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| What Maisie Knew |
From TIFF comes the final announcement for films in the Gala
and Special Presentations programmes, along with 62 titles for Contemporary
World Cinema. I’m especially excited about the addition of What Maisie Knew (Gala), Smashed
(CWC), The Paperboy (SP), On the Road (SP), and the Closing Night
Gala Song for Marion.
The Toronto International Film Festival® announces the addition of 3 Galas and 18 Special Presentations, including 8 World Premieres, to its slate. The Festival will close with Paul Andrew Williams’ A Song For Marion, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp. Festival-goers will be treated to an exciting programming lineup of diverse titles and genres from around the globe, including works from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iraqi Kurdistan, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the USA.Toronto audiences will be among the first to screen remarkable pieces of cinema by directors Dan Algrant, Paul Thomas Anderson, Dante Ariola, Yvan Attal, Susanne Bier, Nick Cassavetes, Daniele Ciprì, Lee Daniels, Brian De Palma, Bahman Ghobadi, Harmony Korine, Patrice Leconte, Spike Lee, Scott McGehee, Claude Miller, Henry-Alex Rubin, Walter Salles, Valeria Sarmiento, Pablo Trapero, Peter Webber, and Paul Andrew Williams.This announcement brings the final number of Galas to 20, and the final number of Special Presentations to 70, including 48 world premieres
GALAS
Song for Marion | Closing
Night Film
Paul Andrew Williams, UK, World Premiere
A feel-good, heart-warming story about how music can inspire
you. Song for Marion stars Terence
Stamp as Arthur, a grumpy pensioner who can't understand why his wife Marion
(Vanessa Redgrave) would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her
unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton) sees
something special in the reluctant Arthur and refuses to give up on him. As she
coaxes him out of his shell, Arthur realizes that it is never too late to
change.
Emperor
Peter Webber, Japan/USA, World Premiere
In the aftermath of Japan's defeat in World War II and the
American occupation of the country, a Japanese expert (Matthew Fox) on the
staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) is faced with a decision of
historic importance, in this epically scaled drama from director Peter Webber (Girl With a Pearl Earring).
What Maisie Knew
Scott McGehee, David Siegel, USA, World Premiere
Based on the Henry James novella, the story frames on
7-year-old Maisie, caught in a custody battle between her mother – a rock and
roll icon – and her father. What Maisie
Knew is an evocative portrayal of the chaos of adult life seen entirely
from a child’s point of view. Starring Joanna Vanderham, Onata Aprile,
Alexander Skarsgård, Julianne Moore, and Steve Coogan.
--> YES!
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Arthur Newman
Dante Ariola, USA World, Premiere
Wallace Avery is tired of being a loser. Once a hot shot in
the world of competitive amateur golf, Wallace was dubbed ‘The Choker’ when he
hit the pro circuit. Unable to shake off a monumental loss of nerve on the
greens, Wallace retired from the pro tour and slipped into the ranks of the
quietly desperate. Deciding to address a radical problem with a radical
solution, he stages his own death, buys himself a new identity as Arthur
Newman, and sets out toward his own private Oz of golf. An offbeat love story
set in a perfect storm of identity crisis, Arthur Newman looks at how two
people try to remake themselves and come around to owning up to some basic
truths about the identities they left at home. Starring Emily Blunt, Colin
Firth, and Anne Heche.
Bad 25
Spike Lee, USA, North American Premiere
Bad 25 celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Michael
Jackson “Bad” album with unseen footage, content shot by Jackson himself, and a
treasure chest of findings. The documentary is divided into two parts: artists
today who were influenced by Michael, and people who worked by his side –
musicians, songwriters, technicians, engineers, people at the label – all
committed to Michael and the follow-up to the biggest record of all time,
“Thriller.” Interviewees include: Mariah Carey, L.A. Reid and Sheryl Crow.
Disconnect
Henry Alex Rubin, USA, North American Premiere
Disconnect interweaves multiple storylines about people
searching for human connection in today’s wired world. Through poignant turns
that are both harrowing and touching, the stories intersect with surprising
twists that expose a shocking reality into our daily use of technology that
mediates and defines our relationships and ultimately our lives. Directed by
Academy Award® nominee Henry Alex Rubin (Murderball), and starring Jason
Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Andrea
Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård, and Max Theriot, as well as Jonah Bobo, Colin
Ford and Haley Ramm.
