alice Winocour, France/Belgium — North American Premiere — In this masterfully engineered thriller, a young ex-soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder protects a beautiful woman and her child from a brutal home invasion. Starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger.
  • The Dressmaker Jocelyn Moorhouse, Australia — World Premiere — Based on the best-selling novel by Rosalie Ham, The Dressmaker is a bittersweet, comedy-drama set in early 1950s Australia. After many years working as a dressmaker in exclusive Parisian fashion houses, Tilly Dunnage, a beautiful and talented misfit, returns home to the tiny middle-of-nowhere town of Dungatar to right the wrongs of the past. Not only does she reconcile with her ailing, eccentric mother Molly, and unexpectedly falls in love with the pure-hearted Teddy, but armed with her sewing machine and incredible sense of style, Tilly sets out to right the wrongs of the past and transforms the women of the town but encounters unexpected romance along the way. Starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving.
  • Eye in the Sky Gavin Hood, United Kingdom — World Premiere — London-based military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation to capture a group of dangerous terrorists at their safe-house in Nairobi, Kenya. The mission suddenly escalates from a capture to a kill operation, when Powell realizes that the terrorists are about to embark on a deadly suicide mission. American drone pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is poised to destroy the safe-house when a nine-year-old-girl enters the kill zone just outside the walls of the house. With unforeseen collateral damage now entering the equation, the impossible decision of when to strike gets passed up the kill chain of politicians and lawyers as the seconds tick down. Also stars Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi and Iain Glen.
  • Forsaken Jon Cassar, Canada — World Premiere — Tormented by a dark secret, an aging gunfighter abandons a life of killing and returns home, only to discover his mother has died. He’s forced to confront his estranged father and the life he left behind. Starring Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland and Demi Moore.
  • Freeheld Peter Sollett, USA — World Premiere — Based on the Oscar-winning documentary and adapted by the writer of Philadelphia, Freeheld is the true love story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree and their fight for justice. A decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard-earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials — the Freeholders — conspire to prevent Laurel from doing so. Hard-nosed detective Dane Wells and activist Steven Goldstein come together in Laurel and Stacie’s defense, rallying police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle for equality. Starring Julianne Moore, Elliot Page, Michael Shannon and Steve Carell.
  • Hyena Road (Hyena Road: Le Chemin du Combat) Paul Gross, Canada — World Premiere — A sniper who has never allowed himself to think of his targets as humans becomes implicated in the life of one such target. An intelligence officer who has never contemplated killing becomes the engine of a plot to kill. And a legendary Mujahideen warrior who had put war behind him is now the centre of the battle zone. Three men, three worlds, three conflicts — all stand at the intersection of modern warfare, a murky world of fluid morality in which all is not as it seems.
  • LEGEND Brian Helgeland, United Kingdom — International Premiere — The true story of the rise and fall of London’s most notorious gangsters, brothers Reggie and Ron Kray, both portrayed by Tom Hardy in an amazing double performance. LEGEND is a classic crime thriller that takes audiences into the secret history of the 1960s and the extraordinary events that secured the infamy of the Kray twins.
  • Lolo Julie Delpy, France — North American Premiere — While on holiday in the south of France, Parisian sophisticate Violette falls in love with carefree geek Jean-René. As their relationship blossoms, Jean-René heads to Paris to spend more time with Violette but finds himself up against her possessive teenage son Lolo who is determined to sabotage their relationship by any means necessary. A razor-sharp comedy from Julie Delpy.
  • Man Down Dito Montiel, USA — North American Premiere — In a savage post-apocalyptic America, U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son and wife. Accompanied by his best friend, a hard-nosed Marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, the two intercept Charles, an apocalyptic survivor carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. By revisiting the past, audiences are guided in unravelling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience, and what will eventually lead to the origin of this war-torn America. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Kate Mara, Gary Oldman and Jai Courtney.
  • The Man Who Knew Infinity Matthew Brown, United Kingdom — World Premiere — A true story of friendship that forever changed mathematics. In 1913, Ramanujan, a self-taught mathematics genius from India, travelled to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he forged a bond with his mentor, the eccentric professor GH Hardy, and fought to show the world the magic of his mind. Starring Dev Patel and Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons.
  • The Martian Ridley Scott, USA — World Premiere — During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, The Martian features a star-studded cast that includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.
  • Miss You Already Catherine Hardwicke, United Kingdom — World Premiere — This honest and powerful story follows two best friends, Milly and Jess, as they navigate life’s highs and lows. Inseparable since they were young girls, they can’t remember a time they didn’t share everything — secrets, clothes, even boyfriends — but nothing prepares them for the day Milly is hit with life-altering news. A story for every modern woman, this film celebrates the bond of true friendship that ultimately can never be broken, even in life’s toughest moments. Starring Toni Collette, Drew Barrymore, Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine, Tyson Ritter and Jacqueline Bisset
  • Mississippi Grind Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, USA — Canadian Premiere — Gerry is a talented, but struggling poker player about to be swallowed up by his unshakeable gambling habit. But his luck begins to change after he meets the young, charismatic Curtis. Gerry convinces his new lucky charm to hit the road with him, towards a legendary high stakes poker game in New Orleans. The highs and lows unveil the duo’s true characters and motivations, and an undeniable bond forms between them. Starring Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds, Sienna Miller, Analeigh Tipton and Alfre Woodard.
  • Closing Night Film Mr. Right Paco Cabezas, USA — World Premiere — Martha is unlucky in love, but when she finally meets her Mr. Right it seems like she’s found her match — even if he’s an international hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him. On the bright side, as long as Hopper or Shotgun Steve don’t kill them first, these two may actually have a chance at happily ever after. Starring Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund and RZA.
  • The Program Stephen Frears, United Kingdom — World Premiere — From Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) and producers Working Title (The Theory of Everything), comes the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most celebrated and controversial men in recent history, Lance Armstrong. Starring Ben Foster, Dustin Hoffman, Chris O’Dowd and Guillaume Canet.
  • Remember Atom Egoyan, Canada — North American Premiere — Remember is the contemporary story of Zev, who discovers that the Nazi guard who murdered his family some 70 years ago is living in America under an assumed identity. Despite the obvious challenges, Zev sets out on a mission to deliver long-delayed justice with his own trembling hand. What follows is a remarkable cross-continent road-trip with surprising consequences. Starring Academy Award winners Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau.
  • Septembers of Shiraz Wayne Blair, USA — World Premiere — A thriller based on the New York Times bestseller, this is the true story of a secular Jewish family caught in the 1979 Iranian revolution and their heroic journey to overcome and ultimately escape from the deadly tyranny that swept their country and threatened to extinguish their lives at every turn. Starring Salma Hayek and Adrien Brody.
  • Stonewall Roland Emmerich, USA — World Premiere — This fictional drama inspired by true events follows a young man caught up during the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) finds himself alone in Greenwich Village, homeless and destitute, until he befriends a group of street kids who introduce him to the local watering hole, The Stonewall Inn — however, this shady, mafia-run club is far from a safe haven. As Danny and his friends experience discrimination, endure atrocities and are repeatedly harassed by the police, the entire community of young gays, lesbians and drag queens who populate Stonewall erupts in a storm of anger. With the toss of a single brick, a riot ensues and a crusade for equality is born. Starring Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman and Joey King.

CITY TO CITY

  • Couple in a Hole Tom Geens, United Kingdom/Belgium/France — World Premiere — A middle class British couple end up living like feral creatures in a camouflaged hole in the middle of a vast forest in France. Starring Paul Higgins and Kate Dickie.
  • The Hard Stop George Amponsah, United Kingdom — World Premiere — Over several years The Hard Stop features Marcus and Kurtis, childhood friends of Mark Duggan, the young man whose death ignited the UK riots in 2011. Marcus was sentenced for starting the riots in Tottenham that turned into the worst civil unrest in recent British history. The film reflects the current class divisions in British society as it charts the everyday challenges Marcus and Kurtis face as they grieve the loss of their dear friend, and negotiate incarceration and unemployment while the media debate about who their friend was and the inquest into his killing plays out in the background.
  • Kill Your Friends Owen Harris, United Kingdom — North American Premiere — Set in 1990s London, Kill Your Friends follows a 27-year-old A&R man — Steven Stelfox — slashing his way through the music business. Fueled by greed, ambition and inhuman quantities of drugs, Stelfox searches for his next hit record. But as the hits dry up and the industry changes, Stelfox takes the concept of “killer tunes” to a murderous new level. Starring Nicholas Hoult, James Corden, Rosanna Arquette and Ed Skrein.
  • Kilo Two Bravo Paul Katis, United Kingdom — International Premiere — Set in Afghanistan in 2006, a group of British soldiers find themselves trapped in an unmarked minefield, setting into motion a desperate rescue mission. Based on a harrowing real life event, this suspenseful drama sheds light on the bravery, selflessness and heroism soldiers must have to avoid severely tragic consequences. Starring David Elliot and Mark Stanley.
  • London Road Rufus Norris, United Kingdom — International Premiere — A film adaptation of the National Theatre’s ground-breaking musical by Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork about the “Suffolk Strangler” murders in Ipswich in 2006. London Road follows the community who found themselves at the epicentre of these tragic events, and uses their own words set to an innovative musical score. Starring Tom Hardy and Olivia Colman.
  • Northern Soul Elaine Constantine, United Kingdom — North American Premiere — John and Matt are changed forever when they discover American soul music. No longer satisfied with the prospect of a dead-end factory job, they dream of finding the American soul record which will make them famous DJs. Northern Soul was phenomenally popular with British youth in the 1970s, taking the north of the country by storm. This is the story of a youth culture that changed a generation and influenced songwriters, producers, DJs and designers for decades to come. This is the story of Northern Soul. Starring Elliot James Langridge, Joshua Whitehouse, Antonia Thomas and Steve Coogan.
  • The Ones Below David Farr, United Kingdom — World Premiere — Kate and Justin are a successful working couple in their mid-30s whose lives are destined to change forever when the seemingly charming Teresa and Jon move into the flat downstairs. Kate and Teresa become especially close when they both discover that they are pregnant. But when Teresa loses her baby in an accident, she blames Kate. After that, nothing is ever the same. Starring Clémence Poésy, David Morrissey and Stephen Campbell Moore.
  • Urban Hymn Michael Caton-Jones, United Kingdom — World Premiere — Urban Hymn is a redemptive coming-of-age story which follows a neglected and wayward teen, Jamie, whose incredible singing voice offers an escape to a better life until she finds her loyalties torn between her inspiring, unconventional care worker and her possessive and volatile best friend. Starring Letitia Wright, Isabella Laughland and Shirley Henderson.

