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)

Who doesn’t want to get a chance to see Harry Styles live in Toronto? And also his new Movie DON’T WORRY DARLING! And also win a $100 Cineplex Gift Card! Here’s your chance!

All fans have to do to enter is visit the #DontWorryDarlingTO crew at Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre on Saturday, August 13, 2022 between noon and 11 p.m.

Fans that snap a selfie and share their photo on social media will be automatically entered into the contest for a chance to win. There will also be exclusive giveaways and free popcorn for the first 100 people in line, while supplies last!

More about DON’T WORRY DARLING:

Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)—equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach—anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia. While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives—including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)—get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?

An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts intoxicating performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast. The film also stars Nick Kroll (“How It Ends”), Sydney Chandler (“Pistol”), Kate Berlant (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”), Asif Ali (“WandaVision”), Douglas Smith (“Big Little Lies”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”) and Ari’el Stachel (upcoming “Respect the Jux”). Wilde directs from a screenplay penned by her “Booksmart” writer Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries”) and Silberman.

The film is produced by Wilde, Silberman, Miri Yoon and Roy Lee, with Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Alex G. Scott, Catherine Hardwicke, Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke executive producing. Wilde is joined behind the camera by two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Black Swan”), production designer Katie Byron (“Booksmart”), editor Affonso Gonçalves (“The Lost Daughter”), Oscar-nominated composer John Powell (“Jason Bourne”), music supervisor Randall Poster (“No Time to Die”) and costume designer Arianne Phillips (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”).

A New Line Cinema presentation, “Don’t Worry Darling” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and is set to open in theatres in North America on September 23, 2022 and internationally beginning 21 September 2022.

Kaitlyn Dever stars in ROSALINE, streaming this Fall on Disney+’s Star banner.

Synopsis:

“Rosaline” is a fresh and comedic twist on Shakespeare’s classic love story “Romeo & Juliet,” told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline (Dever), who also happens to be Romeo’s recent love interest. Heartbroken when Romeo (Kyle Allen) meets Juliet (Isabela Merced) and begins to pursue her, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and win back her guy. Directed by Karen Maine (“Yes, God, Yes”), the film also stars Sean Teale (“Skins”), with Minnie Driver (“Speechless”) and Bradley Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”). The screenplay is by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (“500 Days of Summer”), based on the novel “When You Were Mine” by Rebecca Serle. The producers are Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Dan Levine, with Kaitlyn Dever, Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber and Emily Morris serving as executive producers.

Some new Stills:

ROSALINE streams October 14, 2022 on Disney+ under its Star banner.

(Photo credit: Disney)

As part of TIFF’s Canadian programming announcements, the National Film Board of Canada is bringing us four titles at the Festival this year!

Premiering in TIFF Docs

The Colour of Ink by Brian D. Johnson (105 min)

Produced by Brian D. Johnson for Sphinx Productions; Sherien Barsoum, Lea Marin and Kate Vollum for the NFB

• Working with ingredients foraged in the wild—weeds, berries, bark, flowers, rocks, rust—Toronto inkmaker Jason Logan makes ink from just about anything. Jason sends custom-made inks to an eclectic range of artists around the world, from a New Yorker cartoonist to a Japanese calligrapher.
• As the inks take on a life of their own, his playful alchemy paints a story of colour that reconnects us to the earth and returns us to a childlike sense of wonder.
• Brian D. Johnson is a Canadian writer, filmmaker and cultural commentator. He is best known for his three decades as film critic and senior arts writer at Maclean’s magazine, where he remains a Contributing Editor. In 2015 he produced and directed Al Purdy Was Here, a documentary feature about the legendary Canadian poet, which premiered at TIFF and was runner-up for the TIFF Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award.

Ever Deadly by Tanya Tagaq and Chelsea McMullan (90 min)

Produced by Lea Marin, Anita Lee and Kate Vollum for the Ontario Studio in Toronto.

Ever Deadly explores Tagaq’s transformation of sound with an eye to colonial fallout, natural freedom and Canadian history. We witness Tagaq’s intimate relationship with the Nuna—the Land—a living, breathing organism present in all forms of her improvised performances. 

This feature doc weaves concert footage with stunning sequences filmed on location in Nunavut, seamlessly bridging landscapes, stories and songs with pain, anger and triumph—all through the expressions of one of the most innovative musical performers of our time.

Tanya Tagaq is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and author from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), who now divides her time between Nunavut and Toronto. A member of the Order of Canada, a Polaris Music Prize and JUNO Award winner and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is an original disruptor, a world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political and environmental change.

Toronto filmmaker Chelsea McMullan creates documentary, experimental narrative, and hybrid films that explore the work of leading international artists. McMullan’s first documentary feature, My Prairie Home, about pioneering transgender musician Rae Spoon, screened at Sundance 2014 and was named Best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver Film Critics Association Awards.