Do Not Disturb
Yvan Attal, France, World Premiere
Jeff unexpectedly shows up on Ben's doorstep at 2am. Since
their college days, they've taken very different paths. Jeff is still the wild
man, a serial lover, an artist and eternal vagabond who's never stopped roaming
the world. Ben has settled down with chilled-out and wonderful Anna; they
bought a small and comfortable house in the suburbs and started trying to make
a baby. But this quiet life is disrupted by the whirlwind that is Jeff,
especially when he takes Ben to a wild party, from which they return at dawn,
having made a decision that is about to turn all of their lives upside down.
This provocative, hot and funny new film by award-winning French director Yvan
Atta stars François Cluzet and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Greetings from Tim Buckley
Dan Algrant, USA World Premiere
Greetings from Tim Buckley follows the story of the days
leading up to Jeff Buckley’s eminent 1991 performance at his father’s tribute
concert in St. Ann’s Church. Through a romance with a young woman working at
the concert, he learns to embrace all of his feelings toward the father who
abandoned him – longing, anger, forgiveness, and love. Culminating in a
cathartic performance of his father’s most famous songs, Jeff’s debut stuns the
audience and launches his career as one of the greatest young musicians of his
time. Starring Imogen Poots and Penn Badgley.
Lines of Wellington
Valeria Sarmiento, Portugal North American Premiere
After the failed attempts of Junot and Soult in 1807 and
1809, Napoleon Bonaparte sent a powerful army, commanded by Marshal Massena, to
invade Portugal in 1810. The French easily reached the centre of the country,
where the Anglo-Portuguese army, led by General Wellington, was waiting.
Starring John Malkovich, Nuno Lopes, Soraia Chaves, Marisa Paredes, and
Victoria Guerra.
Love is All You Need
Susanne Bier, Denmark North American Premiere
Love Is All You Need is a new film by Academy Award-winner
Susanne Bier. Philip (Pierce Brosnan), an Englishman living in Denmark, is a
lonely, middle-aged widower and estranged single father. Ida (Trine Dyrholm) is
a Danish hairdresser, recuperating from a long bout of illness, who's just been
left by her husband for a younger woman. The fates of these two bruised souls
are about to intertwine, as they embark for Italy to attend the wedding of
Philip's son and Ida's daughter. With warmth, affection and confidence, Bier
has shaken a cocktail of love, loss, absurdity, humour and delicately drawn
characters who will leave only the hardest heart untouched. This is a film
about the simple yet profound pains and joys of moving on – and forward – with
your life.
On The Road
Walter Salles, France/Brazil North American Premiere
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Walter Salles and based on
the iconic novel by Jack Kerouac, On The Road tells the provocative story of
Sal Paradise (Sam Riley), a young writer whose life is ultimately redefined by
the arrival of Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund), a free-spirited, fearless,
fast-talking Westerner and his girl, Marylou (Kristen Stewart). Traveling
cross-country, Sal and Dean venture out on a personal quest for freedom from the
conformity and conservatism engulfing them in search of the unknown,
themselves, and the pursuit of it – the pure essence of experience. Seeking
unchartered terrain and the last American frontier, the duo encounter an
eclectic mix of men and women, each adding meaning to their desire for a new
way of life. The screenplay is by Jose Rivera (Academy Award nominee for The
Motorcycle Diaries), while Executive Producer Francis Ford Coppola has been
developing the project since 1978. Also stars Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten
Dunst.
Passion
Brian De Palma, France/Germany North American Premiere
An erotic thriller in the tradition of Dressed To Kill and Basic
Instinct, Brian de Palma's Passion tells the story of a deadly power struggle
between two women in the dog-eat-dog world of international business. Christine
possesses the natural elegance and casual ease associated with one who has a
healthy relationship with money and power. Innocent, lovely and easily
exploited, her admiring protégé, Isabelle, is full of cutting-edge ideas that
Christine has no qualms about stealing. They're on the same team, after all...
But when Isabelle falls into bed with one of Christine's lovers, war breaks
out. Starring Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Karoline Herfurth and Paul
Anderson.
Rhino Season
Bahman Ghobadi, Iraqi Kurdistan/Turkey, World Premiere
After thirty years spent in prisons of the Islamic Republic
of Iran, Kurdish-Iranian poet Sahel finally walks free. Now the one thing
keeping him alive is the thought of finding his wife Mina, who thinks he is
long dead and has since moved to Turkey. Sahel sets out on an Istanbul-bound
search. Starring Behrouz Vossoughi, Monica Bellucci and Yilmaz Erdoğan.
Spring Breakers
Harmony Korine, USA, North American Premiere
Four sexy college girls plan to fund their spring break
getaway by burglarizing a fast food shack. But that’s only the beginning.