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA

  • 25 April Leanne Pooley, New Zealand — World Premiere — Award-winning filmmaker Leanne Pooley utilizes the letters and memoirs of New Zealand soldiers and nurses along with state of the art animation to tell the true story of the 1915 battle of Gallipoli. Dramatic, moving, sometimes humourous and often thrilling, the film explores an event whose resonance continues for Australians and New Zealanders to the present day.
  • 3000 Nights (3000 Layla) Mai Masri, Palestine/France/Jordan/Lebanon/United Arab Emirates/Qatar — World Premiere — After Layal, a newlywed Palestinian schoolteacher gives birth to a baby boy in an Israeli prison, the chief warden threatens to take her baby away unless she agrees to spy on the other prisoners who are planning a major strike. 3000 Nights makes a prison into a metaphor for Palestine under occupation, exploring the complicated interplay of resilience, empathy, and psychological manipulation between women. Layal fights to survive and maintain hope.
  • An Naomi Kawase, Japan/France/Germany — North American Premiere — Sentaro runs a small bakery that serves dorayakis — pastries filled with sweet red bean paste (“an”). When an old lady, Tokue, offers to help in the kitchen, he reluctantly accepts. But Tokue proves to have magic in her hands when it comes to making “an”. Thanks to her secret recipe, the little business soon flourishes. And with time, Sentaro and Tokue will open their hearts to reveal old wounds.
  • The Apostate (El Apóstata) Federico Veiroj, Spain/France/Uruguay — World Premiere — A young man finds himself navigating the baffling, labyrinthine bureaucracy of the Catholic Church when he attempts to formally renounce his faith, in this gently absurdist comedy from Uruguay’s Federico Veiroj (A Useful Life).
  • As I Open My Eyes (A peine j’ouvre les yeux) Leyla Bouzid, Tunisia/France/Belgium — North American Premiere — Tunis, summer 2010, a few months before the Revolution. Eighteen-year-old Farah is at a crossroads: to fulfill her mother’s wish and enroll in medical school or follow her passion for music. She has joined a subversive rock band, “Joujma”. As it becomes more and more visible, she does not suspect the danger of a regime that watches and infiltrates her privacy.
  • Baba Joon Yuval Delshad, Israel — World Premiere — Set in northern Israel, the film tells the story of three generations of strong-willed men: Baba Joon, the patriarch who emigrated to Israel from Persia years ago; his son Yitzhak who maintains the family farm; and young Moti, who doesn’t feel beholden to Baba Joon or his father for anything.
  • Box Florin ?erban, Romania/Germany/France — North American Premiere — The story by acclaimed Romanian director Florin ?erban (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle) follows talented 19-year-old boxer Rafael, for whom a session in the ring is everything; and Cristina, an attractive 30-something mother who finds herself at a critical moment in her life. Two characters with their own secrets, two journeys, two outlooks and an intense drama that penetrates to the core.
  • Campo Grande Sandra Kogut, Brazil/France — World Premiere — Eight-year-old Ygor and six-year-old Rayane were abandoned by their mother, who left them on Regina’s doorstep in Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood. The sudden and unexpected arrival of these children in Regina’s life and the search for their mother changes their lives.
  • Chevalier Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece — North American Premiere — In the middle of the Aegean Sea, on a luxury yacht, six men on a fishing trip have decided to play a game. Things will be measured, blood will be tested. The man who wins will be the best man, and he will wear upon his littlest finger the victorious signet ring: the “Chevalier”.
  • A Copy of My Mind Joko Anwar, Indonesia/South Korea — North American Premiere — She gives facials in a cheap beauty salon. He makes subtitles for pirated DVDs. They find a soulmate in each other. But their love is threatened to a tragic end when she stumbles upon evidence of a corruption case linked to a presidential candidate’s closest aides.
  • Cuckold Charlie Vundla, South Africa — World Premiere — Smanga is a successful assistant professor whose life suddenly unravels when his wife leaves him. He spirals into an alcohol, marijuana and sex-fuelled tail spin that places the status of his sanity, career and house in jeopardy. However, with the emergence of a long lost former classmate Jon, he finds the support to fix his life.
  • Embrace of the Serpent (El Abrazo de la Serpiente) Ciro Guerra, Colombia/Venezuela/Argentina — North American Premiere — A tale of the first encounter, approach, betrayal and life-transcending friendship between an Amazonian shaman, last survivor of his people, and two explorers that become the first men to travel the Northwest Amazon in search of ancestral knowledge.
  • The Endless River (La Rivière sans fin) Oliver Hermanus, South Africa/France — North American Premiere — A fierce crime drama set against an unforgiving landscape, The Endless River is a story about morality, love, revenge and forgiveness.
  • The Fear (La Peur) Damien Odoul, France — World Premiere — Gabriel, an introverted young man, finds terror and appalling carnage in the hell-on-earth of the trenches between 1914 and 1918. At the end of his horrifying interior journey through the conflict — full of sound, fury and blood — he will discover his own humanity.
  • Frenzy (Abluka) Emin Alper, Turkey/France — North American Premiere — In the new film from award-winning Turkish writer-director Emin Alper, an ex-con, just released after serving a 15-year sentence, is recruited as a police informant as political violence grips Istanbul.
  • Girls Lost Alexandra-Therese Keining, Sweden — World Premiere — Kim, Bella and Momo, three bullied teenage girls, are going through the throes of finding themselves. Surrounded by a dark world of teenage violence, marginalization and sexual confusion, the girls have only each other. They come across a curious magical plant that, when consumed, transforms the girls temporarily into boys. Not only does their gender change, the world around them, and their response to it, is altered.
  • Granny’s Dancing on the Table Hanna Sköld, Sweden — World Premiere — Thirteen-year-old Eini grows up isolated from society with her violent father, a man afraid of the world, who keeps her very close. The brutality that Eini is exposed to pushes her to almost lose her sense of self — but through the power of her own imagination she is able to create a world from which she can draw strength to survive.
  • A Heavy Heart (Herbert) Thomas Stuber, Germany — World Premiere — Director Thomas Stuber (winner of the Student Academy Award) tells the story of an aging boxer from the former East who learns he has limited time to try to rectify the mistakes of his past.
  • Homesick (De nærmeste) Anne Sewitsky, Norway — Canadian Premiere — When Charlotte, 27, meets her half-brother Henrik, 35, for the first time as an adult, it becomes an encounter without boundaries, between two people who don’t know what a normal family is. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before? Homesick is an unusual family drama about seeking a family, and breaking every rule to be one.
  • Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous Christopher Doyle, Hong Kong — World Premiere — This is a story of Hong Kong told by three generations. The voices you hear onscreen come from real life interviews. The film is a dream as well as a document, as each generation wonders how to live, here and now.
  • Honor Thy Father Erik Matti, Philippines — World Premiere — An idyllic family’s life crumbles when the couple, Edgar and Kaye, discover that the investment scheme Kaye runs is one big scam. With friends turning against them and murderous big-time investors at their heels, Edgar is forced to return to his dark roots to save his family.
  • Imbisibol (Invisible) Lawrence Fajardo, Philippines/Japan — International Premiere — Invisible essays the story of four Filipino migrant workers in Japan, in a crucial encounter that mirrors the difficult challenges that confront the “Pinoy” diaspora. The main characters in the film include Linda, a mail-to-order-bride who married a Japanese “salaryman”; Benjie, an illegal migrant worker who has been jumping from one odd job to another in the last 17 years; Manuel, an overstayer who now works as a male entertainer in a bar in the red light district; and Rodel, a newcomer who works as a day labourer in a logging company.
  • In the Room Eric Khoo, Hong Kong/Singapore — World Premiere — In The Room deals with love, life and lust. Eric Khoo’s latest film is a tapestry of stories, all of which unfold in a hotel room over several decades. The common thread is sex. That hotel room is Room 27 at the Singapura Hotel, which started out as a ritzy establishment in the 1940s but has, over the decades, lost its sheen of respectability. For some, Room 27 is a nameless numbered room, a place which provides a cloak of anonymity, where one could indulge in indiscretions and the forbidden, where their trespasses will be forgiven once they return the key and sign the bill.
  • Incident Light (La Luz Incidente) Ariel Rotter, Argentina/France/Uruguay — World Premiere — Since the car accident where both her husband and brother died, Luisa has not been able to put her life back together, until she meets a seductive stranger who forcefully proposes starting over. The new man’s overwhelming energy may be hiding warning signs about his character. But Luisa is confused, and the desire she feels for the new man merges with the absence of the man she lost — the possibility of rebuilding a family blurring with her own inability to accept her husband’s death.
  • Ivy (Sarmasik) Tolga Karaçelik, Turkey — Canadian Premiere — Trapped at anchor due to a legal dispute, the skeleton crew of a cargo ship come into potentially deadly conflict with one another, in this slow-burning psychological thriller from Turkish writer-director Tolga Karaçelik.
  • Jack Elisabeth Scharang, Austria — North American Premiere — One winter’s night a girl freezes to death after suffering brutal injuries. Jack is convicted of her murder. When he is released from prison 15 years later, he goes from being a jailbird poet to a real ladykiller and darling of Vienna’s society. Can a man change so fundamentally? Or is it a case of once a murderer, always a murderer?
  • Journey to the Shore (Kishibe no tabi) Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan/France — North American Premiere — Mizuki’s husband drowned at sea three years ago. When he suddenly comes back home, she is not that surprised. Instead, Mizuki is wondering what took him so long. She agrees to let him take her on a journey. A touching ghost story from Japanese master Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Tokyo Sonata, Pulse).
  • The Kind Words (Hamilim Hatovot) Shemi Zarhin, Israel/Canada — International Premiere — At the death of their mother, three siblings are shocked to discover that their “real” father may not be their biological father, and he in turn may be an Algerian Muslim. The Kind Words is a warm, sometimes humourous, and often dramatic story about identity and love.
  • Koza Ivan Ostrochovský, Slovakia/Czech Republic — North American Premiere — This subtle fusion of documentary and fiction follows a young Roma boxer as he embarks on a tragicomic return to the ring in order to pay for his girlfriend’s abortion. Koza features Peter Baláž, who competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and Ján Franek, Olympic medallist from Moscow 1980, as his coach. Featuring the outstanding performances of non-professional actors and blurring the lines between representation and presence, Koza is a powerful and haunting challenge to the concept of authenticity.
  • Lamb Yared Zeleke, Ethiopia/France/Germany/Norway — North American Premiere — After his mother dies and draught hits his village, Ephraïm, a young Ethiopian boy, has to go live with relatives at the other end of the country. He takes his mother’s lamb with him, it is his only source of comfort. One day, his uncle announces that he will have to sacrifice the lamb for the upcoming religious feast, but Ephraïm is ready to do anything to save his only friend and return home.
  • Last Cab to Darwin Jeremy Sims, Australia — International Premiere — Rex drives a cab and has never left Broken Hill in his life. When he discovers he doesn’t have long to live, he decides to drive across the heart of the country to Darwin, where he’s heard he will be able to die on his own terms; but along the way he discovers that before you can end your life you’ve got to live it, and to live it you’ve got to learn to share it.
  • Let Them Come (Maintenant ils peuvent venir) Salem Brahimi, France/Algeria — World Premiere — Algeria, at the end of the 1980s: against the background of mounting violence from a radical Islamist opposition repressed by the army, compelled by his mother, Noureddine marries Yasmina. As the conflict becomes more pronounced, he and his family have to defend themselves from the onslaught of pervasive barbarity. A chilling foray into a very contemporary drama, and remarkable adaptation from the novel with the same title by Arezki Mellal.
  • Magallanes Salvador del Solar, Peru/Argentina/Colombia/Spain — International Premiere — While driving his cab, Magallanes unexpectedly meets Celina, a woman he first met more than 20 years ago, under completely different circumstances. In what would turn out to be a personal quest for redemption, Magallanes will do everything within his power to help her overcome her difficulties, only to find out that Celina would much rather give up everything she owns than accept his help.
  • Mekko Sterlin Harjo, USA — International Premiere — Mekko, starring Rod Rondeaux and Zahn McClarnon, tells the story of a homeless Native American parolee who discovers a chaotic yet beautiful community living on the streets of Tulsa. He also uncovers an old-world darkness that threatens to destroy them from within, one he must fight before it’s too late.
  • A Month of Sundays Matthew Saville, Australia — World Premiere — Real estate agent Frank Mollard won’t admit it, but he can’t move on. Divorced but still attached, he can’t sell a house in a property boom — much less connect with his teenage son. One night Frank gets a phone call from his mother. Nothing out of the ordinary. Apart from the fact that she died a year ago. A Month of Sundays is about parents, children, regrets, mourning, moments of joy, houses, homes, love, work, television, Shakespeare and jazz fusion; about ordinary people and improbable salvation — because everyone deserves a second chance.
  • Much Loved Nabil Ayouch, Morocco/France — North American Premiere — The heat of Marrakesh’s night, money flows freely to the rhythms of lusts satiated and humiliations suffered. Noha, Randa, Soukaina, and Hlima sell pleasures of the flesh. They share an apartment and form a makeshift family, united in their womanhood, full of light, dignity and joy, they manage to keep their spirits and dreams alive. Their families depend on them, and as they move from one embrace to the other, they always go home loveless. A hard-hitting but luminous drama from Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch.
  • Murmur of the Hearts Sylvia Chang, Taiwan/Hong Kong — North American Premiere — Legendary Taiwanese actress and filmmaker Sylvia Chang directs this magical story of estranged siblings whose shared memories of their mother’s fairy tales begin to draw their lives together once again.
  • One Breath (Ein Atem) Christian Zübert, Germany — World Premiere — One Breath is the story of two women from different backgrounds but with the same desire: happiness. Elena, young, well-educated and with no perspective in her home country, Greece, is trying to pursue a better life. And Tessa, a 30-something mother and successful manager in Germany, is torn between happiness as an individual and a mother. These two women meet and their encounter changes both their lives forever.
  • One Floor Below (Un Etaj mai Jos) Radu Muntean, Romania/France/Germany/Sweden — North American Premiere — After being the sole unfortunate witness to a domestic quarrel that ends up in a murder, Sandu finds himself at odds with two very close neighbours. One is the bizarre murderer, the other is his very own conscience.
  • Parisienne (Peur de rien) Danielle Arbid, France — World Premiere — The new film from Lebanese director Danielle Arbid follows a young Arab immigrant in Paris, whose encounters with three men reveal different facets of her new country, and of herself.
  • Paths of the Soul (Kang Rinpoche) Zhang Yang, China — World Premiere — Director Zhang Yang blurs documentary and fiction in this account of a band of pilgrims who make a 2,000-kilometre journey on foot to Lhasa, the holy capital of Tibet and beyond.
  • THE PEOPLE vs. FRITZ BAUER (Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer) Lars Kraume, Germany — North American Premiere — Germany, 1957. Attorney general Fritz Bauer receives crucial evidence on the whereabouts of SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, the man responsible for the mass deportation of the Jews. Because of his distrust in the German justice system, Bauer contacts the Israeli secret service Mossad, thereby committing treason.
  • Price of Love Hermon Hailay, Ethiopia — North American Premiere — A young Addis Ababa taxi driver’s cab is stolen when he gets caught up in the dark side of love. He finds himself stuck in a relationship with a prostitute, making him confront his past and discover the price of love.
  • Rams (Hrútar) Grímur Hákonarson, Iceland — Canadian Premiere — Winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at this year’s Cannes festival, Grímur Hákonarson’s stunningly shot drama focuses on two Icelandic sheep farmers whose decades-long feud comes to a head when disaster strikes their flocks.
  • Schneider vs. Bax Alex van Warmerdam, Netherlands/Belgium — North American Premiere — Schneider, a hit-man, is given a task: before the night has passed he must kill the writer Ramon Bax.
  • Song of Songs (Pesn pesney) Eva Neymann, Ukraine — North American Premiere — 1905. A Jewish Shtetl. Shimek and Buzya are two 10-year-olds. Of course, she is a princess and he is a prince. They live in the same yard, in neighbouring palaces. Years later Shimek begins to understand what Buzya really means to him when he receives the news that she is about to be married.
  • Sparrows Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland/Denmark — World Premiere — Sparrows is a coming-of-age story about 16-year-old Ari, who has been living with his mother in Reykjavik and is suddenly sent back to the remote Westfjords to live with his father Gunnar. There, he has to navigate a difficult relationship with his father, and he finds his childhood friends changed. In these hopeless and declining surroundings, Ari has to step up and find his way.
  • Starve Your Dog Hicham Lasri, Morocco — World Premiere — Fifteen years after he was dismissed of his functions, the former Minister of Interior during Morocco’s sinister decade of repression steps out of the shadows to make his confessions and disclose the monarchy’s dark secrets. He calls a filmmaker, famous for her daring documentaries during the time when he was in power, before the change of reign. She reunites the technical crew that was once her professional family — and while nothing seems to fall into place, she risks missing the confessions.
  • The Steps Andrew Currie, Canada — World Premiere — An uptight New Yorker and his party girl sister visit their dad at his lake house to meet his new wife and her rough-around-the-edges kids. When the parents announce they’re adopting a child to bring the family closer together, it has the opposite effect. Starring Jason Ritter, Emmanuelle Chriqui, James Brolin and Christine Lahti.
  • Story of Judas (Histoire de Judas) Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, France — North American Premiere — Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche’s bold re-imagining the story of the Biblical figure of Judas Iscariot proposes that he is not a traitor, but rather Jesus’ most loyal and trusted disciple and steward. As Jesus’ teachings astound more and more crowds, he attracts the attention of resistance groups, high priests and the Roman authorities. When he drives the merchants from the Temple, Judas shows himself to be the guardian of the words of the master.
  • Stranger (Zhat) Yermek Tursunov, Kazakhstan — World Premiere — Stranger is a film about freedom, with one man’s fate in focus. The times are hard: 1930s to 1940s Kazakhstan. A Kazakh steppe is scourged by famine, wasteland, collectivization and war. Having lost his father, a 9-year-old boy gathers his belongings and disappears. He lives alone in the mountain cave. Years pass by and returning to his village seems almost impossible.
  • Te prometo anarquía (I Promise You Anarchy) Julio Hernández Cordón, Mexico/Germany — North American Premiere — Childhood friends Miguel and Johnny are dedicated to skating and having fun. To earn easy money and continue skating they secretly sell their blood. Business is good, until a large transaction turns out to be not as they imagined.
  • Thank You for Bombing Barbara Eder, Austria — World Premiere — Three international TV correspondents — Ewald (Erwin Steinhauer), Lana (Manon Kahle) and Cal (Raphael von Bargen) — cross paths while waiting for a war that has already begun long ago in their own lives.
  • The Treasure (Comoara) Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania/France — North American Premiere — Two neighbours set out to unearth a buried treasure in their own backyard, in this delightful fusion of contemporary fairy tale and political parable from Romanian New Wave master Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective).
  • Truman Cesc Gay, Spain/Argentina — World Premiere — After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, a Madrid man resolves to spend his last days putting his affairs in order, in this delicate and intimate drama from Spanish director Cesc Gay. A humourous and honest portrait of the courage it takes to accept that death is just another part of life.
  • The Whispering Star (Hiso Hiso Boshi) Sion Sono, Japan — World Premiere — Sion Sono wrote the screenplay and drew the accompanying storyboards in 1990, and 25 years later they’ve materialized into this black and white science fiction movie.

