If TIFF were a person, they'd be There Will Be Blood's Daniel Plainview. The festival drains out festivals like Venice and Cannes - major suppliers of quality films, and North American audiences benefit tremendously getting a first op to see the latest from Jaco Van Dormael, Lars von Trier, Claire Denis, Michael Haneke and worth mentioning - the Locarno-winning She, A Chinese from the only filmmaker (Xiaolu Guo) who'll be presenting not one, but two films at TIFF this year. Mr.Nobody rightly receives a Special Presentations slot, it was filmed in some parts of Montreal and features Canuck Sarah Polley, and the masters section finally gets filled out including the latest from French auteur Francois Ozon (Le Refuge).
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Mr. Nobody Jaco Van Dormael, France/Germany/Canada/Belgium
North American Premiere
Mr. Nobody tells the story of Nemo (Jared Leto), the world’s oldest man. In 2092, Mars has become a trendy vacation destination and humans have achieved immortality, thanks to advances in genetics. At the age of 120 years, Nemo is the last mortal left on Earth. His death is drawing near, and media from all over the world are eager to cover the event. Nemo doesn’t really remember who he is, and is only able, while under hypnosis, to call up a few snippets of disordered memories. Also starring Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh-Dan Pham and Rhys Ifans.
DISCOVERY
Crab Trap Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia/France
World Premiere
Treading a fine line between documentary and fiction, Crab Trap is a meditative look at daily life in a remote village on the Pacific coast of Colombia that explores the nuances of social and racial relations in one of the most isolated areas of the country.
Mall Girls Katarzyna Roslaniec, Poland
International Premiere
When a 14-year-old girl arrives at a new high school, she is typecast as an outsider from the sticks. Survival means working things out with a clique of girls who troll the local malls and score the latest in consumer toys and clothes by trading sexual favours for cash with the men they find there.
The Man Beyond the Bridge Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, India
World Premiere
A lonely man finds a companion in a mad woman in a dense forest in the Western Ghats of India. When she becomes pregnant, a conflict arises between a society that refuses to take responsibility for one of its members and one man’s endeavour to integrate her in his life.
Nora Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, USA/United Kingdom/Mozambique
Toronto Premiere
Zimbabwean dancer Nora Chipaumire stars in this beautiful and rigorously choreographed fable based on her own life and shot on location in Southern Africa. (This film will be screened with Saint Louis Blues.)
Saint Louis Blues Dyana Gaye, France/Senegal
North American Premiere
In this sparkling and surprising Senegalese musical, Dyana Gaye turns a shared taxi ride from Dakar to Saint Louis into a confection that could have been made by Jacques Demy. (This film will be screened with Nora.)
SPROCKETS FAMILY ZONE
Timetrip: The Curse of the Viking Witch Mogens Hagedorn, Denmark
North American Premiere
Ninth-grader Valdemar and younger sister Sille embark on a trip through Danish history as they attempt to break an age-old curse in this exciting, action filled, time-travel adventure.
Under the Mountain Jonathan King, New Zealand
North American Premiere
When teenaged twins Theo and Rachel meet the mysterious Mr. Jones, they learn that they may hold the key to saving the world from impending destruction in this thrilling adventure based on Maurice Gee’s acclaimed novel.
VANGUARD
She, A Chinese Xiaolu Guo, United Kingdom/France/Germany
North American Premiere
A hybrid of documentary, creative writing, visual poetry and cinema, She, A Chinese is a rock-‘n’-roll odyssey that follows a young woman on a soul-searching journey from her native village in China to London. Celebrated novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo recently won the Golden Leopard Grand Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival for this film. Her documentary, Once Upon A Time Proletarian: 12 Tales of a Country, is also being screened at the Festival.
MASTERS
Antichrist Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/France/Italy
North American Premiere
This is a groundbreaking, deeply disturbing and graphic nightmare vision about gender relations from one of the most important and influential directors of the last 30 years. The film is a break from von Trier’s previous work in terms of aesthetics, resembling a Japanese horror movie re-imagined by Andrei Tarkovsky. Antichrist features unforgettable and courageous performances by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe.
Carmel Amos Gitaï, Israel/France/Italy
World Premiere
History in the Middle East is a complex mix of the present and the past. Then, there is also the personal and Gitaï is uniquely placed to reflect on his own past as a soldier and as the father of a young man caught up in the present conflicts that engulf the region.
Honeymoons Goran Paskaljevic, Serbia/Albania/Italy
North American Premiere
Two young married couples take off and travel abroad to the promised lands of better opportunities, but hope collapses when their expectations disappear into thin air and their dreams turn into nightmares.
Hotel Atlântico Suzana Amaral, Brazil
World Premiere
Enigmatic and perturbing, Suzana Amaral’s Hotel Atlântico takes us on a mysterious journey through Brazil’s southern landscapes. The film follows an unnamed actor as he wanders into new experiences, living life in the moment.
Melody for a Street Organ Kira Muratova, Ukraine
North American Premiere
Two young orphan siblings travel to Moscow in search of their missing father. Scared of being separated and sent to orphanages, they hope to reunite with the last link of their shattered family.
Le Refuge François Ozon, France
World Premiere
The French master returns with this unsettling tale of a rich, beautiful young woman who finds herself pregnant after her boyfriend dies of an overdose. Retreating to a seaside home, she is joined by his brother.
Vincere Marco Bellocchio, Italy
North American Premiere
This fictionalized portrait of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini concentrates on his youthful years before he rose to power in Italy. It uncovers the details of his first marriage and the child he had with a passionate woman whom he later totally disowned and abandoned.
Vision Margarethe von Trotta, Germany
Canadian Premiere
One of the major auteurs to emerge from the New German Cinema, Margarethe von Trotta returns to the Festival with Vision, a study of the remarkable Hildegard von Bingen, the Benedictine nun who emerged as a Renaissance woman before there was a Renaissance.
White Material Claire Denis, France
North American Premiere
A family of French expatriates living in an African country where they own a coffee plantation find that their livelihood is threatened by the outbreak of civil war. They struggle to keep their lives together in the face of rival factions fighting for power and gun-toting child soldiers who have no sympathy for their plight.
The White Ribbon Michael Haneke, Germany/Austria/France/Italy
North American Premiere
In Protestant Northern Germany on the eve of World War I, strange incidents begin to occur in a village community and increasingly take the form of a ritual of punishment. This latest work from Michael Haneke won the Palme d’Or for best film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The Window Buddhadeb Dasgupta, India
World Premiere
When Bimal decides to give something back to his alma mater, he chooses to replace the broken window of his favourite classroom. Plans to pay for this gesture go awry and he cannot bear to tell his fiancée.
Comments