Check-out this brand-new Trailer for BANDIT, starring Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert and Mel Gibson!

Synopsis:

In 1985, Gilbert Galvan Jr (Josh Duhamel), a charming career criminal, escapes from a US prison in Michigan and crosses the border into Canada where he assumes the identity Robert Whiteman. After falling in love with Andrea (Elisha Cuthbert), a caring social worker he can’t provide for, he turns to robbing banks and discovers that he’s exceptionally good at it. Under the guise of a security analyst, Robert begins flying around the country robbing multiple cities in a day, eventually catching the attention of national news outlets that dub him The Flying Bandit. Addicted to the rush and money that provides his double life, Robert eventually turns to loanshark and reputed gangster Tommy Kay (Mel Gibson) for bigger opportunities. But with Robert’s notoriety growing in record time, he is put into the direct sights of a ruthless detective (Nestor Carbonell) who will stop at nothing to bring him down.

Vortex Media release BANDIT digitally and on-demand September 23, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Vortex Media)

Have we ever missed Charlie Hunnam! Though he’s back in Toronto later this month for Fan Expo, you next can see him in SHANTARAM, coming to Apple TV+ later this year. The Series is based on the internationally best-selling novel by Gregory David Roberts. The highly anticipated Apple Original series is a hopeful cinematic love story coupled with a thrilling epic adventure that follows one man’s journey to redemption through a country that changes his life. “Shantaram” will make its global debut with the first three episodes of its 12-episode first season on Friday, October 14, 2022, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday through December 16, 2022, on Apple TV+.

“Shantaram” follows a fugitive named Lin Ford (Hunnam) looking to get lost in vibrant and chaotic 1980s Bombay. Alone in an unfamiliar city, Lin struggles to avoid the trouble he’s running from in this new place. After falling for an enigmatic and intriguing woman named Karla, Lin must choose between freedom or love and the complications that come with it.

In addition to Hunnam, the series also stars Shubham Saraf, Elektra Kilbey, Fayssal Bazzi, Luke Pasqualino, Antonia Desplat, Alyy Khan, Sujaya Dasgupta, Vincent Perez, David Field, Alexander Siddig, Gabrielle Scharnitzky, Elham Ehsas, Rachel Kamath, Matthew Joseph, and Shiv Palekar.

The series is co-created, written and executive produced by Steve Lightfoot, who also serves as showrunner. Bharat Nalluri directs and executive produces. Andrea Barron, Nicole Clemens, Steve Golin, Justin Kurzel, and Eric Warren Singer who co-created the series with Lightfoot, also executive produce. The series is produced for Apple by Paramount Television Studios and Anonymous Content’s AC Studios.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

Based on the best-selling, debut novel from Author, Science Editor and Copywriter Bonnie Garmus, “Lessons in Chemistry” will make its global debut on Apple TV+ in 2023. The Series stars Oscar winner Brie Larson, who also produces.

Starring alongside Larson and rounding out the cast for the highly anticipated drama are:
-Lewis Pullman (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Outer Range”) as ‘Calvin’
-NAACP Image Award-winner Aja Naomi King (“How to Get Away with Murder,” “Sylvie’s Love,” “The Upside,” The Birth of a Nation”) as ‘Harriet Slone’
-Stephanie Koenig (“The Flight Attendant,” “The Offer”) as ‘Fran Frask’
-Patrick Walker (“Gaslit,” “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey”) as ‘Wakely’
-Thomas Mann (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”) as ‘Boryweitz’
-Kevin Sussman (“The Big Bang Theory,” “The Dropout,” “Better Call Saul”) as ‘Walter’
-Multi Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Beau Bridges (“Acting: The First Six Lessons,” “Homeland,” “Goliath,” “Bloodline,” “Masters of Sex,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys”) as ‘Wilson’

Synopsis:

Set in the early 1950s, “Lessons in Chemistry” follows Elizabeth Zott (played by Larson), whose dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a society deeming that women belong in the domestic sphere, not the professional one. When Elizabeth finds herself pregnant, alone and fired from her lab, she musters the ingenuity only a single mother has. She accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show, and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives – and the men who are suddenly listening – a lot more than recipes… all the while craving a return to her true love: science.