DISCOVERY

  • A Patch of Fog Michael Lennox, United Kingdom — World Premiere — A celebrated novelist and TV personality finds his reputation on the line when he is caught shoplifting by a lonely security guard, intent on becoming his friend for life. Stephen Graham (Pirates of the Caribbean, Boardwalk Empire) stars alongside Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones), Lara Pulver (Sherlock), Arsher Ali (Four Lions) and Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones).
  • The Ardennes Robin Pront, Belgium — World Premiere — Two bandit brothers, one fresh from prison, the other eager to escape their criminal past, form a potentially explosive love triangle with the ex-con’s ex-girlfriend, in Robin Pront’s Cain vs. Abel update.
  • Beast Tom McKeith, Sam McKeith, Australia/Philippines — World Premiere — Deep in the slums of Manila, a young boxer’s life is changed forever when his father pressures him to cheat in a fight.
  • Black Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Belgium — World Premiere — Fifteen-year-old Mavela is a member of the notorious Black Bronx gang. She falls head over heels in love with the charismatic Marwan, a boy from the rival gang 1080ers. The two young people are brutally forced to choose between loyalty to their gang and their love for each other. An impossible choice … or not?
  • Born to Dance Tammy Davis, New Zealand — World Premiere — A Maori teen faces parental and social pressure while leading his competitive hip-hop dance crew toward the regional championships, in this exhilarating feature directorial debut from New Zealand actor Tammy Davis.
  • Closet Monster Stephen Dunn, Canada — World Premiere — Oscar Madly hovers on the brink of adulthood — destabilized by his dysfunctional parents, unsure of his sexuality, and haunted by horrific images of a tragic gay bashing he witnessed as a child. A talking hamster, imagination and the prospect of love help him confront his surreal demons and discover himself. Starring 2015 TIFF Rising Star Aliocha Schneider and 2014 Rising Star Connor Jessup.
  • Dégradé Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser, Palestine/France/Qatar — North American Premiere — Gaza Strip, present day. Christine’s beauty salon is heaving with female clients: a bitter divorcée, a stern religious woman, a disenchanted housewife addicted to prescription drugs, and a young bride-to-be, among others. But their day of leisure is disrupted when gunfire breaks out across the street. A gangland family has stolen the lion from Gaza’s zoo, and the police have decided it’s time to wrestle control. Stuck in the salon, the women start to unravel…
  • Desde Allá Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela — North American Premiere — Fifty-year-old Armando picks up young boys in the streets of Caracas and pays them to come home with him. He also regularly spies on an older man with whom he seems bound by something in the past. One day he meets 17-year-old Elder, the leader of a small gang. Violent at first, their relationship morphs into something beautiful … until the inevitable happens.
  • Downriver Grant Scicluna, Australia — International Premiere — James has served time for drowning a little boy when he himself was just a child, although the body was never found. Upon his parole, a visit from his victim’s mother sends him on a quest to find the truth. With little time and danger at every turn, James risks his freedom and his life to uncover the trail of sins that might give closure to a grieving mother.
  • Eva Nová Marko Škop, Slovakia — World Premiere — Eva would do anything to regain the love of the one she hurt the most — her son. She is a recovered alcoholic, but decades ago she was a famous actress.
  • Fire Song Adam Garnet Jones, Canada — World Premiere — When a teenage girl commits suicide in a remote Northern Ontario Aboriginal community, it’s up to her brother Shane to take care of their family. Shane was supposed to move to the city for university in the fall, and has been trying to convince his secret boyfriend to come with him, but now everything is uncertain. Torn between his responsibilities at home and the promise of freedom calling him to the city, circumstances take a turn for the worse and Shane has to choose between his family and his future.
  • Five Nights in Maine Maris Curran, USA — World Premiere — Reeling from the tragic, sudden death of his wife, a man travels to rural Maine to seek answers from his estranged mother-in-law, who is herself confronting guilt and grief over her daughter’s death. Starring David Oyelowo (Selma), Dianne Wiest and Rosie Perez.
  • The Here After (Efterskalv) Magnus von Horn, Poland/Sweden/France — North American Premiere — When John returns home to his father after serving time in prison, he is looking forward to starting his life afresh. However in the local community, his crime is neither forgotten nor forgiven. John’s presence brings out the worst in everyone around him and a lynch-mob atmosphere slowly takes shape. Feeling abandoned by his former friends and the people he loves, John loses hope and the same aggressions that previously sent him to prison start building up again. Unable to leave the past behind, he decides to confront it.
  • Ixcanul Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala/France — Canadian Premiere — María, a young 17-year-old Mayan girl, lives and works with her parents on a coffee plantation in the foothills of an active volcano in Guatemala. An arranged marriage awaits her. Although María dreams of going to the “big city,” her status as an indigenous woman does not permit her to change her destiny. A snake bite forces her to go out into the modern world where her life is saved, but at what price?
  • James White Josh Mond, USA — Canadian Premiere — James White (Christopher Abbott) is a troubled twenty-something trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. He retreats further into a self-destructive, hedonistic lifestyle, but as his mother (Cynthia Nixon) battles a serious illness James is forced to take control of his life. The directorial debut of Martha Marcy May Marlene producer Josh Mond, James White, which had its — World Premiere — at Sundance Film Festival 2014 where it was the winner of the Audience Award: NEXT, is a confident and closely observed debut that explores loss and the deep relationship between a mother and son.
  • Keeper Guillaume Senez, Belgium/Switzerland/France — North American Premiere — Maxime and Mélanie are in love. Together, they clumsily explore their sexuality with fiery curiosity until the day Mélanie realizes she’s pregnant. At first Maxime takes the news badly, but then he gets used to the idea of becoming a father. He convinces Melanie to keep the baby. So it’s been decided – Maxime and Mélanie, all of fifteen years old, will become parents.
  • Les Cowboys Thomas Bidegain, France/Belgium — North American Premiere — A vast prairie, a country and western gathering somewhere in the east of France. Alain is a central figure in this community. He’s dancing with his daughter, 16-year-old Kelly, as his wife and their young son Kid watch from the sidelines. But on this day, Kelly disappears, and the family falls apart. Alain embarks on a relentless search for his daughter, even though it costs him everything and takes him to dark, unsettling places, where his sole support is Kid, who sacrifices his youth to accompany his father on this seemingly endless quest.
  • Meghmallar Zahidur Rahim Anjan, Bangladesh — World Premiere — A case of mistaken identity throws an apolitical chemistry teacher into the maelstrom of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, in the striking debut feature from director Zahidur Rahim Anjan.
  • Mountain Yaelle Kayam, Israel/Denmark — North American Premiere — An Orthodox Jewish woman, living at the edge of the cemetery on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives, becomes fascinated by a nocturnal community of prostitutes and drug dealers congregating amongst the tombstones. Mountain is a haunting and dramatic exploration of a women’s search for identity.
  • My Name is Emily Simon Fitzmaurice, Ireland — North American Premiere — Packed off to a foster home after her father is institutionalized, a rebellious young Irish girl resolves to bust her dad out of the hospital where he’s been confined, in this spirited coming-of-age tale from celebrated memoirist and first-time feature director Simon Fitzmaurice.
  • The Paradise Suite Joost van Ginkel, Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria — World Premiere — This dexterous tale of survival from director Joost van Ginkel traces the intersecting stories of six immigrants from very different backgrounds in Amsterdam who learn that they can irreversibly influence each other’s lives, sometimes with just one glance.
  • The Rainbow Kid Kire Paputts, Canada — World Premiere — Part gritty coming-of-age story, part episodic road film filled with magic realism, The Rainbow Kid follows Eugene, a young man with Down syndrome as he embarks on a life-changing adventure to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
  • River Jamie M. Dagg, Canada/Laos — World Premiere — In the south of Laos, an American volunteer doctor becomes a fugitive after he intervenes in the sexual assault of a young woman. When the assailant’s body is pulled from the Mekong River, things quickly spiral out of control. Starring Rossif Sutherland.
  • Semana Santa Alejandra Márquez Abella, Mexico — World Premiere — Dali and her eight-year-old son Pepe take a vacation to Acapulco with Dali’s boyfriend, Chavez. Instead of bringing them closer, their beach holiday brings out things in each of them that threaten to pull this emerging family apart.
  • Sleeping Giant Andrew Cividino, Canada — North American Premiere — Spending his summer vacation on rugged Lake Superior, teenager Adam befriends Riley and Nate, smart aleck cousins who pass their ample free time with pranks, vandalism and reckless cliff jumping. The revelation of a hurtful secret sets in motion a series of irreversible events that test the bonds of friendship and change the boys forever.
  • Spear Stephen Page, Australia — World Premiere — Djali, a young Aboriginal man, sets off on a journey of initiation to understand what it means to be a man in a modern day world. He sees the problems being faced by Aboriginal men in remote and urban communities. As he struggles to find his place, he becomes awakened to a spiritual force within, guiding him on his journey into manhood.
  • Very Big Shot (Film Kteer Kbeer) Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, Lebanon/Qatar — World Premiere — Intending to smuggle the amphetamine Captagon to Iraqi Kurdistan, a small-time Lebanese drug dealer discovers that a way to foil customs, with the help of a talentless filmmaker. Posing as a film producer, he has no qualms manipulating public opinion to his advantage.
  • The Wait (L’attesa) Piero Messina, Italy — North American Premiere — Waiting for someone is an act of faith. Anna and Jeanne, isolated in a Sicilian country house in Caltagirone, are waiting for Giuseppe’s arrival. He is the former’s son, the latter’s boyfriend. Their wait turns into a mysterious act of love and will, while in the streets people are celebrating Easter.
  • We Monsters (Wir Monster) Sebastian Ko, Germany — North American Premiere — Paul and Christine know their teenage daughter Sarah has been thrown off track by their separation — but is she capable of committing a horrible crime? Wanting to protect her, they decide attempt to hide her wrongdoing, but their joint guilt forces the family back together under a web of lies. The directorial debut from German actor Sebastian Ko, We Monsters is a gripping psychological thriller.
  • Wedding Doll (Chatona Meniyar) Nitzan Gilady, Israel — International Premiere — Fixated on romantic fantasies, a kindly and strong-willed young woman with a mild mental disability embarks on a relationship — much to the concern of her protective mother — in this assured first feature from director Nitzan Gilady.

IN CONVERSATION WITH…

  • In Conversation With… Julianne Moore — Among her numerous accolades throughout her career in film, television, on stage and as a NY-Times Bestselling author, Academy Award® and Emmy®-winning actress Julianne Moore is the ninth person in Academy history to receive two Oscar nominations in the same year and the only American actress to be awarded top acting prizes at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals. Having appeared in more than 60 feature films, she will next be seen this October in Freeheld – part of the Festival’s official selection – opposite Ellen Page and Michael Shannon, and in November as President Coin in Francis Lawrence’s upcoming Hunger Games sequel Mockingjay: Part 2. Julianne is an Artist Ambassador for Save the Children U.S. Programs, is on the Advisory Council of The Children’s Health Fund, and is a supporter of Planned Parenthood and the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance. Moore will hit the stage for a special conversation on the occasion of the premiere of her highly anticipated new film.
  • In Conversation With… Salma Hayek — Academy Award-nominee and Emmy winner Salma Hayek has proven herself as a prolific actress, producer and director in both film and television. Hayek has several films set for release this year and next, including the Festival selection Septembers of Shiraz alongside Adrien Brody, Tale of Tales by acclaimed Italian director Matteo Garrone, and as the voice “Teresa Taco” in Seth Rogen’s upcoming animated feature Sausage Party. She was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe®, Screen Actors Guild and a BAFTA award for her leading role in Julie Taymor’s Frida. Noted for her acting career, Hayek has also dedicated much of her time to social activism, previously serving as spokesperson for the Pampers/UNICEF partnership worldwide and the Avon Foundation’s Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program. In November 2005, she served as co-host, alongside Julianne Moore, at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. She was also part of the One campaign that singer and activist Bono created, as well as a member of Global Green, and Youth Aids. Born and raised in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Hayek studied International Relations in college in Mexico. Hayek takes the stage to discuss her remarkable career to date.
  • In Conversation With… Sarah Silverman — Two-time Emmy winner Sarah Silverman is a versatile performer with a repertoire that includes everything from film and television to stand-up comedy and iconic videos. Silverman next stars in the lead role of drama I Smile Back – in the Festival’s official selection – and in Ashby. She recently wrapped production on the ‘Top Secret Untitled Lonely Island Project,’ as well as a comedy pilot for HBO which she executive produced and in which she stars. Last year she was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for her comedy special We Are Miracles. Other credits include Wreck-It Ralph, Take This Waltz and her concert film Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic. Silverman’s sharp sense of humour is sure to entertain audiences as she discusses her varied career.
  • In Conversation With… Matthew Weiner — Matthew Weiner serves as creator, Executive Producer, writer and director on the critically acclaimed drama Mad Men. This exclusive on-stage conversation is sure to delight fans and will include a screening of the final episode of Season 1, “The Wheel,” which Weiner wrote and directed, accompanied by his engaging and entertaining live commentary, as well as a discussion about Weiner’s career to date. Mad Men is nominated for 11 Emmy nominations this year including Outstanding Drama Series and two writing nominations for Weiner including the finale of the series which he also directed. Since the series premiere in 2007, Mad Men has become one of television’s most honored shows joining an elite group in 2011 when it became only the fourth drama to be awarded four consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Additional honors for the series include: three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Drama Series; a Peabody Award; three Producers Guild Awards; four Writers Guild Awards; two BAFTA Awards; five Television Critics Association Awards, including Program of the Year; and being named seven years running to AFI’s Top 10 Outstanding Television Programs. Weiner’s additional credits include serving as an Executive Producer and writer on The Sopranos, and writer on various television comedy series including The Naked Truth, Becker, and Andy Richter Controls the Universe. In addition to his television credits, Weiner wrote and directed the feature film, Are You Here, featuring performances from Owen Wilson, Zack Galifianakis and Amy Poehler. Weiner currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, architect Linda Brettler, and their four sons.

MASTERS

  • 11 Minutes (11 Minut) Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland/Ireland — North American Premiere — A jealous husband out of control, his sexy actress wife, a sleazy Hollywood director, a reckless drug messenger, a disoriented young woman, an ex-con hot dog vendor, a troubled student on a mysterious mission, a high-rise window cleaner on an illicit break, an elderly sketch artist, a hectic paramedics team and a group of hungry nuns: a cross-section of contemporary urbanites whose lives and loves intertwine. They live in an unsure world where anything could happen at any time. An unexpected chain of events can seal many fates in a mere 11 minutes.
  • The Assassin (Nie Yinniang) Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan — North American Premiere — Ninth century China. A general’s ten-year-old daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who transforms her into an exceptional assassin. Years later, she is sent back to the land of her birth with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised. Nie Yinniang must now choose between the man she loves and the sacred way of the righteous assassins.
  • Bleak Street (La calle de la amargura) Arturo Ripstein, Mexico/Spain — North American Premiere — Mexican maestro Arturo Ripstein (Deep Crimson) directs this true-crime story about the bizarre 2009 murders of midget-wrestling brothers Alberto and Alejandro Jiménez. Starring Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Nora Velázquez and Sylvia Pasquel.
  • Blood Of My Blood (Sangue Del Mil Sangue) Marco Bellocchio, Italy — International Premiere — Italian master Marco Bellocchio (Fists in the Pocket, Vincere) returns with this haunting, enigmatic tale that takes us from the 17th century to the present day as it traces the dark history of a cursed monastery.
  • Cemetery of Splendour (Rak Ti Khon Kaen) Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/United Kingdom/France/Germany/Malaysia — North American Premiere — A young medium and a middle-aged hospital volunteer investigate a case of mass sleeping sickness that may have supernatural roots in the gorgeous, mysterious, and gently humourous new film from Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives).
  • Every Thing Will Be Fine Wim Wenders, Germany/Canada/France/Sweden/Norway — North American Premiere — A winter evening. A car on a country road. It’s snowing, visibility is poor. Out of nowhere, a sled comes sliding down a hill. The car comes to a grinding halt. The driver is Tomas, a writer. He cannot be blamed for the tragic accident. It’s also not young Christopher’s fault, who should have taken better care of his brother. Tomas falls into a depression. The film follows Tomas and his efforts to give meaning to his life again. Starring James Franco, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Rachel McAdams.
  • Francofonia Alexander Sokurov, Germany/France/Netherlands — North American Premiere — Master filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) transforms a portrait of the Louvre museum into a magisterial, centuries-spanning reflection on the relation between art, culture and power.
  • In the Shadow of Women Philippe Garrel, France — North American Premiere — A Parisian documentary filmmaker becomes embroiled in a romantic triangle in this luminous love story from the great director Philippe Garrel (Frontier of Dawn, Regular Lovers).
  • Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Jafar Panahi, Iran — Canadian Premiere — Internationally acclaimed director Jafar Panahi (This is Not a Film) drives a yellow cab through the vibrant streets of Tehran, picking up a diverse (and yet representative) group of passengers in a single day. Each man, woman, and child candidly expresses his or her own view of the world, while being interviewed by the curious and gracious driver/director. His camera, placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio, captures a spirited slice of Iranian society while also brilliantly redefining the borders of comedy, drama and cinema.
  • Our Little Sister (Umimachi Diary) Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan — North American Premiere — Three sisters — Sachi, Yoshino and Chika — live together in a large house in the city of Kamakura. When their father — absent from the family home for the last 15 years — dies, they travel to the countryside for his funeral, and meet their shy teenage half-sister. Bonding quickly with the orphaned Suzu, they invite her to live with them. Suzu eagerly agrees, and a new life of joyful discovery begins for the four siblings. Starring Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho and Suzu Hirose.
  • The Pearl Button (El Botón de Nácar) Patricio Guzmán, Chile/France/Spain — North American Premiere — The great Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán (The Battle of Chile, Nostalgia for the Light) chronicles the history of the indigenous peoples of Chilean Patagonia, whose decimation by colonial conquest prefigured the brutality of the Pinochet regime.
  • Rabin, The Last Day Amos Gitaï, Israel/France — North American Premiere — Lauded director Amos Gitaï (Kippur) delves into the prelude and aftermath of the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in this gripping docudrama.
  • Right Now, Wrong Then Hong Sang-soo, South Korea — North American Premiere — The delightful new film from Festival favourite Hong Sang-soo (In Another Country) presents two variations on a potentially fateful romantic encounter between a filmmaker and a painter, tracing each to its own very distinct outcome.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

  • Baskin Can Evrenol, Turkey — World Premiere — A squad of unsuspecting cops goes through a trapdoor to Hell when they stumble upon a Black Mass in an abandoned building. The nightmarish feature debut Baskin is the first-ever Midnight Madness film from Turkey.
  • The Chickening Nick DenBoer and Davy Force, Canada — World Premiere — How can a boy not get excited when his dad gets a new job as senior chief night manager at Charbay’s Chicken World and Restaurant Resort, the world’s largest fast food entertainment complex in North America? However, in this short film things quickly get very, very clucked. The Chickening will screen preceding the Opening Night Film in the Midnight Madness programme.
  • The Devil’s Candy Sean Byrne, USA — World Premiere — The director of the 2009 Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award winner The Loved Ones is back with an equally fresh twist on the supernatural genre. A struggling artist (Ethan Embry) and his family buy the house of their dreams only to discover the property’s mysterious dark past and a former tenant who wants more than to simply come back home. From the producers of Midnight Madness hits You’re Next and The Guest.
  • Midnight Madness Closing Night Film The Final Girls Todd Strauss-Schulson, USA — International Premiere — Max (American Horror Story’s Taissa Farmiga) is a high school senior whose mom (Malin Akerman) was a celebrated ’80s scream queen. At a screening, Max and her friends are mysteriously transported inside her mom’s most infamous movie, where they must fend off the camp counselors’ raging hormones, battle a deranged machete-wielding killer and find a way to escape the movie and get back home.
  • The Girl in the Photographs Nick Simon, USA — World Premiere — Big-city glamour clashes with small-town values and a killer’s knife, in this bloody cocktail of terror from director Nick Simon and executive producer Wes Craven. Colleen’s life in the sleepy town of Spearfish is disrupted when she starts receiving photographs of brutally murdered women. Things get even crazier for Colleen when L.A. based celeb-photographer Peter Hemmings (Kal Penn) returns to his hometown of Spearfish to investigate.
  • Midnight Madness Opening Night Film Green Room Jeremy Saulnier, USA — North American Premiere — Broke, tired and at each other’s throats after a cancelled gig, a young punk rock band accepts a sketchy matinee show to get themselves home. When they stumble upon something they weren’t supposed to witness, the quartet is trapped in a terrifying siege. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier (of 2013 Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize winner Blue Ruin), the film stars Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, and Patrick Stewart. Green Room is preceded by the previously announced short film The Chickening from directors Nick DenBoer and Davy Force.
  • Hardcore Ilya Naishuller, Russia/USA — World Premiere — Resurrected with no recollection of his past, a cyborg named Henry (the audience’s POV) and his ally, Jimmy (Sharlto Copley, District 9) must fight through the streets of Moscow in pursuit of Henry’s kidnapped wife in the world’s first action-adventure film to be entirely shot from the first person perspective.
  • The Mind’s Eye Joe Begos, USA — World Premiere — Joe Begos returns with a psychokinetic thriller about Zack Connors (Graham Skipper), whose abilities have kept him off the grid for years until he’s recruited by the mysterious Dr. Slovak. The snowy New England landscape turns into a whirlwind of psychic rage, flying axes, and brutal revenge as Zack does everything in his power to stop Dr. Slovak’s deadly descent into synthetically engineered telekinetic madness.
  • Southbound Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath and Radio Silence, USA — World Premiere — Five intertwining tales of terror unfold along an endless desert highway. On a desolate stretch of road, weary travellers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
  • SPL 2 – A Time For Consequences Soi Cheang, Hong Kong — International Premiere — The anticipated follow-up to the bone-cracking martial arts brawler SPL (also known as Sha Po Lung and Kill Zone) that debuted in the programme in 2005 stars Midnight Madness discovery Tony Jaa (Ong Bak). When an undercover cop (Wu Jing) has his cover blown and is thrown into a prison in Thailand run by a crime syndicate, he must team up with a prison guard (Jaa) to bust out and get revenge on those who wronged him. Filled with gun battles, prison riots and frenetic fight choreography, SPL 2 might knock the wind out of you — and possibly a few teeth.
  • Yakuza Apocalypse (Gokudo Daisenso) Takashi Miike, Japan — North American Premiere — Japanese cinematic extremist Takashi Miike returns to his gonzo roots with this mind-melter that finds room for vampires, gangsters, monsters, martial arts and even a yakuza knitting circle. A true master and MVP of the programme, Miike wowed previous Midnight Madness audiences with such hits as Fudoh: The New Generation, Audition, The City of Lost Souls, Ichi the Killer, Zebraman, The Great Yokai War and Sukiyaki Western Django. He returns with a film too wild to be described and too fun to be missed!