During a night of partying, the girls hit a roadblock when they are arrested on
drug charges. Hung over and clad only in bikinis, the girls appear before a
judge but are bailed out unexpectedly by Alien (James Franco), an infamous
local thug who takes them under his wing and leads them on the wildest spring
break trip in history. Rough on the outside but with a soft spot inside, Alien wins
over the hearts of the young spring breakers, and leads them on a spring break
they never could have imagined. Starring Selena Gomez, James Franco, Vanessa
Hudgens and Heather Morris.
The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, North American Premiere
A striking portrait of drifters and seekers in post World
War II America, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master unfolds the journey of a
Naval veteran (Joaquin Phoenix) who arrives home from war unsettled and
uncertain of his future — until he is tantalized by The Cause and its
charismatic leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Starring Amy Adams, Joaquin
Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Dern.
The Paperboy
Lee Daniels, USA, North American Premiere
A chilling sex-and-race-charged film noir, The Paperboy takes
audiences deep into the backwaters of steamy 1960s South Florida, as
investigative reporter Ward Jansen and his partner Yardley Acheman chase a
sensational, career-making story with the help of Ward’s younger brother Jack
and sultry death-row groupie Charlotte Bless. Starring Matthew McConaughey,
Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, David Oyelowo and Zac Efron.
The Son Did It
Daniele Ciprì, Italy/France North American Premiere
The Son Did It is the story of the Ciraulos, a poor family
from South Italy whose young daughter is mistakenly killed by the Mafia. As
compensation, they receive a large amount of money from the State but this
sudden richness will change their life in a completely unexpected way. Starring
Toni Servillo, Giselda Volodi, Alfredo Castro and Fabrizio Falco.
The Suicide Shop
Patrice Leconte, France/Belgium/Canada International
Premiere
Imagine a shop that for generations has sold all the
accoutrements for the perfect suicide. This family business prospers in all its
bleak misery, until the day it encounters joie de vivre in the shape of younger
son, Alan. What will become of The Suicide Shop in the face of Alan's
relentless good cheer, optimism and determination to make the customers smile?
Starring Bernard Alane, Isabelle Spade, Kacey Mottet Klein, Isabelle Giami and
Laurent Gendron.
Thérèse Desqueyroux
Claude
Miller, France, International Premiere
In the Landes region of France, near Bordeaux, marriages are
arranged to merge land parcels and unite neighbouring families. Thus, young
Thérèse Larroque becomes Mrs. Desqueyroux. But her avant-garde ideas clash with
local conventions and in order to break free from the fate imposed upon her and
live a full life, she will resort to tragically extreme measures. Starring
Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier.
White Elephant
Pablo Trapero, Argentina/Spain, North American Premiere
In a poverty-stricken and highly dangerous Buenos Aires
slum, two men – both friends, both priests, both deeply respected by the local
community for their tireless endeavours on behalf of the poor and the
dispossessed – take very different paths in their struggle against violence,
corruption and injustice. Starring Martina Gusman, Ricardo Darin and Jérémie
Renier.
Yellow
Nick Cassavetes, USA World Premiere
Nick Cassavetes' seminal work, Yellow, is a searing take on
modern society and the demands it makes on people. Centered on Mary Holmes, a
young woman who has a difficult time feeling things, and swallowing twenty
Vicodin a day doesn’t help. We enter her hallucinatory world, peopled with
Busby Berkeley dancers, Cirque du Soleil, Circus freaks, and human farm animals
where nothing is quite what it seems. Starring Sienna Miller, Gena Rowlands,
Ray Liotta, David Morse, Lucy Punch, Max Theoriot, Riley Keough, Daveigh Chase,
Heather Wahlquist and Melanie Griffith.
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
CINEMA
3
Pablo Stoll Ward, Uruguay/Germany/Argentina, North American
Premiere
For Rodolfo (Humberto de Vargas), life at home feels empty
and cold, as if he doesn’t belong. Meanwhile, his first wife, Graciela (Sara
Bessio) and their teenage daughter Ana (Anaclara Ferreyra Palfy) are living
through defining moments in their lives. Subtly, Rodolfo will try to slip back
into the place he once had next to them — the one he walked away from 10 years
ago. 3 is a comedy about three people and the absurd fate to which they are
doomed: being a family.
A Hijacking
Tobias Lindholm, Denmark, North American Premiere
In A Hijacking, Tobias Lindholm turns his attention to a
current topic: piracy at sea. The cargo ship MV Rozen is heading for harbour
when it is boarded and captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean. Amongst the men
on board are the ship's cook Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk) and the engineer Jan (Roland
Møller), who, along with the rest of the seamen, are taken hostage in a cynical
game of life and death. With the demand for a ransom of millions of dollars, a
psychological drama unfolds between the CEO of the shipping company (Søren
Malling) and the Somali pirates.