Hailing from Apple Studios, “Lessons in Chemistry” is produced by Aggregate Films. Six-time Emmy Award-nominee Lee Eisenberg (“WeCrashed,” “Little America”) serves as showrunner. The series is executive produced by Academy Award-winner Brie Larson and co-executive producer Elijah Allan-Blitz of their The Great Unknown Productions; Emmy Award-winner Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan (“Ozark,” “A Teacher”) executive produce for Aggregate Films; and, Academy Award-nominee Susannah Grant (“Unbelievable,” “Erin Brockovich”). Natalie Sandy executive produces through Piece of Work Entertainment alongside Eisenberg. Louise Shore also serves as executive producer and Bonnie Garmus serves as co-EP.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

Is it a coincidence that so many of our recent favourites on TV and the Big Screen were inspired by Books? Canada’s favourite Book Store INDIGO is celebrating PAGE-TO-SCREEN right now. This Summer alone, THE SUMMER IN TURNED PRETTY (Jenny Han) and HEARTSTOPPER (Alice Oseman) had audiences falling in-love!

And coming this Fall are the likes of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (J.R.R. Tolkien) and HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (George R.R. Martin) are poised to break streaming records! You’ve got some time to get caught-up in anticipation of these arrivals!

TIFF ’22 also is just around the corner did you know that Festival selections like My Policeman, Black Ice, Butcher’s Crossing, The Greatest Beer Run Ever and The Hummingbird all were based on Books! MY POLICEMAN already has won an Ensemble Performance Award which Emma Corrin and Harry Styles will be in-town to accept, if this is any indication of Awards Season success!

See some titles here featured as part of Indigo‘s PAGE-TO-SCREEN celebrations.

Some additional Canadian titles screening at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival were announced earlier this week.

ROSIE

A film about family, love and misfits, ROSIE tells the story of a young, orphaned, Indigenous girl who is forced to live with her reluctant, street-smart Aunty Fred (Frédérique). Rosie is thrust into the fringes of 1980’s Montréal into the care of Fred, who just lost her job, is on the verge of eviction, and who looks and sounds nothing like her. Fred, an artist who creates art from found and discarded objects or other peoples’ trash, introduces Rosie to her two best friends Flo and Mo, glamorous, gender-bending street workers. In the end, Rosie transforms the lives of these colourful characters and finds love, acceptance, and a true HOME with her new chosen family of glittering outsiders.

Cast: Mélanie Bray, Keris Hope Hill, Constant Bernard, Alex Trahan, Josée Young, Brandon Oakes, Jocelyne Zucco, Arlen Aguayo Stewart

UNTIL BRANCHES BEND

Grace Glowicki (TIFF Rising Star 2016) plays Robin, a cannery worker who struggles to get an abortion. When she finds an invasive bug in a peach at work, she turns her focus towards proving to her community that the danger it poses is real. As her obsession alienates her from friends and family, she sinks deeper into her task. “Until Branches Bend” is a psychological drama about how trouble beneath the surface will always come to light.

Cast: Grace Glowicki, Alexandra Roberts, Quelemia Sparrow, Lochlyn Munro, Antoine DesRochers

LIDO TV

LIDO TV is a variety show with a mission: to help people cope in a world that feels like it’s falling apart. Created and hosted by Lido Pimienta, the award-winning Colombian-Canadian artist and musician, the series tackles themes ranging from feminism and colonialism to privilege and success, with unhinged sketches, inspiring interviews, immersive documentaries, original songs, and surreal puppets.

Dates and times still to be confirmed shortly by TIFF.

Oh my God! This was everything! Anyone and everyone who loves FRIENDS™ needs to know about this wonderful limited-run activation taking place right now at Yorkdale Shopping Centre! From now through January 2, 2023 you can pop by and get immersed into the world of FRIENDS™!

We finally had a chance to go check it out and it posseses that same wonderful, fun energy the Series has. There are photo ops inspired by the Series’ set including Central Perk; Monica and Rachel’s Kitchen; Joey and Chandler‘s Living Room; the Fountain and Couch seen in the Opening Credits; a Stairwell with a Couch inspired by the iconic “Pivot!” episode. There’s even outfits and wigs from the Series, plus fun facts and more. Did I mention an awesome Gift Shop loaded with amazing merch?

Above this the event takes place in a wide-open space, encouraging safety protocols for the times we’re living in and we appreciate that.

Watch a Reel of our experience here:

And an Album of some of my favourite moments:

Learn more about the experienece here, including how to get tickets!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Such a pleasure getting the celebrate what’s poised to be a home run for Prime Video in their latest Series A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN! Based on the beloved 1992 Sports Dramedy of the same name, the Series gets eight episodes to delve deeper and more authentically into the stories of the women who comprise groundbreaking All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Team, the Rockford Peaches.