PRIMETIME

  • Casual created by Zander Lehmann and directed by Jason Reitman, USA — World Premiere — Festival favourite Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) directs this wonderfully endearing and quirky comedy from Hulu and Lionsgate that follows the story of young internet entrepreneur, Alex Cole, and his recently divorced therapist sister, Valerie. The creator of a popular dating website, Alex pledges to mentor Valerie as she attempts to embrace the craziness of single life. Meanwhile, he’s not above using his newfound success to supply himself with an endless string of beautiful but emotionally shallow women, none of whom will ever make him happy. Living under the same roof for the first time in years, brother and sister soon discover that while life can be both heartbreaking and hilarious, it’s anything but casual. Starring Tommy Dewey, Michaela Watkins and Tara Lynne Barr. The Festival presents the series premiere of Casual, episodes 1 and 2.
  • CROMO created by Lucía Puenzo and Nicolás Puenzo, Argentina — World Premiere — Directors Lucía Puenzo (XXY, Wakolda), Pablo Fendrik (Blood Appears, El Ardor) and Nicolás Puenzo team up for this timely eco-thriller, based on the real stories of a team of scientists that set out to expose environmental crimes in the dangerous and exotic wetlands of northern Argentina. Starring Germán Palacios, Guillermo Pfening, Emilia Attias, Alberto Ajaka and Malena Sanchez. The Festival presents the series premiere of CROMO, episodes 1, 2 and 8.
  • Heroes Reborn created by Tim Kring, USA — World Premiere — From creator/executive producer Tim Kring, who imagined NBC’s original critically-acclaimed 2006 Heroes series, comes Heroes Reborn, an epic 13-episode event series that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. The series stars Jack Coleman, Zachary Levi, Robbie Kay, Kiki Sukezane, Ryan Guzman, Gatlin Green, Henry Zebrowski, Judith Shekoni, Danika Yarosh and Rya Kihlstedt. The Festival presents the series premiere of Heroes Reborn, episode 1: “Brave New World” and episode 2: “Odessa”.
  • Keith Richards: Under the Influence directed by Morgan Neville, USA — World Premiere — From Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet from Stardom), this beautifully documented portrait of Keith Richards takes audiences on the road to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer. This Netflix Original is rich with music and archival materials, drawing upon hours of new, intimate and reflective conversations with Keith. It charts the journey of his sound and influences, back to the music that inspired him then and now — electric blues, country honky-tonk, southern soul, and more — as he creates his first solo album in 23 years.
  • The Returned (Les Revenants) created by Fabrice Gobert, France — International Premiere — The recently deceased return to (some kind of) life in a small mountain village, in this International Emmy-winning supernatural drama series based on Robin Campillo’s 2004 film Les Revenants, from creator Fabrice Gobert (Simon Werner a disparu…). Starring Anne Consigny, Clotilde Hesme, Céline Sallette, Fédéric Pierrot, Laurent Lucas, Grégory Gadebois, Guillaume Gouix, Pierre Perrier, Ana Girardot, Yara Pilartz, Jenna Thiam, Swann Nambotin and Jean-François Sivadier. The Festival presents the season 2 premiere of The Returned, episodes 1 and 2.
  • Trapped (Ófærð) created by Baltasar Kormákur, Iceland — World Premiere — In this noir-ish thriller series from director Baltasar Kormákur (Everest, The Deep, 101 Reykjavik), an unidentified torso is found in a small town in Iceland. When a blizzard makes the road out of town impassable, order disintegrates into chaos as the residents realize they are all possible murder suspects or all possibly in danger. A ruthless and troubled cop risks his life, his family and the town’s safety, in order to solve this mystery in the hope of recovering his tarnished reputation. Starring Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Ilmur Kristjánsdottir, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Nina Dögg Filipusdottir and Bjarne Henriksen. The Festival presents the series premiere of Trapped, episode 1.
  • How Heavy This Hammer Kazik Radwanski, Canada — World Premiere — Erwin, a 47-year-old father of two, spends his time idly procrastinating between work and family, and is seemingly more engaged by playing a crude Viking computer game. His listless energy is contrasted on weekends by throwing himself into ‘old boys’ rugby matches. As Erwin’s marriage with his wife becomes increasingly compromised, something stirs inside him… or maybe something has stopped stirring.
  • My Internship in Canada Philippe Falardeau, Canada — North American Premiere — Guibord is an independent Member of Parliament representing a vast county in Northern Quebec who unwillingly finds himself in the awkward position of determining whether Canada will go to war. Accompanied by his wife, daughter and Souverain (Sovereign) Pascal, an idealistic intern from Haiti, Guibord travels across his district in order to consult his constituents and face his own conscience. This film is a sharp political satire in which politicians, citizens and lobbyists go head-to-head tearing democracy to shreds.
  • Our Loved Ones (Les êtres chers) Anne Émond, Canada — North American Premiere — The story begins in 1978 in a small town on the Lower St. Lawrence, where the Leblanc family is rocked by the tragic death of Guy, found dead in the basement of the family home. For many years, the real cause of his death is hidden from certain members of the family, his son David among them. David starts his own family with his wife Marie and lovingly raises his children, Laurence and Frédéric, but deep down he still carries with him a kind of unhappiness. Our Loved Ones is a film of filial love, family secrets, redemption and inherited fate. Featuring 2015 TIFF Rising Star Karelle Tremblay.
  • The Waiting Room Igor Drljaca, Canada — North American Premiere — Jasmin, once a successful actor in former Yugoslavia, now lives in Toronto with his second wife and young son. While juggling a construction job and a busy audition schedule, he dreams of re-launching an old televised stage show that made him famous in his homeland. When he is cast in a role that triggers recollections of the civil war, he is forced to reconcile his current reality with memories of his past success. From the team behind Krivina and In Her Place.