A Werewolf Boy
Jo Sung-hee, South
Korea World Premiere
Summoned by an unexpected phone call, an elderly woman
visits a cottage she used to visit when she was a young girl. Half a century
before, she moved to a peaceful village and discovered a “wolf boy” hiding in
the darkness. She recalls teaching the boy how to wear clothes, how to speak
and how to write along with other human behaviours. However, when threatened,
he let loose his bestial instincts and became the subject of the villagers’
fears. In order to save the life of the boy who risked his to be by her side,
she left him with a promise: “Wait for me. I’ll come back for you.”
After the Battle
Yousry Nasrallah,
Egypt/France, North American Premiere
Mahmoud is one of the “Tahrir Square Knights” who, on February
2, 2011 — manipulated by Mubarak’s regime — charged against the young
revolutionaries. Beaten, humiliated, unemployed and ostracized in his
neighbourhood near the Pyramids, Mahmoud and his family are losing their
footing. It is then that he meets Reem, a young Egyptian divorcée. Modern and
secular, Reem works in advertising, is a militant revolutionary, and lives in a
nice neighbourhood in Cairo. Their meeting will change their lives.
*Janice Gross Stein, Director of the Munk School of Global
Affairs and member of the Order of Canada, is an internationally renowned
expert on conflict management. She will speak about After the Battle in an
extended Q&A session, following one of the screenings.
All That Matters is Past
Sara Johnsen, Norway, World Premiere
Reunited after years apart, childhood sweethearts William
and Janne are forced to confront the dark secrets of their past — and the
menacing presence of William's pathologically jealous brother — in this
haunting story from celebrated Norwegian director Sara Johnsen.
Baby Blues
Kasia Rosłaniec, Poland, World Premiere
Polish director Kasia Rosłaniec follows her controversial,
irresistibly scrappy debut Mall Girls with this edgy and disarmingly frank look
at teen pregnancy. Natalia is a 17-year-old mom living with her mother and son,
Antos. She wanted to have a baby because it was a “cool” thing to do, and feels
she would have someone to love; someone who can love her in return. Everything
changes when Natalia’s mother decides to move out, giving Natalia a chance to
lead a “normal life.”
Barbara Christian Petzold, Germany, North American Premiere
Set in East Germany in the early 1980s, the new film from
renowned director Christian Petzold (Jerichow) is a suspenseful chamber piece
about an accomplished Berlin physician, banished to a rural hospital as
punishment, who is torn between the promise of escape across the border and her
growing love for a fellow colleague — who may be planning to betray her to the
secret police.
Bwakaw
Jun Robles Lana,
Philippines, International Premiere
An ornery old retiree — who only came to terms with his
homosexuality tragically late in life — leads an isolated existence with only
his faithful dog for company, until a chance encounter offers him a final
chance for happiness.
Children of Sarajevo
Aida Begic, Bosnia-Herzegovina/Germany/France/Turkey, North
American Premiere
Rahima, 23, and Nedim, 14, are orphans of the Bosnian war.
They live in Sarajevo, a transitional society that has lost its moral compass,
including in its treatment of the children of those who were killed fighting
for the freedom of their city. After crime-prone adolescent years, Rahima has
found comfort in Islam and she hopes her brother will follow in her footsteps.
Everything becomes more difficult the day Nedim gets into a fistfight at school
with the son of a local strongman. The incident triggers a chain of events
leading Rahima to discover that her young brother leads a double life.
Clandestine Childhood
Benjamín Ávila, Argentina/Spain/Brazil, North American
Premiere
Argentina 1979. After years of exile, 12-year-old Juan and
his family return to Argentina under fake identities. Juan’s parents and his
uncle Beto are members of the Montoneros Organization, which is fighting
against the Military Junta that rules the country. Because of their political
activities, they are being tracked down relentlessly. His friends at school and
the girl he loves, Maria, know him as Ernesto, a name he must not forget with
his family’s survival being at stake. This is a story about militancy,
undercover life and love.
Comrade Kim Goes Flying
Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner and Gwang Hun Kim,
Belgium/North Korea/UK,World Premiere
Comrade Kim Yong Mi is a North Korean coalminer. Her dream
of becoming a trapeze artist is crushed by the arrogant trapeze star Pak Jang
Phil, who believes miners belong underground and not in the air. Comrade Kim
Goes Flying is a heartwarming story of trying to make the impossible, possible.
