The Toronto International Film Festival debuted the 2017 Discovery program lineup with 45 first and second feature films by up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world. Good news for the future of global cinema: this is the biggest Discovery program to date, with 25% more titles than the 2016 roster and two-thirds of the selection World Premiering at TIFF.
“Uncovering new talent is one of the key roles of the Festival,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “The Discovery programme allows us to carve out a space for emerging filmmakers to be seen by the international film industry and has helped launch the careers of award-winning filmmakers like Maren Ade, Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Christopher Nolan, and Dee Rees.”
The films, produced or co-produced in 35 different countries, include fresh, experimental and compelling voices. Life in small, rural communities is portrayed in Miracle, Ravens and The Swan, while families dealing with crises and conflict are addressed in Apostasy, Shuttle Life and Suleiman Mountain. LGBTQ+ themes run through several of the Discovery titles, including Montana, Soldiers. Story from Ferentari and The Poet and the Boy, while teen sexuality is explored in Disappearance, Kissing Candice and Princesita.
“If you don’t support the future of filmmaking, you fall behind. So we’re always looking for new talent,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “The fact that the Discovery programme continues to grow is deeply encouraging, and speaks to the fact that there are a lot of people that want to make films when it is often increasingly more difficult to do so.”
The Toronto International Film Festival also announced an additional title to the Docs program: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, a documentary about Lorraine Hansberry, a black writer, communist, feminist, lesbian and outspoken trailblazer at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017.
Toronto International Film Festival 2017 Discovery program
1% Stephen McCallum, Australia
World Premiere
¾ (Three Quarters) Ilian Metev, Germany/Bulgaria
North American Premiere
A Fish Out Of Water (上岸的魚) Lai Kuo-An, Taiwan
World Premiere
A Worthy Companion Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez, Canada
World Premiere
All You Can Eat Buddha Ian Lagarde, Canada
World Premiere
Apostasy Daniel Kokotajlo, United Kingdom
World Premiere
AVA Sadaf Foroughi, Iran/Canada/Qatar
World Premiere
Black Cop Cory Bowles, Canada
World Premiere
The Butterfly Tree Priscilla Cameron, Australia
International Premiere
Cardinals Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley, Canada
World Premiere
Disappearance (Napadid Shodan) Ali Asgari, Iran/Qatar
North American Premiere
Five Fingers For Marseilles (Menoana e Mehlano ea Marseilles) Michael Matthews, South Africa
World Premiere
The Future Ahead (El futuro que viene) Constanza Novick, Argentina
World Premiere
The Garden (Sommerhäuser) Sonja Maria Kröner, Germany
International Premiere
The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯) Huang Hsin-Yao, Taiwan
International Premiere
The Lady From Holland Marleen Jonkman, Netherlands/Germany
World Premiere
Gutland Govinda Van Maele, Luxembourg/Germany/Belgium
World Premiere
High Fantasy Jenna Bass, South Africa
World Premiere
Human Traces Nic Gorman, New Zealand
North American Premiere
Discovery Closing Film.
I am not a Witch Rungano Nyoni, United Kingdom/France
North American Premiere
I Kill Giants Anders Walter, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Indian Horse Stephen Campanelli, Canada
World Premiere
Killing Jesus (Matar a Jesús) Laura Mora, Colombia/Argentina
World Premiere
Kissing Candice Aoife McArdle, Ireland
World Premiere
Luk’Luk’I Wayne Wapeemukwa, Canada
World Premiere
Mary Goes Round Molly McGlynn, Canada
World Premiere
Miracle (Stebuklas) Egle Vertelyte, Lithuania/Bulgaria/Poland
World Premiere
Montana Limor Shmila, Israel
World Premiere
Never Steady, Never Still Kathleen Hepburn, Canada
World Premiere
Oblivion Verses (Los Versos del Olvido) Alireza Khatami, France/Germany/Netherlands/Chile
North American Premiere
Oh Lucy! Atsuko Hirayanagi, USA/Japan
North American Premiere
The Poet and the Boy (Si-e-nui Sa-rang) Kim Yang-hee, South Korea
International Premiere
Princesita Marialy Rivas, Chile/Argentina/Spain
World Premiere
Ravens Jens Assur, Sweden
World Premiere
Scaffolding (Pigumim) Matan Yair, Israel/Poland
North American Premiere
Shuttle Life (分貝人生) Tan Seng Kiat, Malaysia
North American Premiere
Simulation Abed Abest, Iran
North American Premiere
Soldiers. Story from Ferentari (Soldaţii. Poveste din Ferentari) Ivana Mladenovic, Romania/Serbia/Belgium
World Premiere
Suleiman Mountain Elizaveta Stishova, Kyrgyzstan/Russia
World Premiere
The Swan (Svanurinn) Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir, Iceland
World Premiere
Discovery Opening Film.
Tigre Silvina Schnicer, Ulises Porra Guardiola, Argentina
World Premiere
Valley of Shadows (Skyggenes Dal) Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen, Norway
World Premiere
Village Rockstars Rima Das, India
World Premiere
Waru Briar Grace-Smith, Ainsley Gardiner, Renae Maihi, Casey Kaa, Awanui Simich-Pene, Chelsea Cohen, Katie Wolfe, Paula Jones, New Zealand
International Premiere
Winter Brothers (Vinterbrødre) Hlynur Pálmason, Denmark/Iceland
North American Premiere
TIFF DOCS
Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart Tracy Heather Strain, USA
World Premiere