SHORT CUTS

  • (Otto) Joris Oprins, Marieke Blaauw and Job Roggeveen, Netherlands, 10’ — World Premiere — As one couple try, and fail again, for the baby they’ve dreamed of, a little girl accidentally leaves her imaginary baby brother, Otto, behind at a restaurant. Suddenly, the definition of ‘baby’ takes on a new and completely unexpected dimension. Will Otto find a way back home? From the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival filmmakers who brought us the Oscar-nominated animation A Single Life.
  • 4 Quarters Ashley McKenzie, Canada — Toronto Premiere — Willy and Jane just want to feel happy in one another’s company. He’s a sleep-deprived student living close to the bone. She’s a troubled drug addict in constant need of $20. Nursing their fledgling friendship on the margins of society proves to be a wicked problem.
  • 7 sheep Wiktoria Szymanska, Poland/United Kingdom/Denmark/Mexico, 21’ — World Premiere — A lonely little girl tries to create a new world for herself and an equally lonely man. In a visually stunning dreamscape, she finds that freedom and home are synonymous — and that they come at a steep cost.
  • A New Year (Nouvel an) Marie-Ève Juste, Canada — World Premiere — Florence is having a New Year’s Eve party, but at 37 weeks pregnant she feels somewhat ambivalent about the festivities and frolics of her friends.
  • Bacon & God’s Wrath Sol Friedman, Canada — World Premiere — In this short documentary, a 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life’s experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time.
  • The Ballad of Immortal Joe Hector Herrera, Canada — World Premiere — Written with a nod to traditional cowboy songs and to the northern ballads of Robert W. Service, this film puts a supernatural twist on a tragically romantic Western. Voiced by Canadian actor Kenneth Welsh (Twin Peaks, The Aviator, The Day After Tomorrow) and scored by Toronto greats The Sadies, this is the third chapter in the silly rhyme collection Beastly Bards.
  • BAM Howie Shia, Canada — World Premiere — In a dense inner city haunted by primordial gods, a young boxer struggles to understand the disturbing consequences of his explosive rage — both inside and outside the ring. Presenting the young boxer’s battles in terms both heroic and tortured, BAM combines a biting urban soundtrack with a hand-drawn, comic-book style, mashing up cacophonous drums and grinding electronics with soft brushwork and swift action.
  • Barbados Misha Manson-Smith, USA, 7’ — World Premiere — David is a middle-class guy with middle-class problems, despite his lovely home and beautiful middle-class wife. His son Gary is the same, just 30 years younger. Both are looking for a way out from suburbia and all its trappings. One Sunday lunchtime, however, when the police come knocking, David’s world suddenly becomes even more claustrophobic. Starring Michael Sheen, Radha Mitchell and Ty Simpkins.
  • Beneath the Spaceship (Under Rymdskeppet) Caroline Ingvarsson, Sweden, 15’ — World Premiere — A young girl and her older neighbour share an unusual friendship. Together they are inseparable until the outside world peeks in.
  • Benjamin Sherren Lee, Canada — World Premiere — When a dually-pregnant lesbian couple loses one of the babies in utero, the grieving mothers break their surrogacy arrangement with their closest friends in order to keep the remaining baby.
  • Beyond The Horizon Ryan J. Noth, Canada — World Premiere — In 1845 Sir John Franklin led 128 men on the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror on a search for the Northwest Passage. The fate of the crew and ships has been slowly uncovered since September 2014, when Parks Canada archaeologists discovered the resting place of the HMS Erebus in the remote Arctic Ocean. Reflecting on the ship and story from the perspective of the sailors and the archaeologists, the film paints a crushing visual portrait of a place where time can lose all meaning.
  • Bird Hearts Halfdan Olav Ullmann Tøndel, Norway, 25’ — North American Premiere — Benjamin and Maya share a life in Oslo. During a late-night dinner party, Maya tells a story about a sexual experience she had in Brazil. As a consequence, Benjamin’s insecurities begin to surface. Bird Hearts is a film about the power of the stories lovers tell. Starring Stine Sørensen, André Sørum and Trine Wiggen.
  • Blue Spring Andreea Cristina Bortun, Romania, 15’ — World Premiere — A woman confronts the uselessness of words when confronted by the inevitable departure of her much younger lover.
  • Boxing Grayson Moore and Aidan Shipley, Canada — World Premiere — Sheila returns to her weekly boxing class after a traumatic event, and tensions mount when one of the other women refuses to stop showering her with sympathy.
  • Boy Connor Jessup, Canada — World Premiere — After a fatal bicycle accident, 12-year-old Jacob moves through the world as a ghost. Unseen and unheard, he trails his classmate home from school. As the ghost boy watches, an image of a grief-stricken family slowly begins to take shape.
  • The Boyfriend Game Alice Englert, Australia, 7’ — World Premiere — Twelve-year-old friends Tomika and Edith set out in the bush to play their creation, The Boyfriend Game, only to struggle when the lines between real and pretend become blurred.
  • Bunny Megha Ramaswamy, India, 19’ — North American Premiere — Bunny is an elegiac look at how fantastical childhood is, and evocative of the heartbreak with which we leave it behind. Wreathed in surrealist imagery, the story is about a little girl and her pet toy Bunny. Starring Syesha Adnani and Faizan Mohammad.
  • The Call Zamo Mkhwanazi, South Africa, 11’ — Canadian Premiere — This arresting urban drama from Johannesburg’s Zamo Mkhwanazi focuses on a key moment in the relationship between a taxi driver and a prostitute. When Sibongiseni finds out that Purity is pregnant, he begins to question his own place in the world. Starring Fana Mokoena, MoMo Matsunyane, Ronnie Nyakale and Abena Ayivor.
  • Casualties of Modernity Kent Monkman, Canada — World Premiere — Celebrity artist and humanitarian Miss Chief Eagle Testickle tours a hospital specializing in the treatment of conditions afflicting modern and contemporary art. Led by the doctor of fine arts and closely supervised by the no-nonsense head nurse, Miss Chief encounters romance, tragedy and triumph.
  • Clouds of Autumn Trevor Mack and Matthew Taylor Blais, Canada — North American Premiere — Set on the Tsilhqot’in plateau in the 1970s, this film focuses on two siblings, and explores the impact that Canadian residential schools had on the relationships of First Nations children with each other, their heritage, and nature itself.
  • Concerning the Bodyguard Kasra Farahani, USA, 10’ — World Premiere — An anonymous henchman fulfils his role in a rigid hierarchy of power and control in this adaptation of a razor-sharp satire written by Donald Barthelme; and recited with great relish by Salman Rushdie.
  • Deszcz (Rain) Malina Maria Mackiewicz, Australia, 5’ — World Premiere — In the summer of 1983 in Kraków, Poland, prisoners sentenced to death are not informed of the date of their execution. As Jedzrej waits for his lover Magda in the visitation hall of the Montelupich Political Detainment Centre, a sun shower pours down on Kraków. Each visit could be their last. Starring Lech Mackiewicz and Victoria Haralabidou.
  • Dogs Don’t Breed Cats (Les chiens ne font pas des chats) Cristina Martins, Canada — Canadian Premiere — `Pregnant and homeless, Joëlle shows up at the home of her father Jeff. Even though this solitary non-conformist and former punk rocker is reluctant to the idea, she decides to stay and Jeff is overwhelmed by his new interactions with the daughter he barely knows.
  • Dragstrip Pacho Velez and Daniel Claridge, USA, 4’ — World Premiere — At the Lebanon Valley Dragstrip in New York state, spectators, drivers and mechanics wait for their races.
  • Dream the Other (Soñar el otro) Abril Schmucler Iñiguez, Mexico, 16’ — International Premiere — Diego is a lonely man with a humdrum life in Mexico City. In his sleep, he dreams of the (far more invigorating) life of a man named Alejandro Valle. As his friend Fabian looks on in disbelief, Diego’s shifting realities begin to take on new forms and new meaning.
  • Dredger Phillip Barker, Canada — World Premiere — The crew of a salvage ship is tossed into turmoil when the young captain’s wife becomes infatuated with an older shipmate. She casts herself ashore but can’t break free from the seabed of secrets the old man brought to the surface.
  • El Adiós Clara Roquet, Spain 15’ — Canadian Premiere — Rosana, a Bolivian maid, has worked for Angela, the elder matriarch of the Vidal family for the last 10 years. On the day of the funeral of her beloved Angela, Rosana is not allowed to grieve with the rest of the family. On the contrary: she is forced to work. El Adiós is an intimate story about how emotional bonds supersede social conventions, racial labels or family regimes.
  • End of Puberty (Kamaszkor vége) Fanni Szilágyi, Hungary, 13’ — International Premiere — On a beautiful summer day, teenage twins meet a boy — he acquaints them with matters of sex, anger and jealousy. This is the end of puberty.
  • Exit/Entrance or Trasumanar Federica Foglia, Italy/Canada, 7’ — World Premiere — A flow of words and images portrays an artist’s journey through a variety of Italian landscapes and interiors, evoking an eminently modern strain of melancholy: the feeling of belonging to two places and being fully at home in neither. Starring Antonio De Luca.
  • The Fantastic Love of Beeboy & Flowergirl Clemens Roth, Germany, 10’ — North American Premiere — Peter is being followed by killer bees; Elsa collects exotic flowers from all over the world. To be together, they both have to overcome their fantasies. But what if love itself is nothing but fantasy? Starring Elisa Schlott and Florian Prokop.
  • A Few Seconds Nora El Hourch, France, 16’ — North American Premiere — Five girls live at a Paris home for wayward teens, each of them branded by a deeply troubling past. Forming an ad hoc community-within-a-community, the girls struggle to identify themselves no longer as victims but as something new and hopeful. Starring Marie Tirmont, Charlotte Bartocci, Camille Lellouche, Maly Diallo and Charlotte-Victoire Legrain.
  • Following Diana (Sendiri Diana Sendiri) Kamila Andini, Indonesia, 40’ — International Premiere — Diana, a 30-year-old housewife, lives with her husband and son at home, across the street from a building construction site. She spends every day with her only child until her husband comes from work in the evening. One night, Diana’s husband presents her with a chart that reveals his shocking plan to share their little family with another woman. Starring Raihaanun, Tanta Ginting and Panji Rafenda Putra.
  • The Guy From Work (Les gars d’la shop) Jean-François Leblanc, Canada — World Premiere — Raynald is a family man who has been working in the same tire plant for over 30 years. This week, there is nothing unusual in his daily life: work, hockey games with the guys, and family night. However, Raynald will make the biggest move of his life.
  • Hide & Seek Kimie Tanaka, France/Japan/Singapore, 22’ — International Premiere — Shoichi, a Japanese male nurse living in the city, returns home to the countryside after his mother’s sudden death to sort out the situation of his younger brother Kotaro, who’s been a shut-in for over a decade. Shoichi seeks help from social services, only to be disappointed with their bureaucratic treatment. Frustrated, Shoichi makes a radical decision. Starring Masaki Miura, Kuniaki Nakamura and Sachiko Matsuura.
  • It’s Not You Don McKellar, Canada — World Premiere — It’s not you…or is it? Whether dumper or dump-ee, being in that situation brings out feelings you didn’t know you had. Under the direction of the talented Don McKellar, the graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada takes audiences through the perpetuity of break ups.
  • KOKOM Kevin Papatie, Canada — Toronto Premiere — Kevin Papatie, participant of the Wapikoni Mobile for 10 years, presents a beautiful experimental film that pays tribute to his grandmother — his kokom — and to the Anishnabe people who have survived the trials of history and remained strong.
  • Latchkey Kids (Yaldey Mafteah) Elad Goldman, Israel, 22’ — North American Premiere — Gur and his sister Daniel have a remarkably close relationship after years of caring for each other in their empty house. Although Daniel is looking outside for a chance to grow up and fall in love, Gur feels safer at home and refuses to let their bond come undone. Starring Yoav Rottman, Gaia Shalita Katz, Hillel Cappon and Tamara Friedland.
  • The Magnetic Nature (El ser magnético) Mateo Bendesky, Argentina, 17’ — North American Premiere — Fifty-five-year-old Aldo and his older brother Pablo live together and take part in a religious practice invented by their father, whose congregation meets mainly online. But for Aldo, the allure of the world outside the garden gates is growing much stronger than “philosophical magnetism.” Starring Claudio Rangnau, Claudio Kustin and Iván Moschner.
  • The Magnificent Life Underwater (La vie magnifique sous l’eau) Joël Vaudreuil, Canada — World Premiere — In this absurd animated parody of a classic undersea adventure show, an authoritative narrator reveals the wonders and mysteries of the sea — although the banal habits of these homely aquatic creatures have an odd familiarity.
  • Maman(s) Maïmouna Doucouré, France, 21’ — North American Premiere — The family of eight-year-old Aida is thrown into chaos when her father returns from Senegal with young Rama, whom he introduces as his second wife. Aida may not exactly understand the details, but she understands that her mother is in deep distress, and that there seems to be but one way to make things better again. Starring Sokhna Diallo and Maïmouna Gueye.
  • The Man Who Shot Hollywood Barry Avrich, Canada — World Premiere — In a town lit up by a thousand stars, Jack Pashkovsky practiced his art anonymously. By the time he was finished, he had brilliantly photographed hundreds of the biggest Hollywood icons from Garbo to Swanson. His collection of photographs have never been seen. Until now.
  • Mia’ Amanda Strong and Bracken Hanuse Corlett, Canada — World Premiere — A young Indigenous female street artist walks through the city streets painting scenes rooted in the supernatural history of her people. As the alleyways become her sanctuary and secret gallery, her art comes to life, pulling Mia’ into her own transformation via the vessel of a salmon. This hybrid documentary uses animation and sound as a vehicle to tell the story of transformation and re-connection.
  • Mobilize Caroline Monnet, Canada — World Premiere — Guided expertly by those who live on the land and driven by the pulse of the natural world, this film takes audiences on an exhilarating journey from the far north to the urban south. The fearless polar punk rhythms of Tanya Tagaq’s “Uja” underscore the perpetual negotiation between the modern and traditional by a people always moving forward. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) invited four talented and renowned Aboriginal artists to create a program of works addressing Aboriginal identity and representation by reworking material in the NFB’s archives.
  • Never Happened Mark Slutsky, Canada — World Premiere — When colleagues Grady and Laura have an affair on a business trip, they decide it might be easier if it just never happened.
  • Never Steady, Never Still Kathleen Hepburn, Canada — World Premiere — Distressed and overwhelmed by the mistakes of his past, a young lease-hand returns from Alberta’s oil fields to his childhood home on Lillooet Lake, where he finds solace in the strength of his recently widowed mother.
  • New Eyes Hiwot Admasu Getaneh, France/United Kingdom 12’ — North American Premiere — A girl who is in the transition of puberty, Selam, encounters something that arouses her sexually for the first time. She becomes restless as the day goes by in her oblivious semi-urban environment.
  • NINA Halima Elkhatabi, Canada — World Premiere — At 16 years old, Nina is helpless to her 4-month-old baby’s incessant crying. Without any escape from the cries and from this new presence in her life, she ventures out from her tiny apartment into a working-class neighbourhood of Montréal for a brief escapade.
  • Nulla Nulla Dylan River, Australia, 6’ — North American Premiere — Fresh out of the academy, White Cop experiences his first taste of aboriginal community life, as Black Cop puts him to the test. Starring Wayne Blair, Khan Chittenden, Pamela Nangala Sampson and Audrey Napanangka Martin.
  • o negative Steven McCarthy, Canada — World Premiere — A young woman and the man who takes care of her find shelter in a roadside motel and take the necessary steps to feed her addiction.
  • One Last Night (Laila Acharon) Kerem Blumberg, Israel, 22’ — International Premiere — It’s the last night Noa and Orr have together in Tel Aviv, before Orr leaves for Berlin. Outside a punk gig, when the police arrive and Orr jumps in to help a friend, both she and Noa get arrested. Now Noa will have to make a final decision about their relationship at the police station. Starring Michal Korman and Agam Schuster.
  • Oslo’s Rose The Sporadic Film Collective, Norway, 7’ — International Premiere — For more than two years, Nader has been head over heels in love with Janne but unable to let her know, making for an untenable situation for both his work and creativity. At last, one night at the bar, it appears Nader may be able to finally speak and free himself from the writer’s block that has plagued him.
  • Our Remaining Lives (Les vies qui nous restent) Luiza Cocora, Canada — World Premiere — Having recently moved to Quebec, Sofia, a 10-year-old Romanian girl, lives with her mother in a small flat in Montreal. In a world where technology imposes human isolation, Sofia is trying to understand her new life.
  • Overpass (Viaduc) Patrice Laliberté, Canada — World Premiere — A 17-year-old named Mathieu goes out one night to write graffiti on an overpass. But whereas his actions require a swift escape from the scene of the crime, their true meaning is far more unexpected.
  • Paradise (Het Paradijs) Laura Vandewynckel, Belgium, 6’ — Canadian Premiere — Paradise is the story of people heading for a better place on either side of the ocean. Although at times their paths do cross, they never really seem to meet. Starring Thomas Bellinck, Nico Sturm, Liesje De Backer, Jerom Sturm and Rocky Sturm.
  • Peacock (Furiant) Ondrej Hudecek, Czech Republic, 26’ — International Premiere — Set in a 19th-century Bohemian village, this twisted queer romance tells a taboo true story about revered Czech writer Ladislav Stroupežnický. Starring Julius Feldmeier and Cyril Dobry.
  • People Are Becoming Clouds Marc Katz, USA, 15’ — World Premiere — We follow John and Eleanor, a married couple who are faced with a problem: Eleanor keeps turning into a cloud. The couple visits Weather and Relationship Specialist Dr. Corduroy, hoping to resolve unusual situation. He tries to counsel them through the difficulties in their relationship and also get to the bottom of why exactly people are becoming clouds. Starring Libby Woodbridge, David Ross and Sean Cullen.
  • Peripheria David Coquard-Dassault, France, 12’ — World Premiere — A journey into the heart of a large and abandoned council estate, Peripheria portrays an urban environment becoming wild: a modern Pompeii where the wind blows and dogs roam.
  • Portal to Hell!!! Vivieno Caldinelli, Canada — World Premiere — The late and great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper plays a crusty superintendent who is thrust into the ultimate fight against evil when a pair of cultists opens a multidimensional portal in his basement.
  • Quiet Zone (Ondes et silence) David Bryant and Karl Lemieux, Canada — Canadian Premiere — This film takes audiences deep into the world of those who suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Combining elements of documentary, film essay and experimental film, David Bryant and Karl Lemieux — known for their work in the musical group Godspeed You! Black Emperor — weave together an unusual story in which sound and image distort reality to convey the suffering of these “wave refugees.”
  • Rate Me Fyzal Boulifa, United Kingdom, 17’ — North American Premiere — A portait of a teenage escort known only as Coco.
  • The Return of Erkin Maria Guskova, Russia, 29’ — North American Premiere — Erkin gets out of prison and wants to return to his former life, but everything has changed and he does not know if he can live as a free man. Starring Kahramonjon Mamasaliyev.
  • Rock the Box Katherine Monk, Canada — World Premiere — Electronic dance music (EDM) is now the most lucrative sector of the music industry but it’s dominated by men. To break that glass ceiling, a Vancouver-raised deejay named Rhiannon Rozier did something she never thought she’d do: pose for Playboy. Thanks to its impressionistic images, exhilarating montage and Rozier’s remarkable candour, this film tells the story of one woman who rocked conventions by owning her own image, her own voice, and her own box.
  • Semele Myrsini Aristidou, Cyprus/Greece/USA, 13’ — World Premiere — Semele will do anything to spend some time with her long absent father. A school note becomes just the excuse for her to visit him at his workplace, where her presence highlights their fragile relationship.
  • She Stoops To Conquer Zachary Russell, Canada — World Premiere — An aspiring performer struggles to breathe life into a new character she’s created. Suddenly, she sees him: the real-life version of the man she’s been playing. Where’s the line between inspiration and theft? A gender-bending romantic comedy about a man and her double.
  • The Signalman (O Sinaleiro) Daniel Augusto, Brazil, 15’ — World Premiere — A railroad signalman is haunted by a series of otherworldly events in this adaptation of a Charles Dickens short story. Are they truly ghostly manifestations, or the signalman’s psychological response to his isolation and repetitive work?
  • The Sleepwalker (Sonámbulo) Theodore Ushev, Canada — North American Premiere — A surrealist journey through colours and shapes inspired by the poem Romance Sonámbulo by Federico García Lorca. It’s visual poetry in the rhythm of fantastic dreams and passionate nights.
  • The Society (Al mujtamaa) Osama Rasheed, Iraq/Germany 13’ — World Premiere — Lovers Muhamad and Ahmed live in a society that not only rejects homosexuality but also actively and insistently pressures its young men into marriage and fatherhood. Starring Muhamad Atshan, Ahmad Moneka and Fouad, Yaser.
  • A Tale of Love, Madness and Death (Un Cuento de Amor, Locura y Muerte) Mijael Bustos Gutiérrez, Chile, 22’ — North American Premiere — “My uncle is schizophrenic and my grandmother suffers from a terminal illness. My grandfather, who is unable to take care of them both, must decide between his wife and his son.” So begins the remarkable documentary from Mijael Bustos about his family, caught between love and duty.
  • THAT DOG Nick Thorburn, USA, 15’ — World Premiere — A dark comedy of errors unfolds as two interloping idiots inadvertently wreak havoc on the lives of others. Starring Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker and Andrea Riseborough.
  • Tuesday (SALI) Ziya Demirel, Turkey/France, 12’ — North American Premiere — An ordinary day for a teenage girl in Istanbul and her encounters with three different men as she goes to school, plays basketball and takes a bus home. Starring Melis Balaban, Zeki Ocak, Yonca Hiç and Can Karaçayli.
  • Violet Maurice Joyce, Ireland, 8’ — North American Premiere — There are many natural enemies for a self-loathing youth. But for Violet O’Reilly, the worst of them all was an unforgiving rectangle that hung on the wall. Violet is the cautionary tale of a young girl who despises her reflection. Tired of the abuse, Violet’s reflection decides she’s not going to take it anymore.
  • Waves ’98 Ely Dagher, Lebanon/Qatar, 15’ — North American Premiere — In the crumbling tower blocks of post-war Beirut, Omar is restless and isolated, until a luminescent light draws him across the segregated city to a utopian world of enchantment — and he finds himself drifting further away from home.
  • Wellington Jr. Cécile Paysant, France, 12’ — World Premiere — A tentative young hunter sets out into the wilderness under the tutelage of his seasoned father. But the rite of passage leads to increasingly surreal and grisly developments in this stop-motion animated marvel. Starring Aurélien Gabrielli and Rémy Lacquittant.
  • The Swimming Lesson (Le cours de natation) Olivia Boudreau, Canada — North American Premiere — Brought by her mother to her first swimming lesson, a 7-year-old girl must find, on her own, her place in the unfamiliar world of the pool.
  • Wolkaan Bahar Noorizadeh, Canada/Iran/USA — World Premiere — Insightful and enigmatic, this multi-layered mediation on the experience of exile begins with the streets of Tehran gradually filling with enigmatic streams of lava. In Michigan, a boy and his father’s fateful journey ends up amid dinosaurs and a plastic volcano.
  • World Famous Gopher Hole Museum Chelsea McMullan and Douglas Nayler, Canada — World Premiere — A portrait of Torrington, a fading Albertan farm town with a secret wish to be frozen in time like the taxidermied gophers that populate its world-famous tourist attraction.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

