Adventures in Public School[/caption]
TIFF is toasting the end of Canada’s sesquicentennial with its list of 2017’s best Canadian films for the 17th Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. The stellar lineup champions emerging directors, including Sadaf Foroughi for her award-winning, Tehran-set drama Ava; Wayne Wapeemukwa’s City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at TIFF, Luk’Luk’I; Kathleen Hepburn’s heartbreaking Never Steady, Never Still; Simon Lavoie’s striking The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches; Kyle Rideout’s charming comedy Adventures in Public School; and, in another example Canada’s genre chops, Les Affamés, Robin Aubert’s unique take on the zombie allegory, which won the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film at TIFF. Social issues are also dealt with directly in Charles Officer’s lyrical documentary Unarmed Verses, winner of Hot Docs’ Best Canadian Feature Documentary prize, and Catherine Bainbridge’s electrifying crowd-pleaser RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World.
The festival’s popular In Conversation With… series will feature intimate onstage discussions with remarkable talent, including master filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, who is also part of this year’s lineup with her latest feature, Our People Will Be Healed, a luminous, hopeful ode to the power of action-driven decolonization. The revered filmmaker, musician, and revolutionary artist has been a tireless advocate for Indigenous resistance and she continues to reinvigorate Canada’s Indigenous identities while advocating for truth and reconciliation in her latest feature. In Conversation With… Alanis Obomsawin is co-presented by The Directors Guild of Canada.
In addition, award-winning actor Evan Rachel Wood will discuss her career and role in the psychological thriller Allure, the highly anticipated feature debut from Montreal-based photographers Carlos and Jason Sanchez. Wood began her career as a child in the 1990s and went on to give acclaimed performances in Thirteen (2003) and The Wrestler (2008), before reaching new heights with HBO’s hit series Westworld (2016– ). She is a leading voice in the drive to create lasting change in the film industry, and her brilliant work in such Canadian independent features as Patricia Rozema’s Into the Forest (Canada’s Top Ten 2015) and this year’s Canada’s Top Ten selection Allure has cemented her status as one of the most versatile and adventurous actors working today.
The festival also offers audiences two special screenings: Phillip Borsos’ 1990 political saga Bethune: The Making of a Hero — starring Donald Sutherland as beloved Canadian hero Dr. Norman Bethune — as well as a Canadian Open Vault free screening of Daniel Cockburn’s TFCA Jay Scott Prize winner You Are Here (2010).
Filmgoers in Toronto will once again vote to crown the People’s Choice Award winner.
The Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival is complemented by the 2018 TIFF Industry Forum, a full day of programming on Friday, January 12 tailored exclusively for film professionals. The Forum opens with a special edition of Breakfast at TIFF that explores
programming ethics. In light of recent harassment allegations against prominent industry creatives, panellists will debate whether the art can ever truly be separated from the artist. Another session will celebrate the outstanding work of break-out feature directors and examine how the industry can best support them as they develop their second and third features. The Forum closes with a live onstage recording of the award-winning podcast TIFF Long Take, featuring Canadian film and television director Jeremy Podeswa. He is best known for directing the films The Five Senses (1999) and Fugitive Pieces (2007), and for his Emmy-nominated work on the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Established in 2001, the festival is one of the largest and longest-running showcases of Canadian film. From January 12 to 21, 2018 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, the 10-day event boasts a rich offering of public screenings, Q&A sessions and a special Industry Forum, followed by a nationwide tour stopping in Vancouver, Montreal, Regina, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Saskatoon.
The festival will tour select films to major cities across the country including stops at Vancouver’s The Cinematheque (January 12 to 21), Montreal’s PHI Centre (January 12 to 21), Winnipeg Film Group’s Cinematheque (January 12 to February 24), Edmonton’s Metro Cinema (January 26 to February 4), Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada (March 15 to 17), Regina’s RPL Film Theatre (April 12 to 15) and Saskatoon’s PAVED Arts in collaboration with the Roxy Theatre (dates TBC).
The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches
The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches
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TIFF Unveils Top Ten Canadian Films of 2017 + Top Ten Film Festival Lineup
[caption id="attachment_25450" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Adventures in Public School[/caption]
TIFF is toasting the end of Canada’s sesquicentennial with its list of 2017’s best Canadian films for the 17th Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. The stellar lineup champions emerging directors, including Sadaf Foroughi for her award-winning, Tehran-set drama Ava; Wayne Wapeemukwa’s City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at TIFF, Luk’Luk’I; Kathleen Hepburn’s heartbreaking Never Steady, Never Still; Simon Lavoie’s striking The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches; Kyle Rideout’s charming comedy Adventures in Public School; and, in another example Canada’s genre chops, Les Affamés, Robin Aubert’s unique take on the zombie allegory, which won the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film at TIFF. Social issues are also dealt with directly in Charles Officer’s lyrical documentary Unarmed Verses, winner of Hot Docs’ Best Canadian Feature Documentary prize, and Catherine Bainbridge’s electrifying crowd-pleaser RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World.
