Just how much sway do TIFF programmers have? Looking at today’s Gala and Special Presentation add-ons, measurably, when it comes to films with star-wattage and acquisitions titles, the industry sides with high value world premiere slot in downtown Toronto. Complimenting Sundance (Maya Forbes’ Infinitely Polar Bear and Lynn Shelton’s Laggies) and Cannes (Assayas, the Dardennes), the wide net includes Francois Girard’s Boychoir, Richard Loncraine’s Ruth & Alex, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Beyond the Lights, Thomas McCarthy’s The Cobbler, Shira Piven’s Welcome to Me, and in a very Gustave Flaubert type of year includes Anne Fontaine’s Gemma Bovery and Sophie Barthes’ Madame Bovary. In directorial debuts, Henry Hobson presents Maggie, actor Paul Bettany presents Shelter (see pic of star and his wife above), Andrea Di Stefano’s Escobar: Paradise Lost and Philip Martin’s The Forger. Here are the additional items:
GALAS
“Boychoir,” Francois Girard / World Premiere
“The Connection” (“La French”), Cédric Jimenez, France/Belgium / World Premiere
“Escobar: Paradise Lost,” Andrea Di Stefano, France / World Premiere
“The Forger,” Philip Martin, USA / World Premiere
“Infinitely Polar Bear,” Maya Forbes, USA / Canadian Premiere
“Laggies,” Lynn Shelton, USA / International Premiere
“Ruth & Alex,” Richard Loncraine, USA / World Premiere
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Beyond the Lights,” Gina Prince-Bythewood, USA / World Premiere
“Clouds of Sils Maria,” Olivier Assayas, France/USA / North American Premiere
“The Cobbler,” Thomas McCarthy, USA / World Premiere
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2,” (“Dan Shen Nan Nu 2”), Johnnie To, Hong Kong/China / World Premiere
“Gemma Bovery,” Anne Fontaine, France / World Premiere
“Gentlemen,” Mikael Marcimain, Sweden / World Premiere
“Gomorrah,” Stefano Sollima, Italy / North American Premiere
“Human Highway (Director’s Cut),” Bernard Shakey and Dean Stockwell, USA / World Premiere
“Madame Bovary,” Sophie Barthes, United Kingdom/Belgium / World Premiere
“Maggie,” Henry Hobson, USA / World Premiere
“Pride,” Matthew Warchus, United Kingdom / North American Premiere
“Revenge of the Green Dragons,” Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo, USA / World Premiere
“The Search,” Michel Hazanavicius, France / North American Premiere
“Shelter,” Paul Bettany, USA / World Premiere
“Three Hearts” (“3 Coeurs”), Benoît Jacquot, France / North American Premiere
“Two Days, One Night,” (“Deux jours, une nuit”), Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium/France / Canadian Premiere
“Welcome to Me,” Shira Piven, USA / World Premiere