The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky
Yuki Tanada, Japan, World Premiere
Based on the award-winning novel of the same name, this
boldly erotic yet movingly tender portrait of a group of vulnerable, variously
wounded people — a depressed housewife, her high-school-aged lover, and his
best friend, who is struggling to provide for himself and his senile
grandmother — whose intersecting lives yield both sorrow and a fragile, yet
enduring, hope for a brighter future.
The Cremator
Peng Tao, China, World Premiere
Convinced that he should not die single, lonely cremator Cao
resorts to marrying a dead woman when he is diagnosed with lung cancer. The
plan is complicated by the arrival of a young girl at the crematorium looking
for her missing sister.
Dead Europe
Tony Krawitz, Australia, International Premiere
From the producers of Shame and Animal Kingdom, Dead Europe is
a tense and moody mystery set on the turbulent streets of contemporary Europe.
The film follows a young photographer named Isaac (Ewen Leslie) who — while
taking his deceased father's ashes from Australia to Greece — comes to learn
that something sinister happened in his family's past. Despite an effort to
distract himself with a mix of random sex and drugs, Isaac's world begins to
unravel as he realizes that he cannot escape the ghosts of the past. Marking
the long awaited second feature of Australian filmmaker Tony Krawitz, with a
screenplay by Louise Fox based on the epic novel by Christos Tsiolkas, the film
also stars Marton Csokas and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Dust
Julio Hernández Cordón, Guatemala/Spain/Chile/Germany, North
American Premiere
In a small Guatemalan village where many
"disappeared" during the country's civil war, a troubled young man
struggles with the memory of his murdered father — and the nearby presence of
the man who turned his father in.
Eagles Dror Sabo, Israel World Premiere
Alienated from a society that no longer seems to have a
place for them, two elderly ex-soldiers undertake a vigilante campaign against
injustice and disrespect on the streets of Tel Aviv.
*Ron Levi, Director of the Master of Global Affairs at the
Munk School, is an expert on global justice, and human rights regimes. He will
speak about Eagles in an extended Q&A session, following one of the
screenings.
Fin (The End)
Jorge Torregrossa, Spain, World Premiere
A group of old friends get together for a weekend in a mountain
cabin. Years have gone by, and yet nothing seems to have changed between them.
But lurking behind the laughter and stories is a murky episode from the past
that continues to haunt them. A strange, sudden incident alters their plans,
leaving them stranded and with no line of communication to the outside world.
On their way for help, the group starts to disintegrate, just as a new natural
order is unveiled.
The Fitzgerald Family Christmas
Edward Burns, USA, World Premiere
Seven adult siblings from a working-class, Irish-American
family must deal with their estranged father's desire to return home for
Christmas for the first time since he walked out on the family 20 years
earlier. Family rifts emerge: the four oldest siblings were fully grown when
the patriarch Big Jim (Ed Lauter) left, while the younger children never had a
relationship with their father, and still feel the effects of his exit. Like
with any family, Christmas brings a mixed bag of complicated family dynamics.
Alliances form, old wounds are reopened or glossed over, and the possibility
for a new hope and forgiveness emerges.
Fly With the Crane
Li Ruijun, China, North American Premiere
Old Ma, who believes that white cranes will carry buried
dead bodies to heaven, is absolutely daunted by the idea of being cremated
after death. When the government implements the practice of cremation under a
mass urbanization measure, he seeks the help of his grandchildren.
Ghost Graduation
Javier Ruiz Caldera, Spain, International Premiere
Modesto is a teacher who sometimes sees dead people. Not
only has this cost him a fortune at the shrink, it has also got him fired from
every school he's ever worked at. His luck changes when he lands a job at
Monforte where five students have turned the prestigious school into a house of
horrors. Modesto is charged with getting all five kids to pass their senior
year and to get out of there once and for all…but it won't be that easy.
God Loves Caviar
Iannis Smaragdis, Greece/Russia, World Premiere
This majestic epic tells the true-life,
stranger-than-fiction tale of 18th-century Greek pirate turned merchant Ioannis
Varvakis, who rose from humble beginnings to become the head of one of the
largest mercantile empires in Europe.
Gone Fishing
Carlos Sorin, Argentina, World Premiere
Marco is a travelling salesman and a recovering alcoholic
who decides to change the direction of his life after a stay at a detox centre.
His counselor suggests he take up a hobby as part of his treatment and Marco
decides to try fishing. He then heads to Puerto Deseado during shark fishing
season to find his estranged daughter, Ana.
The Great Kilapy
Zézé Gamboa, Angola/ Brazil/Portugal, World Premiere
Zézé Gamboa's sardonic historical drama follows a
good-hearted, apolitical con man who, on the eve of Angolan independence in the
mid-1970s, pulls off a massive swindle at the expense of the Portuguese
colonial administration — and soon after finds himself hailed as a hero of the
national liberation struggle.