Taking place at Soho House, Toronto’s Kelly McCormack who stars as Jess McCready, spoke at a fireside chat about her experiences filming in isolation with her Castmates during the pandemic. Her character heads south, hailing from Moosejaw, Saskatchewan. And unlike the original Film, this Series co-created by starring Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), same-sex relationships and women of colour in the league are themes that properly are explored.

Some Snaps of McCormack and at the end of the Carousel, hear her speak about her role with TSN’s Kayla Grey:

Such a wonderful bash for a wonderful Series. There was even a Rockford Peach-inspired Cocktail!

Review here.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN is streaming now on Prime Video Canada!

(Photo/video credit: Prime Video/Mr. Will Wong)

BULLET TRAIN takes the top spot at the Box Office a second straight week with $12.6 million from 4,357 theatres for Sony Pictures, taking it to $53.6 million domestically. No new entries in the Top Five this weekend.

In second is DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS with $8.6 million, a total run of $59 million for Warner Bros.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK still is hanging tough with $6.8 million in third, edging ever closer to the $700 million mark domestically for Paramount Pictures.

NOPE is in fourth with $6.2 million for Universal Pictures, a total run of $108 million to date.

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER rounds-out this five with $5.7 million for Disney, a total $326 million in its domestic run.

Shant Joshi and Lindsay Blair Goeldner of Fae Pictures are beyond thrilled to announce that two shorts, Diaspora from Director Tyler Mckenzie Evans and Scaring Women at Night, from Director Karimah Zakia Issa, will have their world premieres at TIFF22 in the Short Cuts programme.

Diaspora
Writer/Director: Tyler Mckenzie Evans
Starring: Cara Ricketts, Rainbow Sun Francks
Synopsis: In a black suburb, a couple begins to notice that their neighbours are disappearing and white people are moving in. They soon discover something much more unpalatable.
Producers: Malachi Ellis, Lindsay Blair Goeldner
Executive Producers: Shant Joshi, Cara Ricketts

Scaring Women at Night
Director: Karimah Zakia Issa
Story by: Ace Clamber
Starring: Izaiah Dockery, Kavita Musty, Dashawn Blackwood
Synopsis: Two strangers are scared on a late walk home. As they try to escape one another, their worlds collide at an intersection forcing them to question who they’re afraid of and why.
Producers: Lindsay Blair Goeldner, Rosalind Goodwin
Executive Producer: Shant Joshi

From Diaspora Director, Tyler Mckenzie Evans: “Many low-income neighbourhoods in Toronto have slowly been changing – over-priced grocery stores, coffee shops and condos are popping up. People of colour that live in these areas eventually disappear along with the area they once knew. Melina, the protagonist, is our watcher; she notices little changes in her neighbourhood. As an audience member we start to question if what she’s noticing is really happening or if it’s just her own paranoia. Diaspora is dark and twisted in so many ways and I’m extremely excited to showcase this at TIFF to a city that’s been so close to my heart throughout my life.”

From Scaring Women at Night Director, Karimah Zakia Issa: “We’ve set up a world where everyone feels like they know what’s about to happen simply by aligning a couple social cues. Woman. Alone. Night. From there we shift into Ash’s perspective, having lived experiences on both ends, he’s our key to seeing this familiar scene differently and begin questioning our complacency. I’m proud to have made this film alongside talented trans folks and people from a plethora of social intersections and I’m thrilled to share our film with TIFF’s audience!”

The Toronto International Film Festival® Primetime programme is set to shine in 2022, with seven compelling and thought-provoking television series from around the world — including five World Premieres. In addition to series premieres, TIFF will present season premieres of established and beloved shows. Returning to the Glenn Gould Theatre, TIFF’s Industry Conference lineup will engage and inspire industry delegates from all over the world with a highly curated slate of sessions and inspiring speakers.

“TIFF recognizes serialized storytelling as one of the most groundbreaking creative mediums today,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “Growing increasingly risk-taking, it continues to attract top writers and directors globally. TIFF Primetime spotlights the best of series — the most acclaimed and anticipated — and the discoveries that will soon be the most talked about.”

“This year’s lineup highlights the work of both established and emerging creators, with a balanced mix of new discoveries and fan favourites,” added Geoff Macnaughton, Senior Director of Industry and Primetime Programmer, TIFF. “There is something for everyone, and each series will be followed by an extended Q&A with the creative team.”

PRIMETIME PROGRAMME

TIFF’s 2022 Primetime programme features compelling television series from Canada and around the world.