  • 45 Years Andrew Haigh, United Kingdom — Canadian Premiere — While preparing for their 45th anniversary, Kate and Geoff’s marriage is shaken with a discovery that calls into question the life they’ve built together, in this emotional tour-de-force. Starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay.
  • About Ray Gaby Dellal, USA — World Premiere — The touching story of three generations of a family living under one roof in New York as the life-changing transformation by one ultimately affects them all. Ray is a teenager who realizes that she isn’t meant to be a girl and decides to transition from female to male. His single mother, Maggie, must track down Ray’s biological father to get his legal consent to allow Ray’s transition. Dolly, Ray’s lesbian grandmother, struggles to accept that she now has a grandson. They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family, in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding. Starring Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Tate Donovan, Linda Emond, Sam Trammell and Maria Dizzia.
  • Angry Indian Goddesses Pan Nalin, India — World Premiere — A comic drama about a group of Indian women finding their hearts and losing their heads! A wild bunch of girls from all over India descend upon Goa. Their closest friend Frieda has invited them to her family home for a surprise announcement: she’s getting married. Thus begins an impromptu bachelorette. Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sandhya Mridul, Sarah Jane Dias, Pavleen Gujral, Anushka Manchanda, Rajshri Deshpande and Amrit Maghera.
  • Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, USA — Canadian Premiere — A man struggles with his inability to connect with other people. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan and David Thewlis.
  • Beasts of No Nation Cary Fukunaga, USA/Ghana — Canadian Premiere — Based on the highly acclaimed novel, director Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation brings to life the gripping tale of Agu (newcomer Abraham Attah), a child soldier torn from his family to fight in the civil war of an African country. Idris Elba dominates the screen in the role of Commandant, a warlord who takes in Agu and instructs him in the ways of war.
  • Being Charlie Rob Reiner, USA — World Premiere — Charlie Mills has just turned 18 and is running away from rehab – again. He wants to come home but is met by a family intervention. His father, a former movie star, is running for Governor of California and would like to keep Charlie locked away until the campaign is over. Charlie reluctantly returns to a new adult facility where he meets a troubled young woman, Eva. Through his strained relationship with his father, his tortured relationship with Eva and the misguided envy he has for his best friend Adam, Charlie is forced to face himself and begin the journey to self-discovery.
  • Black Mass Scott Cooper, USA — Canadian Premiere — In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly persuades Irish-American gangster Jimmy Bulger to act as an informant for the FBI in order to eliminate their common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement while becoming one of the most ruthless and dangerous gangsters in Boston history. Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Corey Stoll and Peter Sarsgaard.
  • Body (Body/Cialo) Malgorzata Szumowska, Poland — North American Premiere — Set in Poland, this absurdist dark comedy follows the intertwined stories of a criminal prosecutor, his anorexic daughter, and her therapist who claims she can communicate with the dead. Starring Janusz Gajos, Maja Ostaszewska and Justyna Suwala.
  • Born to be Blue Robert Budreau, Canada/United Kingdom — World Premiere — Born to be Blue is a reimagining of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker’s life in the 1960s. When Chet is cast to star in a film about himself, a romance heats up with his female co-star, the enigmatic Jane. But his comeback bid is derailed when his past returns to haunt him and it appears he may never play music again. Starring Ethan Hawke and Carmen Ejogo.
  • Brooklyn John Crowley, United Kingdom/Ireland/Canada — Canadian Premiere — Set on opposite sides of the Atlantic, this drama tells the profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters.
  • The Club Pablo Larraín, Chile — North American Premiere — Four men live in a secluded house in a seaside town. Sent to purge sins of the past, they live under a strict regime and the watchful eye of a caretaker. Their fragile stability is disrupted by the arrival of a fifth man who brings with him their darkest secrets.
  • Colonia Florian Gallenberger, Germany/Luxembourg/France — World Premiere — Colonia tells the story of Lena and Daniel, a young couple who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973. Daniel is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police and Lena tracks him to a sealed off area in the south of the country called Colonia Dignidad. The Colonia presents itself as a charitable mission run by lay preacher Paul Schäfer but, in fact, is a place nobody ever escaped from. Lena decides to join the cult in order to find Daniel. Starring Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl and Michael Nyqvist.
  • The Danish Girl Tom Hooper, United Kingdom — North American Premiere — The Danish Girl is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables). Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
  • The Daughter Simon Stone, Australia — North American Premiere — A man returns to his hometown and unearths a long-buried family secret. As he tries to right the wrongs of the past, his actions threaten to shatter the lives of those he left behind years before. Starring Geoffrey Rush, Paul Schneider, Miranda Otto and Sam Neill.
  • Desierto Jonás Cuarón, Mexico — World Premiere — Moises is traveling by foot with a group of undocumented workers across a desolate strip of the border between Mexico and the United States, seeking a new life in the north. They are discovered by a lone American vigilante, Sam, and a frantic chase begins. Set against the stunningly brutal landscape, Moises and Sam engage in a lethal match of wits, each desperate to survive and escape the desert that threatens to consume them. Starring Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
  • Dheepan Jacques Audiard, France — North American Premiere — To escape the civil war in Sri Lanka, a former Tamil Tiger soldier, a young woman and a little girl pose as a family. These strangers try to build a life together in a Parisian suburb.
  • Equals Drake Doremus, USA — North American Premiere — In a futuristic, utopian society known as the Collective — where inhabitants have been bred to be peaceful and emotionless — a man and a woman discover that they have feelings for one another. Together, they attempt to understand this connection. Starring Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver.
  • Families (Belles Familles) Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France — World Premiere — When Shanghai-based businessman Jérome Varenne learns that his childhood home in the village of Ambray is at the centre of a local conflict, he heads there to straighten things out and finds himself at the centre of familial and romantic complications. Starring Mathieu Amalric.
  • The Family Fang Jason Bateman, USA — World Premiere — Annie and Baxter Fang have spent most of their adult lives trying to distance themselves from their famous artist parents. But when both siblings find themselves stalled in life, they return home for the first time in a decade where they become entangled in a dark mystery surrounding their parents’ disappearance. Jason Bateman directs and stars, along with co-stars Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken, in this film based on the New York Times bestseller.
  • Guilty (Talvar) Meghna Gulzar, India — World Premiere — Based on true events that set off a media frenzy all over the world, Guilty follows the 2008 Noida Double Murder Case of an investigation into the deaths of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar and 45-year-old Hemraj Banjade, a domestic employed by Aarushi’s family, in Noida, India. The controversial case lives on in the mind of the public, despite a guilty verdict that sentenced the parents of the murdered girl to life in prison. Starring Irrfan Khan.
  • I Saw the Light Marc Abraham, USA — World Premiere — This film tells the story of legendary country western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and its ultimately tragic effect on his health and personal life. Based on Colin Escott’s award-winning biography. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Bradley Whitford, David Krumholtz Cherry Jones and Maddie Hasson.
  • I Smile Back Adam Salky, USA — Canadian Premiere — Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Amy Koppelman, I Smile Back explores the life of Laney (Sarah Silverman), a devoted wife and mother who seems to have it all — a perfect husband, pristine house and shiny SUV. However, beneath the façade lies depression and disillusionment that catapult her into a secret world of reckless compulsion. Only very real danger will force her to face the painful root of her destructiveness and its effect on those she loves.
  • The Idol (Ya Tayr El Tayer) Hany Abu-Assad, United Kingdom/Palestine/Qatar — World Premiere — A young boy in Gaza, Mohammad Assaf, dreams of one day singing in the Cairo Opera House with his sister and best friend, Nour. One day, Nour collapses and is rushed to the hospital where it is discovered that she needs a kidney transplant. Nour leaves Mohammad with a dying wish that someday, he will become a famous singer in Cairo. Escaping from Gaza to Egypt against unbelievable odds, Mohammad makes the journey of a lifetime. From two-time Academy Award nominee Hany Abu-Assad comes this inspirational drama inspired by the incredibly true story of Mohammed Assaf, winner of Arab Idol 2013.
  • Into the Forest Patricia Rozema, Canada — World Premiere — In a not-too-distant future, sisters Nell and Eva find themselves shuttered in their home. Surrounded by nothing but miles of dense forest, the sisters must fend for themselves using the supplies and food reserves they have before turning to the forest to discover what it will provide. They are faced with a world where rumour is the only guide, trust is a scarce commodity, gas is king and loneliness is excruciating. And yet somehow miraculously, love still grows. Starring Elliot Page and Evan Rachel Wood.
  • The Lady in the Van Nicholas Hytner, USA/United Kingdom — World Premiere — Based on the true story of Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who “temporarily” parked her van in writer Alan Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. What begins as a begrudged favour becomes a relationship that will change both their lives. Filmed on the street and in the house where Bennett and Miss Shepherd lived all those years, acclaimed director Nicholas Hytner reunites with iconic writer Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George, The History Boys) to bring this rare and touching portrait to the screen. Starring Maggie Smith, Dominic Cooper and James Corden.
  • Len and Company Tim Godsall, USA — North American Premiere — A successful music producer (Rhys Ifans) quits the industry and exiles himself in upstate New York, but the solitude he seeks is shattered when both his estranged son (Jack Kilmer) and the pop-star (Juno Temple) he’s created come looking for answers.
  • The Lobster Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland/United Kingdom/Greece/France/Netherlands — North American Premiere — In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods. Starring Colin Farrell, Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux and Ben Whishaw.
  • London Fields Matthew Cullen United Kingdom/USA — World Premiere — Clairvoyant femme fatale Nicola Six lives with a dark premonition of her impending murder. She begins a tangled web of love with three uniquely different men: one of them will kill her. In her vision she cannot see which one. Starring Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton, Theo James, Jim Sturgess, Jason Isaacs and Cara Delevingne.
  • Louder than Bombs Joachim Trier, Norway/France/Denmark — North American Premiere — An upcoming exhibition celebrating photographer Isabelle Reed three years after her untimely death brings her eldest son Jonah back to the family house, forcing him to spend more time with his father Gene and withdrawn younger brother Conrad than he has in years. With the three men under the same roof, Gene tries desperately to connect with his two sons, but they struggle to reconcile their feelings about the woman they remember so differently. Starring Isabelle Huppert, Gabriel Byrne and Jesse Eisenberg.
  • ma ma Julio Medem, Spain/France — International Premiere — This is the story of Magda. Confronted with tragedy, she reacts with a surge of life that flows inside of her, from the imaginable to the unimaginable. Accompanied by her closest circle, she will live the most unexpected situations filled with humour and delicate happiness. Starring Penélope Cruz, Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia.
  • Maggie’s Plan Rebecca Miller, USA — World Premiere — Maggie’s plan to have a baby on her own is derailed when she falls in love with John, a married man, destroying his volatile marriage to the brilliant Georgette. But one daughter and three years later, Maggie is out of love and in a quandary: what do you do when you suspect your man and his ex-wife are actually perfect for each other? Starring Julianne Moore, Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph.
  • The Meddler Lorene Scafaria, USA — World Premiere — Marnie Minervini, recent widow and eternal optimist, moves from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter. Armed with an iPhone and a full bank account, Marnie sets out to make friends, find her purpose, and possibly open up to someone new. Starring Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons.
  • Mountains May Depart (Shan He Gu Ren) Jia Zhang-ke, China/France/Japan — North American Premiere — The new film from master filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke (A Touch of Sin) jumps from the recent past to the speculative near-future as it examines how China’s economic boom has affected the bonds of family, tradition, and love.
  • Mr. Six (Lao Pao Er) Guan Hu, China — North American Premiere — With his son captured, Mr. Six and his old pals stand up to the new, younger generation of hooligans, defending their dignity as once respected gangsters in the neighbourhood. Starring Feng Xiaogang.
  • Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Turkey/France/Germany — North American Premiere — It’s the beginning of the summer in a village in the north of Turkey; Lale and her four sisters come home from school, innocently playing with boys. The supposed debauchery of their games causes a scandal with unintended consequences. The family home slowly turns into a prison, classes on housework and cooking replace school, and marriages begin to be arranged. The five sisters, driven by the same desire for freedom, fight back against the limits imposed on them. Starring Gunes Sensoy, Dogba Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan, Ilayda Akdogan, Ayberk Pekcan and Nihal Koldas.
  • My Mother (Mia Madre) Nanni Moretti, Italy/France — North American Premiere — Margherita is a director shooting a film with the famous American actor, Barry Huggins, who is quite a headache on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together, despite her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence. Stars Nanni Moretti, Margherita Buy, John Turturro and Giulia Lazzarini.
  • Office Johnnie To, China/Hong Kong — International Premiere — Billion-dollar company Jones & Sunn is going public. Chairman Ho Chung-ping has promised CEO Chang, who has been his mistress for more than 20 years, to become a major shareholder of the company. As the IPO team enters the company to audit its accounts, a series of inside stories start to be revealed. Starring Chow Yun Fat, Sylvia Chang, Tang Wei and Wang Ziyi.
  • Our Brand Is Crisis David Gordon Green, USA — World Premiere — A Bolivian presidential candidate enlists a management team led by damaged but brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine, who seizes the chance to beat her professional nemesis Pat Candy, coaching the opposition. But as Pat zeroes in on every vulnerability, Jane faces a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits to boost their numbers, in this drama revealing the machinations of political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters. Starring Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd, Scoot McNairy and Zoe Kazan.
  • Parched Leena Yadav, India/USA — World Premiere — Three ordinary women dare to break free from the century old patriarchal ways of their village in the desert heartland of rural India. Starring Tannishtha Chaterjee, Radhika Apte and Surveen Chawla, this unforgettable tale of friendship and triumph is called Parched.
  • Room Lenny Abrahamson, Ireland/Canada — Canadian Premiere — Told through the eyes of five-year-old-Jack, Room is a thrilling and emotional tale that celebrates the resilience and power of the human spirit. To Jack, the Room is the world… it’s where he was born, where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. But while it’s home to Jack, to Ma it’s a prison. Through her fierce love for her son, Ma has managed to create a childhood for him in their 10-by-10-foot space. But as Jack’s curiosity is building alongside Ma’s own desperation — she knows that Room cannot contain either indefinitely. Starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Sean Bridgers and William H. Macy.
  • Sicario Denis Villeneuve, USA — North American Premiere — In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is enlisted by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past (Benicio Del Toro), the team sets out on a clandestine journey that forces Kate to question everything that she believes.
  • Son of Saul (Saul Fia) László Nemes, Hungary — Canadian Premiere — October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.
  • Spotlight Tom McCarthy, USA — International Premiere — Spotlight tells the true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Brian d’Arcy James and Billy Crudup.
  • Summertime (La Belle Saison) Catherine Corsini, France — North American Premiere — Delphine, the daughter of farmers, moves to Paris in 1971 to break free from the shackles of her family and to gain her financial independence. Carole is a Parisian, living with Manuel, actively involved in the stirrings of the feminist movement. The meeting of the two women changes their lives forever. Starring Cécile De France, Izia Higelin, Noémie Lvovsky and Kévin Azaïs.
  • Sunset Song Terence Davies, United Kingdom/Luxembourg — World Premiere — Terence Davies’ epic of hope, tragedy and love at the dawning of the Great War follows a young woman’s tale of endurance against the hardships of rural Scottish life. Based on the novel by Lewis Grassic Gibbon and told with gritty poetic realism by Britain’s greatest living auteur, Sunset Song stars Peter Mullan and Agyness Deyn.
  • A Tale of Love and Darkness Natalie Portman Israel/USA — North American Premiere — Based on Amos Oz’s international best-seller, this is the story of his youth at the end of the British Mandate in Palestine and the early years of the state of Israel. The film details young Amos’s relationship with his mother and his birth as a writer, looking at what happens when the stories we tell become the stories we live. Starring Natalie Portman, Gilad Kahana and Amir Tessler.
  • A Tale of Three Cities (San Cheng Ji) Mabel Cheung, China — International Premiere — Based on the miraculous true story of Jackie Chan’s parents, this film is about the unbreakable bond of love between an opium-peddling widow and a former spy on the run. Together they witness love and humanity in the face of war, famine, and overwhelming danger. Starring Tang Wei and Sean Lau.
  • Truth James Vanderbilt, USA — World Premiere — In the vein of All the President’s Men and The Insider, this is the incredible true story of Mary Mapes, an award-winning CBS News journalist, and Dan Rather’s producer. The film chronicles the story they uncovered of a sitting U.S. president that may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a U.S. presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. Based on Mapes’s book Truth and Duty. Starring Cate Blanchett, Elisabeth Moss, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid and Bruce Greenwood.
  • Trumbo Jay Roach, USA — World Premiere — The successful career of 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) comes to a crushing end when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs. Trumbo tells the story of his fight against the U.S. government and studio bosses in a war over words and freedom, which entangled everyone in Hollywood from Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) and John Wayne to Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger.
  • Un plus une Claude Lelouch, France — World Premiere — Charming, successful, Antoine (Jean Dujardin) could be the hero of one of those films he composes the music for. When he leaves for a job in India, he meets Anna (Elsa Zylberstein), a woman who isn’t like him at all, but who attracts him more than anything. Together, they are going to experience an incredible journey.
  • Victoria Sebastian Schipper, Germany — Canadian Premiere — On a night out in Berlin, Victoria meets four young local guys. After joining their group, she becomes their driver when they rob a bank. Finally, as dawn breaks, everyone meets their destiny.
  • Ville-Marie Guy Édoin, Canada — World Premiere — An actress shooting a movie hopes to reconcile with her son. A paramedic haunted by his past tries to stay the course, while a caring nurse keeps an eye on him from afar as she tries, at the same time, to keep an emergency room running. It is at the Ville-Marie Hospital that these four lives will take an unexpected turn. Starring Monica Bellucci, Patrick Hivon, Pascale Bussières and 2015 TIFF Rising Star Aliocha Schneider.
  • The Wave Roar Uthaug, Norway — International Premiere — Experienced geologist Kristian Eikfjord accepts a job offer out of town. As he’s getting ready to move from the city of Geiranger with his family, he and his colleagues measure small geological changes in the underground. Kristian worries that his worst nightmare is about to come true, when the alarm goes off and disaster is inevitable. With less than 10 minutes to react, it becomes a race against time in order to save as many people as possible, including his own family. Starring Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp and Jonas Oftebro.
  • Where to Invade Next Michael Moore, USA — World Premiere — Oscar-winning director Michael Moore returns with what may be his most provocative and hilarious movie yet. Moore tells the Pentagon to “stand down”— he will do the invading for America from now on. Discretely shot in several countries and under the radar of the global media, Moore has made a searing cinematic work that is both up-to-the-minute and timeless.
  • The Witch Robert Eggers, USA/Canada — Canadian Premiere — A colonial family leaves plantation life and attempts to reap their harvest on a fledgling farm at the edge of an imposing ancient New England forest. Superstition and dread set in as food grows scarce, a family member goes missing, and the children’s play takes on a frenzied and menacing undercurrent. As they begin to turn on one another, the malevolent machinations of an ethereal presence from within the woods exacerbate the growing corruption of their own nature. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson.
  • Youth Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/United Kingdom/Switzerland — North American Premiere — Youth explores the lifelong bond between two friends vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred (Michael Caine) has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz), Mick (Harvey Keitel) is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last film for his muse Brenda (Jane Fonda). And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy (Paul Dano), an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance? From Italy’s Oscar-winning foreign language film writer and director Paolo Sorrentino, Youth asks if our most important and life-changing experiences can come at any time — even late — in life.