The festival’s popular In Conversation With… series will feature intimate onstage discussions with remarkable talent, including master filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, who is also part of this year’s lineup with her latest feature, Our People Will Be Healed, a luminous, hopeful ode to the power of action-driven decolonization. The revered filmmaker, musician, and revolutionary artist has been a tireless advocate for Indigenous resistance and she continues to reinvigorate Canada’s Indigenous identities while advocating for truth and reconciliation in her latest feature. In Conversation With… Alanis Obomsawin is co-presented by The Directors Guild of Canada.
In addition, award-winning actor Evan Rachel Wood will discuss her career and role in the psychological thriller Allure, the highly anticipated feature debut from Montreal-based photographers Carlos and Jason Sanchez. Wood began her career as a child in the 1990s and went on to give acclaimed performances in Thirteen (2003) and The Wrestler (2008), before reaching new heights with HBO’s hit series Westworld (2016– ). She is a leading voice in the drive to create lasting change in the film industry, and her brilliant work in such Canadian independent features as Patricia Rozema’s Into the Forest (Canada’s Top Ten 2015) and this year’s Canada’s Top Ten selection Allure has cemented her status as one of the most versatile and adventurous actors working today.
The festival also offers audiences two special screenings: Phillip Borsos’ 1990 political saga Bethune: The Making of a Hero — starring Donald Sutherland as beloved Canadian hero Dr. Norman Bethune — as well as a Canadian Open Vault free screening of Daniel Cockburn’s TFCA Jay Scott Prize winner You Are Here (2010).
Filmgoers in Toronto will once again vote to crown the People’s Choice Award winner.
The Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival is complemented by the 2018 TIFF Industry Forum, a full day of programming on Friday, January 12 tailored exclusively for film professionals. The Forum opens with a special edition of Breakfast at TIFF that explores
programming ethics. In light of recent harassment allegations against prominent industry creatives, panellists will debate whether the art can ever truly be separated from the artist. Another session will celebrate the outstanding work of break-out feature directors and examine how the industry can best support them as they develop their second and third features. The Forum closes with a live onstage recording of the award-winning podcast TIFF Long Take, featuring Canadian film and television director Jeremy Podeswa. He is best known for directing the films The Five Senses (1999) and Fugitive Pieces (2007), and for his Emmy-nominated work on the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Established in 2001, the festival is one of the largest and longest-running showcases of Canadian film. From January 12 to 21, 2018 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, the 10-day event boasts a rich offering of public screenings, Q&A sessions and a special Industry Forum, followed by a nationwide tour stopping in Vancouver, Montreal, Regina, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Saskatoon.
The festival will tour select films to major cities across the country including stops at Vancouver’s The Cinematheque (January 12 to 21), Montreal’s PHI Centre (January 12 to 21), Winnipeg Film Group’s Cinematheque (January 12 to February 24), Edmonton’s Metro Cinema (January 26 to February 4), Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada (March 15 to 17), Regina’s RPL Film Theatre (April 12 to 15) and Saskatoon’s PAVED Arts in collaboration with the Roxy Theatre (dates TBC).
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2017 Toronto International Film Festival Awards: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Wins Top Award
The Toronto International Film Festival announced its award winners and the Grolsch People’s Choice Award went to Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The second runner-up is Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. The first runner-up is Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya.
The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Joseph Kahn’s Bodied. The second runner-up is Craig Zahler’s Brawl in Cell Block 99. The first runner-up is James Franco’s The Disaster Artist.
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Agnès Varda and JR’s Faces Places. The second runner-up is Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! The first runner-up is Long Time Running directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas De Pencier.