1899 Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese | Germany, USA – World Premiere
Dear Mama Allen Hughes | USA – World Premiere
The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 5) Bruce Miller, Elisabeth Moss | USA – World Premiere
High School Clea DuVall, Laura Kittrell | USA, Canada – World Premiere
The Kingdom Exodus Lars von Trier | Denmark – North American Premiere
LIDO TV Lido Pimienta, Sean O’Neill | Canada – World Premiere
Mystery Road: Origin Dylan River | Australia – International Premiere

TIFF INDUSTRY CONFERENCE

“In welcoming the global film and television industries back to Toronto for the first time in two years, we are thrilled to be hosting our curated five-day Conference in-person again. It’s a supercharged year with the opportunity to hear directly from those setting the bar in the new global industry today,” said Lee.

“Conversations between creators, champions, and moguls can collectively shape the business to achieve more inclusivity and sustainability in their areas of expertise,” said Macnaughton. “The makeup of the conversations will present development opportunities for all in attendance — from emerging creators to experienced professionals.”

VISIONARIES

Inspirational keynotes from distinguished industry leaders who are forging innovative new paths creatively and in business. The Hollywood Reporter is the Media Partner. Previously announced speakers include Efe Çakarel, founder and CEO of MUBI, as well as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. Additions include:
Tyler Perry — Writer, director, producer, playwright, actor, and studio owner Tyler Perry discusses his latest film, A Jazzman’s Blues, and his wide-spanning career, which has set him apart as a creator who embodies the core attributes of a visionary in the entertainment industry today.

S.S. Rajamouli — TIFF welcomes S.S. Rajamouli, director of the recent global success RRR, to discuss Telugu cinema, the notion of art versus commerce, and his reputation of “pushing the limits of industrialized pop cinema,” as articulated by Roger Ebert.

DIALOGUES

Rich and lively discussions on craft among creators, including directors, writers, and showrunners. Variety is the Media Partner. Dialogues sessions are supported by Ontario Creates. Dialogues speakers will be announced soon on tiff.net/industry.

PERSPECTIVES

Timely and thought-provoking conversations with a wide range of expert panellists who will speak on various aspects of the current state and the future of the industry. In addition to the previously announced “The Future of Awards” panel, talks will include:

“The Future of Exhibition” focuses on studio relations, streaming wars, and box office outlook as theatres reopen at full capacity and the industry faces a “new normal.”

The “Narrative Sovereignty” panellists Nyla Innuksuk (director of Slash/Back), Darlene Naponse (director of Stellar), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (director and actor; Stellar, Night Raiders, Blood Quantum), and Sonya Ballantyne (filmmaker and genre enthusiast) will join moderator Bird Runningwater (producer) to explore how Indigenous-made genre films are contributing to the diversification of the sector, while also finding new global audiences for Indigenous stories.

CONNECTIONS

Providing emerging and mid-career filmmakers the opportunity to interact directly with industry leaders and acquire practical insight that will help fuel their projects and expand their understanding of the industry. TIFF Connections series is generously sponsored by Tecnológico de Monterrey. Sessions confirmed include:
“Academy 365” with Bill Kramer (CEO, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and newly named President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Janet Yang

“Pathways from Shorts to First Features”
“Breaking in and Moving Forward”

“The ReFrame ReSource” presented by ReFrame

“How To Access Telefilm Funding” presented by Telefilm

MICROSESSIONS

Curated partner discussions that showcase new technologies and new ways of doing business. Confirmed sessions to date include:

“Being Seen: Directives for Creating Authentic and Inclusive Content” presented by Telefilm Canada and the Black Screen Office

“Greening your Mind: The Role of Agencies in Creating a More Eco-Responsible Industry” presented by Telefilm Canada
“All Welcome: Increasing the Accessibility of Events in the Film Industry” presented by Telefilm Canada

“Powering Entertainment” presented by TikTok

“Let’s Talk Future of Cinema Technology” presented by Christie

“Underrepresented to Unstoppable: More Voices Need More Opportunities in Film” presented by UPS.

SPOTLIGHTS

Spotlighting global talent, incentives, co-production opportunities, and pitching sessions. Sessions will include:
“Do It the Spanish Way! Spain–Canada Coproduction Forum” presented by ICEX and ICAA“ Indigenous Filmmakers at TIFF” presented by the Indigenous Screen Office
“Renewal of the Canada–France Co-Production Treaty” presented by Telefilm Canada and The French Embassy in Canada

“The Big Pitch” presented by Caribbean Tales Media Group

“Cents and Sensibility: Making Meaningful Change in the World of Film Financing” presented by Breaking Through the Lens
Additional sessions to be announced via TIFF’s Press & Industry Twitter account over the coming weeks. Full session pitches will be available online. Documentary focused sessions will be announced at a later date.

(Photo credit: Hulu)