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE

  • Adieu Philippine Jacques Rozier, France/Italy — Set under the looming shadow of the Algerian war, Adieu Philippine follows a young television cameraman who meets and attempts to seduce two beautiful, inseparable young women. The trio’s frolicking fun takes them from the streets of Paris to a Corsican holiday tinged with melancholy.
  • Harlan County, USA Barbara Kopple, USA — Harlan County, USA chronicles a fiercely contested labour battle in Kentucky during the early 1970s. The strike began when the miners working for the Eastover Mining Co. joined the UMW, and its corporate parent, Duke Power, refused to sign the standard union contract. By living with the 180-odd families involved in the strike, Kopple shows the backbreaking burdens of the miners’ life in the best of times and the looming fear of destitution in the worst. While the film is unabashedly partisan, it’s worth remembering that the company’s refusal to sign a contract was condemned by the National Labor Relations Board and that the corporation agreed to sign only under heavy pressure from federal mediators.
  • Heat Michael Mann, USA — Hard-boiled ex-con Neil McCauley is the leader of a crew of seasoned thieves who operate with grim determination and military discipline. But when a last-minute replacement on his team leads to a bloody triple murder during an armoured truck robbery, McCauley is targeted by veteran detective Vincent Hanna, whose obsessive dedication both mirrors and contrasts with McCauley’s ruthless professionalism. Starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro with Jon Voight, Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Tom Sizemore and Amy Brenneman.
  • The Mask (Eyes of Hell) Julian Roffman, Canada — Newly restored by TIFF and the 3-D Film Archive, director Julian Roffman’s deliciously creepy tale about a haunted tribal mask was the first feature-length horror movie and first feature-length 3-D film produced in Canada. Using elements from the best remaining 35mm prints, TIFF and the 3-D Film Archive have digitally restored the film’s original cut in both anaglyph and polarized 2K 3D. The Mask was restored with the support of TIFF’s donors and members, who contributed to a crowd-sourced fundraising campaign to launch the project.
  • The Memory of Justice Marcel Ophüls, United Kingdom/USA/Germany — This epic documentary by Marcel Ophüls (The Sorrow and the Pity) meditates on Western society’s concepts of justice through comparisons of war crimes in Vietnam, Algeria, and Nazi Germany. Restoration by the Academy Film Archive in association with Paramount Pictures and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by The Material World Charitable Foundation, Righteous Persons Foundation, and The Film Foundation.
  • River of Grass Kelly Reichardt, USA — Shot on 16mm, the story follows the misadventures of disaffected housewife Cozy, played by Lisa Bowman, and the aimless layabout Lee, played by indie legend Larry Fessenden, who also acted as a producer and the film’s editor. Described by Reichardt as “a road movie without the road, a love story without the love, and a crime story without the crime,” River of Grass introduces viewers to a director already in command of her craft and defining her signature themes. Preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Oscilloscope Laboratories and Sundance Institute. Preservation Funding provided by Oscilloscope Laboratories, Sundance Institute, TIFF, and a number of very generous Kickstarter backers.
  • Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli) Luchino Visconti, Italy — Luchino Visconti’s magisterial family saga — about an impoverished Sicilian clan who arrive in Milan in search of a better life — returns in this glorious new restoration, featuring two previously censored scenes. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Titanus, TF1 Droits Audiovisuels and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by Gucci and The Film Foundation.
  • The Round-Up (Szegénylegények ) Miklós Jancsó, Hungary — The first of Hungarian master Miklós Jancsó’s historical epics is set in an isolated concentration camp in the 1860s, where imperial authorities use brutal methods to discover the nationalist rebels hiding within the ragtag group of prisoners. A presentation of the Hungarian National Film Fund and the Hungarian National Digital Film Archive and Film Institute (MaNDA). Restoration 2K image and sound by the Hungarian Filmlab from 35mm negative.
  • Titicut Follies Frederick Wiseman, USA — Titicut Follies is a stark and graphic portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The film documents the various ways the inmates are treated by the guards, social workers and psychiatrists.

TIFF DOCS

  • Al Purdy Was Here Brian D. Johnson, Canada — World Premiere — Al Purdy was Canada’s unofficial poet laureate, though he admits he didn’t write a good poem until he was 40. He found his voice in an A-Frame cabin he built in Ontario’s Prince Edward County. Canada’s leading musicians and artists from Bruce Cockburn and Sarah Harmer to Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje come together to tell his story and celebrate his poetry.
  • Amazing Grace Sydney Pollack, USA — International Premiere — Sydney Pollack’s film of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace.’ Filmed during church services in Los Angeles on January 13 and 14, 1972, the footage was never seen until now. Featuring Reverend James Cleveland, the Southern California Community Choir and the Atlantic Records rhythm section.
  • A Flickering Truth Pietra Brettkelly, New Zealand/Afghanistan — North American Premiere — As Afghanistan teeters on an unpredictable future, A Flickering Truth uncovers the world of three dreamers and cinephiles, the dust of 100 years of war and the restoration of 8,000 hours of film archive that they risked their lives to conceal. What surprises will emerge from the cloak of time?
  • A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers Geeta Gandbhir and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, USA/Pakistan — World Premiere — A unit of Bangladeshi female police officers leave their families to join a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti and challenge stereotypes about the capabilities of Muslim women. The film focuses on three of the women as they grapple with the harsh realities of becoming foot soldiers in a UN Peacekeeping Mission, and the pressures on their families left behind.
  • A Young Patriot (Shao Nian * Xiao Zhao) Du Haibin, China/USA/France — Canadian Premiere — This intimate documentary chronicles five years in the life of a young Chinese student, whose fervent idealism and dedication to Mao’s legacy stands in stark contrast to contemporary China’s turn towards state capitalism.
  • Being AP Anthony Wonke, United Kingdom/Ireland — World Premiere — Being AP is an intimate documentary portrait of AP McCoy – the greatest jump jockey of all time. As he passes his 40th birthday, an age beyond which most jockeys are unable to continue, AP contemplates his obsession with winning, the years of sacrifice that he has endured to become a champion, the chase for a 20th successive title, and then a future without racing.
  • Bolshoi Babylon Nick Read, United Kingdom — World Premiere — For the first time, Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre allows filmmakers full and uncensored access backstage. After a brutal acid attack on the ballet company’s director Sergei Filin in January 2013, Bolshoi Babylon follows the dancers and managers through a new season as they try to regain their status as the world’s leading dance company.
  • Dark Horse Louise Osmond, United Kingdom — Canadian Premiere — Set in a former mining village in Wales, Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of Jan Vokes and her group of local friends who decide to take on the elite ‘sport of kings’ and breed themselves a racehorse. Raised on a slagheap allotment, their foal becomes a source of inspiration and hope.
  • Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr Patrick Reed and Michelle Shephard, Canada — World Premiere — Omar Khadr: child soldier or unrepentant terrorist? The 28-year-old Canadian has been a polarizing figure since he was 15. In 2002, Khadr was captured by American forces in Afghanistan and charged with war crimes, including murder. After spending half his life behind bars, including a decade at Guantanamo, Khadr is released. This is his story, in his own words.
  • He Named Me Malala Davis Guggenheim, USA — International Premiere — Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim shows us how Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus, remains committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide. Providing an inside glimpse into her extraordinary life — from her close relationship with her father who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the UN, to her everyday life at home.
  • Heart of a Dog Laurie Anderson, USA — Canadian Premiere — Heart of a Dog is a personal essay film that explores themes of love, death, and language. The director’s voice is a constant presence as stories of her dog Lolabelle, her mother, childhood fantasies and political, and philosophical theories unfurl in a seamless song-like stream.
  • Hitchcock/Truffaut Kent Jones, USA/France — Canadian Premiere — In 1962, two of the greatest minds in cinema sat down for an intimate and expansive conversation. Based on the original recordings of this meeting — used to produce the influential book Hitchcock/Truffaut — this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time and plummets us into the world of the creator of Psycho, The Birds, and Vertigo. David Fincher, Richard Linklater, Martin Scorsese and other legendary filmmakers add to the discussion of Hitchcock’s enduring legacy and influence on cinema.
  • Horizon Bergur Bernburg and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Iceland/Denmark — World Premiere — A documentary about the late Icelandic painter Georg Gudni Hauksson, whose innovative interpretations of forms and ideas paved the way for a renaissance in Icelandic landscape painting.
  • In Jackson Heights Frederick Wiseman, USA — North American Premiere — Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary is about the diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens, New York where 167 languages are spoken among immigrants from every continent, and half the population is foreign-born. The community is an example of America as a ‘melting pot’ settled and made strong by people committed to making their neighborhood work despite cultural and religious differences.
  • It All Started At The End (Todo comenzó por el fin) Luis Ospina, Colombia — World Premiere — Filmmaker Luis Ospina recounts the history of El Grupo de Cali, the prolific bohemian artistic collective that revolutionized Colombian film and literature in the 1970s and ’80s.
  • Janis: Little Girl Blue Amy Berg, USA — North American Premiere — Academy Award-nominated director Amy Berg reveals the raw, sensitive and powerful woman behind the legend in Janis: Little Girl Blue; the quintessential story of the short, turbulent, epic existence that changed music forever. Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) lends her raspy Southern voice to the film, reading Janis Joplin’s achingly intimate letters.
  • Je Suis Charlie Emmanuel Leconte and Daniel Leconte, France — World Premiere — On January 7, 2015, French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo was the victim of a terrorist attack that killed 12 people, including some of the greatest French cartoonists such as Cabu, Wolinski, Charb, Tignous and Honoré. The following day a policewoman was shot dead in the street. On January 9, another attack targeted the Jewish community. Four hostages were murdered. This film pays tribute to all these victims.
  • Miss Sharon Jones! Barbara Kopple, USA — World Premiere — Two-time Academy Award-winner Barbara Kopple follows R&B queen Sharon Jones over the course of an eventful year, as she battles a cancer diagnosis and struggles to hold her band the Dap-Kings together. Additionally, TIFF Cinematheque will showcase Kopple’s film Harlan County, USA which played at the first Festival in 1976.
  • The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble Morgan Neville, USA — World Premiere — This film tells the extraordinary story of the Silk Road Ensemble, an international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists, and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution, and inspire hope.
  • Nasser Jihan El-Tahri, France/South Africa — International Premiere — Filmmaker Jihan El-Tahri explores the history of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the revolutionary army officer whose decade-long reign as president of Egypt saw him defy the West during the 1956 Suez Crisis, co-found the international Non-Aligned Movement, and suffer a dramatic defeat to Israel in the Six-Day War.
  • Ninth Floor Mina Shum, Canada — World Premiere — It started quietly when six Caribbean students, strangers in a cold new land, began to suspect their professor of racism. It ended in the most explosive student uprising Canada had even known. Over four decades later, Ninth Floor reopens the file on the infamous Sir George Williams Riot: a watershed moment in Canadian race relations and one of the most contested episodes in the nation’s history. Director Mina Shum (Double Happiness) locates the protagonists in clandestine locations throughout Trinidad and Montreal — the wintry city where it all went down. In a cinematic gesture of reckoning and redemption, she listens as they set the record straight.
  • Our Last Tango (Un tango más) German Kral, Germany/Argentina — World Premiere — Argentina’s María Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes are the best-known couple in tango’s history and shaped the dance like no others. They danced passionately, loved and hated each other for almost 50 years, until one day they separated, and left a gap in the tango scene. Now, almost at the end of their lives, they tell their story for the first time. Executive produced by Wim Wenders.
  • P.S. Jerusalem Danae Elon, Canada/Israel — World Premiere — Danae Elon grew up in Jerusalem. After many years of living abroad, she moves back with her three young sons and French-Algerian husband Philip who are fresh to the city. Over three years, she documents their experiences, bearing witness to what makes Jerusalem so fiercely contested. A looming presence is the memory of her late father, the esteemed author Amos Elon, seen in home movies. Through the prism of one family’s life, the film exposes a complex portrait of Jerusalem today.
  • The Reflektor Tapes Kahlil Joseph, United Kingdom — World Premiere — The Reflektor Tapes is a fascinating insight into the making of Arcade Fire’s international #1 album Reflektor. The film recontextualizes the album experience, transporting the viewer into a kaleidoscopic sonic and visual landscape. The Reflektor Tapes blends never-before-seen personal interviews and moments captured by the band to dazzling effect, and features 20 minutes of exclusive unseen footage, filmed only for cinema audiences.
  • Return of the Atom (Atomin paluu) Mika Taanila and Jussi Eerola, Finland/Germany — World Premiere — Finland was the first country in the West to give permission to build a new nuclear power plant after the Chernobyl disaster. The film portrays the strange and stressful life in the small Finnish ‘nuclear town’ Eurajoki during an era of nuclear renaissance.
  • Sherpa Jennifer Peedom, Australia/United Kingdom — Canadian Premiere — Director Jennifer Peedom set out to uncover tension in the 2014 Everest climbing season from the Sherpas’ point of view, and instead captured a tragedy when an avalanche struck, killing 16 Sherpas. Sherpa tells the story of how the Sherpas united after the tragedy in the face of fierce opposition to reclaim the mountain they call Chomolungma.
  • This Changes Everything Avi Lewis, Canada/USA — World Premiere — Seven powerful portraits of community resistance around the world lead to one big question: what if confronting the climate crisis is the best chance we’ll ever get to build a better world? Inspired by Naomi Klein’s international bestseller and directed by her partner Avi Lewis, This Changes Everything is an affecting and hopeful call to action.
  • Thru You Princess Ido Haar, Israel — International Premiere — In her late 30s, Samantha lives in New Orleans and works as a caregiver. She often uploads her songs and musings online and none of her clips get more than a few dozen hits. She doesn’t imagine that someone, on the other side of the world, is about to expand the number of listeners by millions. Kutiman, an Israeli musician, discovered Samantha’s songs on YouTube and weaves them with audiovisual symphonies composed of musical clips that people posted online.
  • Welcome to F.L. Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, Canada — World Premiere — Welcome to F.L. portrays a community of teenagers navigating their environment, identity and other questions of youth within their high-school world in a small town in Quebec. Learning to define themselves inside and outside school boundaries as they transition into the challenges of adulthood, they expose refreshing points of view filled with humour, philosophy and courage.
  • Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom Evgeny Afineevsky, Ukraine/USA/UnitedKingdom — Canadian Premiere — Chronicling events that unfolded over 93 days in 2013 and 2014, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom witnesses the formation of a new civil rights movement in Ukraine. What started as peaceful student demonstrations supporting European integration morphed into a full-fledged violent revolution calling for the resignation of the nation’s president. The film captures the remarkable mobilization of nearly a million citizens from across the country protesting the corrupt political regime that utilized extreme force against its own people to suppress their demands and freedom of expression.
  • Women He’s Undressed Gillian Armstrong, Australia — International Premiere — During Hollywood’s golden age, the Australian known as Orry-Kelly was a costume designer for an astonishing 282 films including classics like Some Like It Hot, Casablanca, and An American in Paris. As a gay male during a closeted era, he was also a keeper of secrets. Director Gillian Armstrong (Oscar and Lucinda; Little Women) employs inventive recreations, interviews and film clips to uncover his story.

TIFF KIDS

  • The Boy and the Beast (Bakemono no ko) Mamoru Hosoda, Japan — International Premiere — A young boy in modern-day Tokyo stumbles into an alternate dimension and becomes the apprentice to a bearlike warrior, in this stunning animated fantasy from writer-director Mamoru Hosoda. Cast includes Koji Yakusho and Aoi Miyazaki. Recommended for ages 11 and up.
  • My Skinny Sister (Min lilla syster) Sanna Lenken, Sweden/Germany — Canadian Premiere — Just as Stella enters the exciting world of adolescence, she discovers that her big sister and role model Katja is hiding an eating disorder. The disease slowly tears the family apart. A story about jealousy, love and betrayal told with warmth, depth and laughter. Starring Rebecka Josephson, Amy Deasismont and Annika Hallin. Recommended for ages 11 and up.
  • Phantom Boy Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, France/Belgium — North American Premiere — From the Academy Award-nominated directors of A Cat in Paris comes a thrilling new adventure. An 11-year-old boy named Leo, becomes an unlikely superhero when he discovers that he has the ability to leave his body and fly through walls. When a nefarious gangster takes control of New York’s power supply, only he can save the city. Cast includes Audrey Tautou, Édouard Baer and Jean-Pierre Marielle. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
  • The Iron Giant: Signature Edition Brad Bird, USA — World Premiere — Remastered and enhanced with two new scenes, the modern animated classic about a young boy befriending a gigantic space robot returns to enchant a new generation of audiences. Cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel and Eli Marienthal. Recommended for ages 7 and up.