Him, Here, After
Asoka Handagama, Sri Lanka, North American Premiere
Returning to his community after defeat in the Sri Lankan
civil war, a former Tamil rebel known only as "Him" faces hostility,
suspicion and bitter recriminations in Asoka Handagama's beautifully elegiac meditation
on the aftermath of war.
*Michael Ignatieff, Senior Fellow at the Munk School of
Global Affairs, is an internationally renowned writer, journalist, former
politician, and expert on foreign affairs. He will speak about Him, Here, After
in a Q&A session, following one of the screenings.
The Holy Quaternity
Jan Hřebejk, Czech Republic, World Premiere
Two ostensibly ordinary middle-aged couples, Marie and
Vitek, and Dita and Ondra, are linked by more than just a lifelong friendship,
a shared house in a small town and same-aged adolescent children: they are
linked by love. Both men, Ondra and Vitek, who are work colleagues, sincerely
love their wives, but they both also harbour a secret yearning for the other’s
wife. When, by a stroke of fortune, the foursome finds themselves on an almost
uninhabited island in the Caribbean, it’s just a matter of time before their
long-suppressed feelings come out.
Imagine
Andrzej Jakimowski, Poland/France/Portugal, World Premiere
Ian, a new instructor at a well-known Lisbon clinic for the
visually impaired, starts to teach spatial orientation to his international
group of blind patients. For him, the key to getting around and living a
fulfilling life lies in the mind and the imagination — and not sensory
perception. However, his methods — although successful — may prove to be too
challenging.
In The Fog
Sergei Loznitsa, Germany/Russia/Belarus/The
Netherlands/Latvia, North American Premiere
In this eerie, dreamlike World War II drama from Sergei
Loznitsa (My Joy), a partisan suspected of being a traitor is apprehended by
his comrades and taken out into the woods to be executed — but as the night fog
closes in, the difference between darkness and light (and innocence and guilt)
becomes ever more murky.
In the Name of Love
Luu Huynh, Vietnam, World Premiere
In this dark love triangle that proceeds with the inexorable
logic of a Greek tragedy, a dedicated wife in a small Vietnamese fishing
village secretly turns to another man when her husband is unable to give her
the child they both crave — but the surrogate father's crazed jealousy will
have fateful consequences.
Jackie
Antoinette Beumer, The Netherlands, International Premiere
Twin sisters Sofie and Daan, 33, have been raised by their
two fathers. When they receive an unexpected phone call from their hitherto
unknown biological mother Jackie (Holly Hunter) in the United States, they
embark on an amazing adventure that alters their assumptions about everything
they once believed to be true. The trip with the strange and ill-adjusted
Jackie will change Sofie’s and Daan’s lives for good.
Jump
Kieron J. Walsh, Ireland/United Kingdom, International
Premiere
Jump follows the lives of four 20-somethings whose lives
collide one fateful New Year's Eve in a night of fast talk, accidents and
intrigue. At its heart it is a story of impossible love, a Brief Encounter for
our times.
Just the Wind
Bence Fliegauf, Hungary/Germany/France, North American
Premiere
A Romani family struggles to continue their simple daily
routine amid the anxiety of a series of suspected racially-motivated murders of
their neighbours. Just the Wind is inspired by real events, a powerful social
statement from the acclaimed director of Womb, Dealer and Milky Way.
Juvenile Offender
Yikwan Kang, South Korea, World Premiere
Ji-gu is a 15-year-old juvenile offender under probation who
lives with his ailing grandfather. When he is caught committing a crime, he is
sent to the juvenile reformatory. Upon his grandfather’s passing, Ji-gu is
reunited with his mother — whom he believed to be dead. Together they set out
to make up for lost time.
Key of Life
Kenji Uchida, Japan, North American Premiere
When Kondo, a wealthy contract killer accidentally hits his
head in a bathhouse, an unemployed actor named Sakurai switches their locker
keys. Sakurai takes on Kondo's identity, while Kondo, who is suffering from
amnesia, assumes the impoverished life of Sakuria. The reversal of fortune
becomes complicated when Sakurai finds himself embroiled in a hit gone wrong,
while Kondo meets the lovely Kanae, an ambitious magazine editor who is looking
for a simple, honest man to be her husband.
Kinshasa Kids
Marc-Henri Wajnberg, Belgium, North American Premiere
Kinshasa, Congo. About 30,000 children are accused of witchcraft
and expelled from home. Living on the street, little José and his fellow
friends, along with a crazy impresario called Bebson — all considered to be
witch children — decide to form a music band to ward off bad luck. Together,
they will rock Kinshasa!