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Marc-Antoine Lemire’s Pre-Drink. The jury remarked the film “is a monumental yet intimate portrayal of a woman in transition. Lead by the towering performances of the film’s two actors, both of who are worthy of receiving their own awards. The jury were especially taken by the leading actress who gives one of the best performances we saw in the Short Cuts programs. The 2017 Short Cuts jury honors Pre-Drink for Best Canadian short film.”IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film goes to Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s The Burden (Min Börda). The jury remarked, “Whimsical but tragic, imaginative and just plain weird, this is exactly what one can expect from a Scandinavian musical with fish in bath robes singing out their existentialist crisis. This is a film that stands out in this program and any film program it will ever be part of.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize made possible by IWC Schaffhausen. The jury gave honourable mentions to Matthew Rankin’s The Tesla World Light (Tesla: Lumière Mondiale) and Qiu Yang’s Xiao Cheng Er Yue (A Gentle Night).CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM
The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film goes to Wayne Wapeemukwa’s Luk’ Luk’l. The jury remarked, “The award goes to a striking debut film that disrupts borders – of form and content and suggests new cinematic territories.This beautifully realized film offers a unique Canadian perspective, made with real compassion, insight and remarkable characters from Vancouver’s East Side.” This award carries a cash prize of $15,000, made possible by the City of Toronto. The jury gave honourable mention to Sadaf Foroughi’s Ava.CANADA GOOSE AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM
The Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés. The jury remarked, “This year the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to a hybrid art-house film that proved to be something of a revelation. Wonderfully scripted and perfectly cast, this film managed the rare feat of featuring genuinely interesting and well-rounded characters; surprising dramatic and comedic moments with well thought-out multi-generational female roles (who were totally badass, I might add) while also dealing with poignant and contemporary issues, set against a striking rural backdrop and hundreds of ‘ravenous’ zombies.” The jury gave honorable mention to Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes).THE PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZES)
Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery program is awarded to Sadaf Foroughi for Ava. Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations is awarded to Manuel Martín Cuenca for The Motive (El Autor).NETPAC AWARD
As selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema for the sixth consecutive year, the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere goes to Huang Hsin-Yao’s The Great Buddha+. The jury remarked, “The NETPAC Jury awards The Great Buddha+ for depicting the interface between the haves and have-nots, with black humor and style, innovating with noir in representing the social reality of Taiwan today.”TORONTO PLATFORM PRIZE PRESENTED BY AIR FRANCE
This is the third year for Platform, the Festival’s juried program that champions directors’ cinema from around the world. The Festival welcomed an international jury comprised of award-winning filmmakers Chen Kaige, Małgorzata Szumowska, and Wim Wenders who unanimously awarded the Toronto Platform Prize, presented by Air France, to Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country. “This is a spiritual epic taking place in 1929 in Australia’s Northern Territory,” said the jury in a statement. “It is a great saga of human fate, and its themes of race and struggle for survival are handled in such a simple, rich, unpretentious and touching way, that it became for us a deeply emotional metaphor for our common fight for dignity. Speaking about their deliberations, the jury added: “We saw 12 films from all over the world that took us into very different universes of the soul and to extremely different places on our planet. We were thankful to be able to see these films and we very much appreciated that actually exactly half of them were made by women. TIFF is leading the way, we feel.” “As we only had one award to give, we had to be quite radical. We also limited ourselves to only one special mention, even if other films might have imposed themselves for best acting, writing or directing.” Awarding a special mention to Clio Barnard’s Dark River, the jury said: “This film, deeply rooted in the Yorkshire countryside, convinced us, as its characters and actors, its photography, its story and its sense of place were all so much ONE, so utterly believable and controlled, that we were totally taken by it.”GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS
This year marked the 40th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favorite Festival film for the Grolsch People’s Choice Award. This year’s award goes to Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch. The second runner-up is Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. The first runner-up is Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya. The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Joseph Kahn’s Bodied. The second runner-up is Craig Zahler’s Brawl in Cell Block 99. The first runner-up is James Franco’s The Disaster Artist. The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Agnès Varda and JR’s Faces Places. The second runner-up is Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! The first runner-up is Long Time Running directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas De Pencier.
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Toronto International Film Festival Unveils Canadian Feature Slate of 26 Films
[caption id="attachment_23575" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Don’t Talk to Irene[/caption]
The 2017 Toronto International Film Festival unveiled today the 26 titles that make up the Festival’s Canadian feature slate. Featuring a crop of provocative first features, this year’s diverse and varied Canadian lineup boasts one of the highest numbers of feature directorial debuts ever, as well as one of the highest numbers of films from Western Canada in recent years. Over 30% of the titles have a first-time feature director, while seven out of nine are TIFF alumni.
This year’s Canadian slate is bolstered by a number of titles from Canadian Festival veterans. Among these titles are: Alanis Obomsawin’s Our People Will Be Healed; Alan Zweig’s There is a House Here; Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes); Mina Shum’s Meditation Park; Robin Aubert’s vérité zombie flick Les Affamés; Ingrid Veninger’s Porcupine Lake; Pat Mills’ high school misfit comedy Don’t Talk to Irene; Oscar nominee Kim Nguyen’s Eye on Juliet; Adam MacDonald’s Pyewacket; celebrated director Denis Côté’s Ta peau si lisse (A Skin So Soft); and Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier’s previously announced Long Time Running.
