TIFF Docs programmer Thom Powers will have loaded up the ’17 edition with an embarrassing amount of documentary film riches. Promising to harm the food industry much in the same way his self-inflicted experiment, Morgan Spurlock provides a sequel to his 2004 hit film, Super Size Me. Also speaking up for animals, Brett Morgen’s portrait on primatologist Jane Goodall.
Continually faithful to docu films on music artists, the fest opens with Sophie Fiennes’ Grace Jones: Bloodlight & Bami, while Greg Barker profiles two (or three) personalities in the Venice world preem/annoyingly long title: JIM & ANDY: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton.
Docu tagteam Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady (One of Us – Netflix this fall) return to the fest as does Frederick Wiseman (Ex Libris – The New York Public Library preems in Venice), while Greg Barker will make us yearn for the President who used to run the whitehouse with The Final Year. Here are the selections:
Azmaish: A Journey through the Subcontinent Sabiha Sumar, Pakistan – North American Premiere
BOOM FOR REAL The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat Sara Driver, USA – World Premiere
The China Hustle Jed Rothstein, USA – World Premiere
Cocaine Prison Violeta Ayala, Australia/Bolivia/France/USA – World Premiere
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars Lili Fini Zanuck, United Kingdom – World Premiere
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library Frederick Wiseman, USA – North American Premiere
The Final Year Greg Barker, USA – World Premiere
The Gospel According to André Kate Novack, USA – World Premiere
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami Sophie Fiennes, United Kingdom/Ireland – World Premiere / Opening Film
JIM & ANDY: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton Chris Smith, USA/Canada – North American Premiere
Jane Brett Morgen, USA – World Premiere
The Judge Erika Cohn, Palestine/USA – World Premiere
The Legend of the Ugly King Hüseyin Tabak, Germany/Austria – World Premiere
Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle Gustavo Salmerón, Spain – North American Premiere
Love Means Zero Jason Kohn, USA – World Premiere
Makala Emmanuel Gras, France – North American Premiere – Closing Film.
OF SHEEP AND MEN Karim Sayad, Switzerland/Qatar – World Premiere
One of Us Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, USA – World Premiere
The Other Side of Everything Mila Turajlić, Serbia/France/Qatar – World Premiere
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me Sam Pollard, USA – World Premiere
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood Matt Tyrnauer, USA – World Premiere
Silas Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman, Canada/South Africa/Kenya – World Premiere
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! Morgan Spurlock, USA – World Premiere
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).