The Land of Hope
Sion Sono, Japan, World Premiere
In a typical Japanese village, Yoichi Ono lives with his
wife, Izumi and his parents. The Ono family lives a frugal but happy life as
dairy farmers in the peaceful village. One day, the worst earthquake in history
strikes, causing a nearby nuclear power station to explode. Their neighbours,
who live within the range of the nuclear power station, are forcibly ordered by
the government to evacuate. But the Ono family, whose property sits half in and
half out of the designated range, must decide whether or not to leave their
home.
Middle of Nowhere
Ava
DuVernay, USA International Premiere
What happens when love takes you places you never thought
you'd go? Winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival,
Middle of Nowhere chronicles a young woman caught between two worlds, and two
men, in the search for herself. Ruby, a bright medical student, sets aside her
dreams when her husband is incarcerated. This new life challenges her to the
very core. Her turbulent path propels her in new, often challenging, directions
of self-discovery.
Museum Hours
Jem Cohen, Austria/USA, North American Premiere
A Vienna museum guard befriends a foreign visitor who has
been called to Austria because of a medical emergency. The grand
Kunsthistorisches Art Museum becomes an enigmatic crossroads which sparks
explorations of their lives, of the city, and of the ways artworks reflect and
shape the world.
Once Upon a Time Was I, Verônica
Marcelo Gomes, Brazil/France, World Premiere
This film follows the reflections of Verônica, a recently
graduated medical student going through a time of uncertainty. She questions
not only her career choices, but also her most intimate bonding and even her
ability to cope with life in contemporary urban Brazil.
Paradise: Love
Ulrich Seidl, Austria/Germany/France, North American
Premiere
Perennial provocateur Ulrich Seidl (Dog Days, Import/Export)
explores the politically charged issue of sex tourism in the sun-kissed
"paradise" of Kenya, where a middle-aged Austrian voraciously samples
the wares of the local meat market while searching for true love — the one
commodity that's not for sale in this neo-colonial bazaar.
The Patience Stone
Atiq Rahimi Afghanistan/France, World Premiere
In a country torn apart by a war, a beautiful woman watches
over her husband in a decrepit room. He is reduced to a vegetative state
because of a bullet in the neck. One day, the woman starts a solitary
confession to her silent husband. She talks about her childhood, her frustrations,
her loneliness, her dreams and her desires.
Penance
Kioshi Kurosawa, Japan, North American Premiere
Fifteen years ago, tragedy struck a small town when a young
elementary school girl Emili (Hazuki Kimura) was abducted and killed by a
stranger. Four girls who had been playing with Emili at the time were the first
to discover her body. The abductor is never found and the crime goes unsolved.
Crazed with grief, Emili’s mother Asako (Kyoko Koizumi) condemns the four
girls, none of whom can remember the abductor’s face. She tells them, “Do
whatever you have to do to find the killer. Otherwise, you can pay a penance
that I approve.” Deeply affected by Asako’s condemnation, the four girls become
adults burdened with the curse of “penance,” which eventually triggers a chain
of tragic events.
Peripeteia
John Akomfrah, United Kingdom/Holland, World Premiere
British filmmaker John Akomfrah imagines the lives of a
black man and woman who appear in a 16th-century drawing by German Renaissance
master Albrecht Dürer.
Road North
Mika
Kaurismäki, Finland, International Premiere
Timo is an esteemed concert pianist whose personal life is
on the rocks. One day Timo finds an older, shabby-looking man at his door. The
man, Leo, turns out to be his father who left the country when Timo was three —
and hasn't been in touch in 35 years. Leo, an eternal trickster with a positive
outlook on life, had to leave his homeland thanks to a series of messy
entanglements. Now he's come back to hand over a rather mysterious legacy to
his son and to answer questions regarding the past. To do this, the two will
have to embark on a trip together and hit the road north.
Shores of Hope
Toke Constantin Hebbeln, Germany, International Premiere
In this vivid historical drama set in 1980s East Germany,
two dockworkers and best friends who dream of escaping the repressive regime
are forced to choose their loyalties when the state police promise them safe
passage out of the country — if they inform on their co-workers and union
leader.
Sleeper's Wake
Barry Berk, South Africa International Premiere
John Wraith, a man in his mid-40s, regains consciousness in
hospital. His wife and daughter were killed in a car accident because he fell
asleep at the wheel. He retreats to a remote coastal hamlet to heal, but finds
himself embroiled in a dangerous relationship with a beautiful and
unpredictable 17-year-old girl.