Among the Canadian first features at the 2017 Festival are: Sadaf Foroughi’s AVA, a superbly crafted drama about an Iranian teenager at a pivotal crossroad; Ian Lagarde’s All You Can Eat Buddha, which follows a man’s surreal impact on vacationers at a Cuban resort; Carlos and Jason Sanchez’s A Worthy Companion, a psychological thriller about obsession and trauma; Trailer Park Boys star Cory Bowles’ Black Cop, an arresting satirical exploration of police-community relations; Kathleen Hepburn’s powerful family drama Never Steady, Never Still; Grayson Moore and Aidan Shipley’s Cardinals, a disturbing look at the impact of a convicted murderer’s return to her community; Wayne Wapeemukwa’s Luk’Luk’I, a look at the denizens of an impoverished Vancouver neighbouhood; and Molly McGlynn’s Mary Goes Round, about an addiction counsellor struggling with her own issues.
Two exciting titles making their World Premieres at the Festival are Mary Harron’s Alias Grace, based on the award-winning novel by Margaret Atwood, written by Sarah Polley and starring Sarah Gadon, Anna Paquin and Paul Gross; and Sean Menard’s The Carter Effect, on how NBA All-Star Vince Carter made an impact on Toronto.
Rounding out the program are Kyle Rideout’s winning comedy about eccentricity and high school Public Schooled; Tarique Qayumi’s powerful Afghanistan-set drama BLACK KITE; and Matt Embry’s shocking and poignant MS doc Living Proof.
The slate also features performances by multiple Canadian and international stars, including Sandra Oh; Sheila McCarthy; Don McKellar; Russell Peters; Evan Rachel Wood; Geena Davis; Sarah Gadon; Sarah Julia Stone; Scott Thompson; Judy Greer; Afghanistan’s most prominent rising star Haji Gul; and beloved Chinese actress Cheng Pei-Pei.
“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “This year’s lineup has a truly international feel to it, too, with a number of features shot all over the globe — something that also speaks to the boldness of many of the filmmakers included in the slate.”
“We are thrilled to have a lineup with such a rich diversity of voices and perspectives,” said Magali Simard, Programmer and Theatrical Senior Manager, TIFF. “Not only are different regions of the country represented, but so are multiple age groups, backgrounds, languages and filmmaking styles. This lineup showcases the incredible wealth of talent currently at work in Canada.”
All 25 Canadian feature films at the Festival are eligible for the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. All nine Canadian feature directorial debuts are eligible for the City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film. This year’s Canadian awards jury is composed of Mark Adams, Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival; Canadian documentarian and Hillman Prize winner Min Sook Lee (Migrant Dreams); and artist and filmmaker Ella Cooper, who is also the founder of Black Women Film! Canada.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Eye on Juliet Kim Nguyen, Canada North American PremiereMASTERS
Our People Will Be Healed Alanis Obomsawin, Canada World PremiereTIFF DOCS
The Carter Effect Sean Menard, Canada/USA World Premiere Living Proof Matt Embry, Canada World Premiere There is a House Here Alan Zweig, Canada World PremiereDISCOVERY
A Worthy Companion Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez, Canada World Premiere All You Can Eat Buddha Ian Lagarde, Canada World Premiere AVA Sadaf Foroughi, Iran/Canada/Qatar World Premiere Black Cop Cory Bowles, Canada World Premiere Cardinals Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley, Canada World Premiere Luk’Luk’I Wayne Wapeemukwa, Canada World Premiere Mary Goes Round Molly McGlynn, Canada World Premiere Never Steady, Never Still Kathleen Hepburn, Canada World PremiereCONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
BLACK KITE Tarique Qayumi, Canada/Afghanistan World Premiere Don’t Talk to Irene Pat Mills, Canada World Premiere Les Affamés Robin Aubert, France/Canada World Premiere Meditation Park Mina Shum, Canada World Premiere Porcupine Lake Ingrid Veninger, Canada World Premiere Public Schooled Kyle Rideout, Canada World Premiere Pyewacket Adam MacDonald, Canada World Premiere The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes) Simon Lavoie, Canada World PremierePRIMETIME
Alias Grace Mary Harron, Canada/USA World Premiere PROTOTYPE Blake Williams, Canada North American Premiere A Skin so Soft (Ta peau si lisse) Denis Côté, Canada/Switzerland North American Premiere Previously announced Canadian features at the Festival include Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier’s Long Time Running (Gala) and Seth A. Smith’s The Crescent (Midnight Madness).