VANGUARD

  • Collective Invention (Dolyeon Byeoni) Kwon Oh-kwang, South Korea — World Premiere — Young and unemployed Gu is desperate to make some money and participates in a clinical trial for a pharmaceutical company’s new drug. As an unknown side effect, he slowly transforms into a fish. This bizarre situation becomes Korea’s hottest news and fish man Gu is catapulted into the spotlight and becomes a superstar, only to fall from grace just as quickly.
  • Demon Marcin Wrona, Poland/Israel — World Premiere — Peter is a stranger in the hometown of his future wife Janet. As a wedding gift from the bride’s grandfather, he receives a piece of land where the two can build a house and raise a happy family. While preparing the land for construction, Peter finds hidden bones of human bodies in the ground beneath his new property. Then very strange things begin to happen.
  • Der Nachtmahr AKIZ, Germany — North American Premiere — When 17-year -old Tina passes out at a party, she assumes it was just the side-effect of her wild lifestyle on the decadent Berlin-party scene. Soon she becomes unsettled and nervously manic as a mysterious ugly creature starts to haunt her, in both her dreams and waking hours, and nobody believes her.
  • Endorphine André Turpin, Canada — World Premiere — Thirteen-year-old Simone is trying to feel emotion again as a trauma survivor. Twenty-five-year-old Simone is a solitary woman trying to control panic attacks. Sixty-year-old Simone is an accomplished physician who gives a conference on the nature of time. The new film from celebrated director and cinematographer André Turpin intertwines the lives of three women in an intoxicating cinematic puzzle.
  • Evolution Lucile Hadžihalilovic, France — World Premiere — A 10-year-old boy discovers a dead body in the sea just before he is brought to the hospital for a mysterious injection. Before long, something appears to be growing inside of him.
  • February Osgood Perkins, USA/Canada — World Premiere — In February, beautiful and haunted Joan makes a bloody and determined pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all girls prep school, where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. As Joan gets closer, terrifying visions begin plaguing Kat while Rose watches in horror as she becomes possessed by an unseen evil force.
  • Hellions Bruce McDonald, Canada Canadian Premiere — Strange trick-or-treaters plague conflicted teenager Dora Vogel at her isolated home on Halloween. Under siege by forces she can’t understand, Dora must defend both body and soul from relentless hellions, dead set on possessing something Dora will not give them. Set in a visually haunting landscape, Hellions redefines the boundaries of horror with its potent brew of Halloween iconography, teenage angst and desperate survival. Starring Chloe Rose.
  • Lace Crater Harrison Atkins, USA — World Premiere — On a weekend trip to the Hamptons with friends, Ruth (Lindsay Burdge) encounters a mysterious ghost (Peter Vack) haunting the guest house. One thing leads to another and they find themselves in the throes of an unexpected one-night stand. Soon, Ruth begins suffering from a bizarre sexually-transmitted disease that leaves doctors and friends confused and frightened. As her body and social connections begin to disintegrate, she must find a way to reconcile her condition with the world around her, or risk losing herself to a void from which she may never emerge.
  • Love Gaspar Noé, France — North American Premiere — January 1, early morning. The telephone rings. Murphy wakes up next to his young wife and two-year-old child. He listens to his voicemail: Electra’s mother, sick with worry, wants to know whether he has heard from her daughter. Electra’s been missing for a long time. She’s afraid something really bad has happened to her. Over the course of a long rainy day, Murphy finds himself alone in his apartment, reminiscing about the greatest love affair of his life: his two years with Electra. A burning passion full of promises, games, excess and mistakes.
  • Men & Chicken (Mænd og Høns) Anders Thomas Jensen, Denmark — North American Premiere — Men & Chicken revolves around two special-natured brothers, Elias and Gabriel (Mads Mikkelsen and David Dencik). Upon their father’s passing, they find out through their father’s will that they are adopted. Elias and Gabriel decide to seek out their natural father and set out for the island Ork, where their biological father lives. Here they discover a most paralyzing, yet liberating truth about themselves and their family.
  • My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) Álex de la Iglesia, Spain — World Premiere — The story unfolds amidst a frenzied and lavish New Year’s Eve television special, taped during a sweltering hot August in Madrid. An unemployed Jose is sent to join hundreds of extras cooped up on set, day and night, as they hysterically celebrate the fake coming of the New Year — over and over again. The star of the show, Alphonso, is a charismatic ratings-chasing diva; and Adán, a young Latino singer, is being hounded by fans that are trying to blackmail him.
  • The Missing Girl A.D. Calvo, USA — World Premiere — The Missing Girl tells the story of Mort, the lonely and disillusioned owner of a comic book shop, and Ellen, the emotionally disruptive, aspiring graphic novelist he’s hired. The story involves the search for a girl who isn’t missing and the discovery that it’s never too late for late bloomers.
  • No Men Beyond This Point Mark Sawers, Canada — North American Premiere — Sixty years ago, women began reproducing asexually, and now are no longer able to give birth to male babies. This deadpan mockumentary follows 37-year -old Andrew Myers — the youngest man alive —who is at the centre of a battle to save men from extinction. No Men Beyond This Point asks what would happen if only women ran the world.
  • Veteran Ryoo Seung-wan, South Korea — North American Premiere — A tough cop targets the tyrannical heir to a mega-corporation in this hard-hitting thriller from South Korean cult auteur Ryoo Seung-wan (Crying Fist, City of Violence).
  • Zoom Pedro Morelli, Canada — World Premiere — Zoom is a fast-paced, pop-art inspired, multi-plot contemporary comedy. The film consists of three seemingly separate but ultimately interlinked storylines about a comic book artist, a novelist and a film director. Each character lives in a separate world but authors a story about the life of another.

WAVELENGTHS SHORT FILM PROGRAMMES

  • Wavelengths 1: Fire in the Brain
    • 3D Movie Paul Sharits, USA (restored archival print courtesy of Anthology Film Archives)
    • Fugue Kerstin Schrödinger, Canada/Germany — North American Premiere — Fugue is a formal and physical experiment in order to understand the relationship between image, sound and movement. Movements are also printed on the part of the film strip that is read as optical sound by the light sensitive sensor of the projector. What you hear is what you see.
    • Prima Materia Charlotte Pryce, USA
    • The Fire in My Brain That Separates Us Benjamin Ramírez Pérez, Germany
    • Something Horizontal Blake Williams, Canada/USA — World Premiere — Three-dimensional flashes of Victorian domestic surfaces and geometric shadows transform the physical world into a somber, impressionistic abstraction, while elsewhere a spectre emerging from the depths of German Expressionism reminds us that what goes up always comes down.
    • The Exquisite Corpus Peter Tscherkassky, Austria
  • Wavelengths 2: YOLO
    • A Distant Episode Ben Rivers, UK
    • An Old Dog’s Diary Shai Heredia and Shumona Goel, India
    • The Reminder Behrouz Rae, USA
    • Solo for Rich Man Beatrice Gibson, UK
    • YOLO Ben Russell, USA/South Africa
    • Analysis of Emotions and Vexations Wojcieck Bakowski, Poland
    • Bunte Kuh Ryan Ferko, Parastoo Anoushahpour and Faraz Anoushahpour, Canada/Germany — Toronto Premiere — Through a flood of images, a narrator attempts to recall a family holiday. Bunte Kuh combines a found postcard, family photo album, and original footage to weave together the temporal realities of two separate vacations.
  • Wavelengths 3: Light Space Modulator
    • Navigator Björn Kämmerer, Austria/Germany
    • Théodolitique David K. Ross, Canada — World Premiere — Théodolitique merges the geodetic and the filmic, linking the very long history of land surveying with the comparatively new technologies of filmmaking. Connecting these two methods of visual observation and recording, the film documents student surveyors from the École des Métiers du Sud-Ouest-de-Montréal as they take an outdoor exam over the course of a single day.
    • Office Space Modulation Terrarea (Janis Demkiw, Emily Hogg and Olia Mishchenko), Canada — World Premiere — The Office Space Modulator is an improvised animation device employing an outsized Lazy Susan as the central mechanism to produce looped analogue projections of light and shadow. The resulting single-take field recordings document a subtle gymnastic interplay of scale, transparency, reflection, rotation, puppetry, and general field-ground tomfoolery.
    • Palms Mary-Helena Clark Canada/USA — World Premiere — Musical and mysterious, this is a sphinx-like, modular film in four parts, with two hands animating stillness, the repeated approach of headlights, a < —- > tennis match, and thoughts that emerge like objects.
    • Occidente Ana Vaz, France/Portugal
    • Terrestrial Calum Walter, USA
    • Tarlabasi Cynthia Madansky,Turkey
  • Wavelengths 4: Psychic Driving
    • Actua1 Philippe Garrel, France (restored archival print courtesy of La Cinémathèque française)
    • Time for Outrage! Friedl vom Gröller, Austria
    • Untitled Behrouz Rae, USA
    • Many Thousands Gone Ephraim Asili, Brazil/USA
    • Neither God nor Santa Maria Samuel M. Delgado and Helena Girón, Spain
    • Psychic Driving William E. Jones, USA
    • UNcirCling John Creson and Adam Rosen, Canada — World Premiere — Elegant and enigmatic, UNcirCling is a visual music miniature composed of a bokeh of lights and digital chirping.
    • Engram of Returning Daïchi Saïto, Canada — World Premiere — The figure of the jig-saw / that is of picture, / the representation of a world as ours / in a complex patterning of color in light and shadows, / masses with hints of densities and distances, / cut across by a second, discrete pattern / in which we perceive on qualities of fitting and not fitting / and suggestions of rhyme / in ways of fitting and not fitting – / this jig-saw conformation of patterns / of different orders, / of a pattern of apparent reality / in which the picture we are working to bring out appears / and of a pattern of loss and of finding / that so compels us that we are entirely engrossed in working it out, / this picture that must be put together / takes over mere seeing. — Robert Duncan, poet

WAVELENGTHS PAIRINGS

  • Night without distance (Noite Sem Distância) Lois Patiño, Spain/Portugal — North American Premiere — An instant in the memory of a landscape: the smuggling that for centuries crossed the line between Portugal and Galicia. The Gerês Mountains knows no borders, and rocks cross from one country to another with insolence. Smugglers also disobey this separation. The rocks, river, and trees: silent witnesses to help them to hide. Night without distance precedes previously announced feature-film, Minotaur by Nicolás Pereda.
  • Santa Teresa and Other Stories (Santa Teresa y Otras Historias) Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias, Mexico/Dominican Republic/USA — North American Premiere — Dominican filmmaker Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias radically extrapolates from Roberto Bolaño’s unfinished, posthumous novel 2666, to produce a baroque fictionalized account of Ciudad Juárez. This noir-tinged tale soon begins to dovetail and intersect with a host of other stories recounted by a chorus of disembodied voices, creating a narrative palimpsest that blurs the line between factual documentation, lyrical observation, and fictional imagination. Preceded by:
  • Paradox of Praxis 5 Francis Alÿs, Mexico — International Premiere — The latest in Belgian-born, Mexico City-based contemporary artist Francis Alÿs’ series of performative videos that politicize absurd or seemingly futile gestures, Paradox of Praxis 5 documents the artist’s nocturnal perambulations through Juárez as he kicks a ball of fire along the city’s desolate streets. Transcending metaphor, the eerie, mobile conflagration traces out an imaginary map of a devastated city.
  • Sector IX B (Secteur IX B) Mathieu Kleyebe Abonnenc, France/Senegal — North American Premiere — Taking inspiration from L’Afrique fantôme — the controversial diary by surrealist writer Michel Leiris recounting his participation in the ambitious French ethnographic expedition of the 1930s to Dakar and Djibouti — Mathieu Kleyebe Abonnenc’s arresting first feature reflects on identity, cultural appropriation, and the transference of memory though objects. Preceded by:
  • Faux Départ (False Start) Yto Barrada, Morocco/USA — North American Premiere — The latest film by French-Moroccan artist Yto Barrada observes the elaborate fossil industry in Morocco. Paying homage to the “preparators” in the arid region between the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, whose intrepid work is fuelling a thriving trade in artifacts real, faux and hybrid, False Start is a rebuke to the fetishistic thirst for foreign objects, a sly meditation on authenticity, and a paean to creativity.

WAVELENGTHS FEATURES

  • 88:88 Isiah Medina, Canada — North American Premiere — A digital cinema incendiary, Isiah Medina’s anticipated feature debut explodes with ideas about time, love, knowledge, poverty, and poetry, all erupting within a densely layered montage that is formally rigorous and emotionally raw. 88:88 (or —:—) is what appears when bills are paid after the electricity has been abruptly cut off, demonstrating that people who live in poverty live in suspended time. 88:88 will be preceded by the short film May We Sleep Soundly by Denis Côté, Canada — World Premiere — Winter persists. Something happened. At the heart of the woods, on the slopes of mountains, in the streets and even inside homes, a strange silence took up residence. Will there remain a soul to witness the recent event?
  • Afternoon (Na ri xia wu) Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan — North American Premiere — A disarmingly candid, insightful and ultimately very moving conversation between Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang and his muse, actor Lee Kang-sheng, whose storied relationship represents one of the great collaborations in cinema history.
  • Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One Miguel Gomes, Portugal/France/Germany/Switzerland — North American Premiere — A major hit at this year’s Cannes, this epic, three-part contemporary fable by Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes (Tabu) adopts the structure from the Arabian Nights texts in order to explore Portugal’s plunge into austerity. The first volume of this thrillingly inventive and wildly ambitious triptych includes appearances by cunning wasps, virgin mermaids, an exploding whale, erection-inducing potions and a talking rooster.
  • Arabian Nights: Volume 2, The Desolate One Miguel Gomes, Portugal/France/Germany/Switzerland — North American Premiere — Part Two of Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes’ majestic, mutating modern-day folk tale relates how desolation has invaded humanity through stories involving a distressed judge on a night of three moons, a runaway, a teleporting murderer, a wounded cow, a sad, chain-smoking couple in a concrete apartment block, and a ghost dog named Dixie.
  • Arabian Nights: Volume 3, The Enchanted One Miguel Gomes, Portugal/France/Germany/Switzerland — North American Premiere — The third and concluding volume of Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes’ Scheherazadean triptych brings this epic to a close with the sound of birdsong and the promise of the ineffable.
  • Eva Doesn’t Sleep Pablo Agüero, France/Argentina/Spain — World Premiere — One of Argentina’s most visionary and politically engaged cinematic voices, director Pablo Agüero takes the unbelievable story of the transport of the embalmed body of beloved First Lady Eva Perón, and transforms it into a strangely riveting cinema experience, with a supremely creepy performance from Gael García Bernal.
  • The Event Sergei Loznitsa, Netherlands/Belgium — North American Premiere — Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa follows his monumental documentary Maïdan with this found-footage epic about the failed coup of August 1991 that signaled the fall of the Soviet Union.
  • The Forbidden Room Evan Johnson and Guy Maddin, Canada — Canadian Premiere — Honouring classic cinema while electrocuting it with energy, Evan Johnson and Guy Maddin’s grand ode to lost cinema begins (after a prologue on how to take a bath) with the crew of a doomed submarine chewing flapjacks in a desperate attempt to breathe the oxygen within. Suddenly, a lost woodsman wanders into their company to tell his tale of escape from a fearsome clan of cave dwellers, and we are taken high into the air, around the world, and into dreamscapes, spinning tales of amnesia, captivity, deception and murder, skeleton women and vampire bananas. Like a glorious meeting between Italo Calvino, Sergei Eisenstein and a perverted six-year-old child, created with the help of master poet John Ashberry, Mathieu Amalric, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Geraldine Chaplin, Roy Dupuis, Clara Furey, Louis Negin, Maria de Medeiros, Jacques Nolot, Adèle Haenel, Amira Casar and Elina Löwensohn make up a cavalcade of misfits, thieves and lovers.
  • Invention Mark Lewis, United Kingdom/Canada — World Premiere — Shot in Paris, São Paulo and Toronto, Mark Lewis’ anthology of films captures the ever-changing textures of these cities through moving images of glass, light, shadows and reflections, offering homage to the City Symphony films of the 1920s, while also juxtaposing modernist architecture with the compositional structures of old master paintings.
  • Lost and Beautiful (Bella e perduta) Pietro Marcello, Italy — North American Premiere — Part fable, part documentary, part film poem, the latest exquisite feature by Pietro Marcello (La bocca del lupo) pays homage to a humble shepherd who became a symbol of hope and generosity for a struggling and conflicted Italy.
  • Minotaur Nicolás Pereda, Mexico/Canada — World Premiere — Acclaimed Mexican-Canadian auteur Nicolás Pereda (Greatest Hits) returns to the Festival with this lovely, wraithlike fantasy that observes three thirty-somethings as they sleep, dream, read and receive visitors in a Mexico City apartment.
  • No Home Movie Chantal Akerman, Belgium — North American Premiere — Shuttling between fiction, adaptation, documentary and essay film, Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman has created one of the most original, daring and influential oeuvres in film history. No Home Movie is a sober, profoundly moving portrait of Akerman’s mother in the months leading up to her death, when she was mostly confined to her Brussels apartment. A Polish Jew who survived Auschwitz, her mother suffered from chronic anxiety, an affliction that shaped Akerman’s thematic preoccupations with gender, sex, cultural identity, existential ennui, solitude and mania.
  • The Other Side Roberto Minervini, France/Italy — North American Premiere — In turns tender and disturbing, Italian filmmaker Roberto Minervini produces a powerful hybrid docu-fiction film, profiling drug addicts and private militia in Louisiana, who live on the fringes of society.
  • The Sky Trembles and the Earth is Afraid and the Two Eyes Are Not Brothers Ben Rivers, United Kingdom — North American Premiere — Partially inspired by Paul Bowles’ short story A Distant Episode, the latest feature by British filmmaker Ben Rivers (Two Years at Sea, A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness) charts a mysterious transformation from observational making-of to inventive adaptation shot against a staggering Moroccan landscape.

WAVELENGTHS INSTALLATIONS

  • Bring Me The Head of Tim Horton Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson — World Premiere — Guided by the spirit of Maddin’s “Cuadecec Manifesto” (which calls for makings-of en masse), Bring Me the Head of Tim Horton is a strange and stirring behind-the-scenes look at Paul Gross’s new feature, Hyena Road. Shot on location at CFB Shilo near Brandon, Manitoba and in Aqaba, Jordan, the film summons psychedelic energy from the main event. Presented at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West.
  • Fallen Objects Shambhavi Kaul, USA/India — World Premiere
  • Fireworks (Archives) Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/Mexico — Canadian Premiere
  • The Forbidden Room – A Living Poster Galen Johnson — World Premiere — Initially designed to promote Evan Johnson and Guy Maddin’s The Forbidden Room, A Living Poster employs the same digital techniques used to create the text-based intertitles and treat the footage within the film. A looping collection of living, moving, morphing posters, it blurs the boundaries between poster and trailer and suggests an anachronistic collision between digitally corrupted video files and a damaged film print from the silent era forming a beguiling hybrid aesthetic of digital data loss and decaying analogue emulsion. Presented at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West.
  • La Giubba Tony Romano and Corin Sworn, Canada/United Kingdom — World Premiere — The first major collaboration between Canadian artist Tony Romano and English-born, Toronto-raised Corin Sworn, La Giubba follows the intersections of five drifters over the course of two summer days in southern Italy. This installation is presented in partnership with Clint Roenisch Gallery (190 St Helens Ave, Toronto).
  • Stories are Meaning-Making Machines Annie MacDonnell and Maïder Fortuné, France/Canada — International Premiere — A live in-cinema reading at TIFF Bell Lightbox performed by Canadian artist Annie MacDonnell and French artist Maïder Fortuné which explores a new form of cinematic memory. Originally commissioned by Le Centre Pompidou’s Hors Pistes Festival, Paris.