Smashed
James
Ponsoldt, USA, International Premiere
Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Charlie (Aaron Paul) are
a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter
and drinking. When Kate's drinking leads her to dangerous places and her job as
a school teacher is put into jeopardy, she decides to join AA and get sober.
With the help of her friend and sponsor Jenny (Octavia Spencer), and the vice
principal at her school — the awkward, but well intentioned, Mr. Davies — Kate
takes steps toward improving her health and life. But sobriety isn't as easy as
Kate had anticipated. Her new lifestyle brings to the surface a troubling
relationship with her mother, the lies she's told her employer, and calls into
question whether or not her relationship with Charlie is built on love or is
just a boozy diversion from adulthood.
The Thieves
Choi Dong-hoon, South Korea, North American Premiere
Bullets fly, barbs are traded and old scores are settled
when a Korean master criminal and his crew hightail it to Macao to join his
treacherous former partner on a $20-million jewel heist, in this full-throttle
action caper from South Korean director Choi Dong-hoon.
The Tortoise, An Incarnation
Girish Kasaravalli, India, International Premiere
In Girish Kasaravalli's gently philosophical character
piece, a humble, low-level civil servant cast as the lead in a popular TV
serial chronicling the life of Gandhi finds uncanny echoes between his own life
and that of the legendary leader — and sets out to correct their mutual
failings.
Three Kids
Jonas d'Adesky, Belgium, World Premiere
Best friends Vitaleme, Pierre and Mikenson are 12 years old
and live in a home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Vitaleme is haunted by his
memories as a child servant and obsessed by the idea of freedom. When the town
is struck by an earthquake, they find themselves on the street and have to get
by on petty crime.
Three Worlds
Catherine Corsini, France, North American Premiere
Al, a young man from a modest background is about to marry
his boss’s daughter and succeed him as the head of a car dealership. One night,
he is guilty of a hit-and-run accident. The next day, a remorseful Al decides
to inquire about his victim, not knowing that Juliette, a young woman, has
witnessed the accident.
Thy Womb
Brillante Mendoza, The Philippines North American Premiere
Shaleha Sarail is a barren woman who believes that to
fulfill her husband’s greatest wish of having a son is tangible proof of
Allah’s grace. She resolves to find the woman who will bear her husband a
child.
Underground
Robert Connolly, Australia, World Premiere
Set in 1980s Melbourne, Underground is a riveting thriller
that focuses on the teenage years of one of the most controversial figures of
modern times — Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (newcomer Alex Williams in his
first major role). The film follows Assange and his gang of close friends — the
International Subversives as they call themselves — as they wage a battle from
their bedrooms, trying to break into the computer systems of the world’s most
powerful organizations. In the process, they are forced to battle authorities
and eventually one another. Written and directed by Robert Connolly, the film
also stars Anthony LaPaglia, Rachel Griffiths and Callan McAuliffe.
*Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School
of Global Affairs, is an expert and advisor to governments and organizations on
cyber security, cyber-crime, freedom of expression, and access to information.
He will speak about Underground in an extended Q&A session following one of
the screenings
Virgin Margarida
Licinio Azevedo, Mozambique, World Premiere
Veteran filmmaker Licinio Azevedo drew on the stories of
real women who endured the Mozambican "re-education
Watchtower
Pelin Esmer, Turkey/Germany/France, World Premiere
Haunted by guilt over the death of his family, a man takes a
job as a fire warden in a remote tower in the wilderness, and is inexorably
drawn towards a young woman with a dark, terrible secret of her own.
What Richard Did
Lenny Abrahamson, Ireland, World Premiere
A high school rugby star's life is irrevocably changed when
a senseless act of violence leads to a sudden, shocking tragedy.
When I Saw You
Annemarie Jacir, Palestine/Jordan/Greece, World Premiere
Jordan, 1967: displaced in a refugee camp after the
occupation of their West Bank village, an 11-year old boy and his mother enact
the emancipating dream that every refugee has imagined countless times.
Zabana!
Saïd Ould-Khelifa, Algeria, World Premiere
Zabana! is an impassioned, meticulously researched account
of the short life of Algerian freedom fighter Ahmed Zabana, whose execution in
1956 by French colonial authorities ignited the "Battle of Algiers" —
and the crucial phase of Algeria's struggle for independence.
Canadian films previously announced in the Contemporary
World Cinema programme include: Rafaël Ouellet’s Camion, Bruce Sweeney’s Crimes
of Mike Recket, Sudz Sutherland’s Home
Again, Sean Garrity’s My Awkward
Sexual Adventure and Anita Doron’s
The Lesser Blessed.
The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September
6 to 16, 2012. Please visit www.tiff.net for
more info on films and tickets.