To Kill a Tiger by Nisha Pahuja (125 min)

Produced by Cornelia Principe and Nisha Pahuja for Notice Pictures; David Oppenheim for the NFB

In a small Indian village, Ranjit wakes up to find that his 13-year-old daughter has not returned from a family wedding. A few hours later, she’s found stumbling home. After being dragged into the woods, she was raped by three men. Ranjit goes to the police, and the men are arrested. But Ranjit’s relief is short-lived, as the villagers and their leaders launch a sustained campaign to force the family to drop the charges.

With tremendous access, the film follows Ranjit’s uphill battle to find justice for his child, charting the emotional journey of an ordinary man facing extraordinary circumstances. A father whose love for his daughter forces a social reckoning that will reverberate for years to come.

Nisha Pahuja is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker based in Toronto and Bombay. Her credits include Diamond Road (2007 Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series), the NFB production Bollywood Bound (2001 Gemini nominee) and the award-winning The World Before Her (2012; Best Documentary, Tribeca Film Festival; Best Canadian Documentary, Hot Docs; TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten; Sundance Film Forward Program; Best Documentary nominee, CSAs; Emmy nominee).

Premiering in Short Cuts

The Flying Sailor by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (7 min 45 s)

Produced by David Christensen for the North West Studio in Edmonton

Two ships collide in a harbour, an explosion shatters a city, and a sailor is blasted skyward. With ears ringing, blood pulsing and guts heaving, he soars high above the mayhem and towards the great unknown.

Inspired by an incredible true story of a man who was blown two kilometres through the air by the Halifax Explosion, the animated short The Flying Sailor is at once a bold blend of comedy, suspense and philosophy and an exhilarating contemplation of the wonder and fragility of existence.

The Flying Sailor is making its North American premiere at TIFF following its world premiere at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, which took place June 13 to 18.

Calgary-based animators Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis met at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, where they studied film, video and animation. Each went on to create their own works with the NFB (Wendy Tilby’s Strings and Jan Padgett’s The Reluctant Deckhand, animated by Amanda Forbis) before co-directing When the Day Breaks, which received an Oscar nomination and more than 30 international awards, including the Palme d’Or at Cannes. In 2012, their animated short film Wild Life received an Academy Award nomination, among other honours.

Apple TV+ have announced today that Emmy Award winner Jon Hamm joins the third season of THE MORNING SHOW as ‘Paul Marks,’ a corporate titan who sets his sights on UBA, pulling Cory, Alex and Bradley into his powerful orbit. Filming begins shortly.

You can’t say there weren’t clues either! See this tease.

“The Morning Show” is an Emmy, SAG and Critics Choice Award-winning series starring and executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, executive produced by Mimi Leder, and executive produced by Michael Ellenberg, and produced by the studio Media Res, Hello Sunshine and Echo Films. The broadly acclaimed second season recently received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Reese Witherspoon; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Billy Crudup, who also won the award for season one; and, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Marcia Gay Harden.

Season three of the “The Morning Show” will be showrun and executive produced by Charlotte Stoudt (“Fosse/Verdon,” “Homeland,” “House of Cards”), who has a multi-year overall deal with Apple TV+ for scripted television series. The series is executive produced by Michael Ellenberg through Media Res, along with Aniston and Kristin Hahn through Echo Films; Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter through Hello Sunshine. Leder serves as executive producer and director.
Picking up after the explosive events of season one, season two found “The Morning Show” team emerging from the wreckage of Alex (Aniston) and Bradley’s (Witherspoon) actions, to a new UBA and a world in flux, where identity is everything and the chasm between who we present as and who we really are comes into play. Along with Aniston and Witherspoon, the star-studded cast for season two was led by Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley, Desean Terry, Janina Gavankar, Tom Irwin and Marcia Gay Harden. New additions for season two included Greta Lee, Ruairi O’Connor, Hasan Minhaj, Holland Taylor, Tara Karsian, Valeria Golino and Julianna Margulies.

Apple Original Films has landed the new untitled two-part documentary film from A24 and Tremolo Productions featuring legendary writer, producer, director, actor and comedian Steve Martin (“Roxanne,” “Parenthood,” “Only Murders in the Building”), exploring his iconic life and career. The films are directed and produced by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville (“20 Feet from Stardom,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”). The co-production hails from A24 whose projects also include Critics’ Choice Documentary Award-winning documentary “Val” on iconic actor Val Kilmer, and Tremolo Productions, with projects including the Academy Award winning documentary “20 Feet from Stardom,” featuring the stories of backup singers to the biggest bands in music.

A24 will executive produce alongside Caitrin Rogers (“20 Feet from Stardom”) from Tremolo Productions.
This two-part documentary will be joining Apple’s acclaimed and award-winning documentary slate including docuseries and documentaries featuring the real-life stories of beloved stars including the four-part Earvin “Magic” Johnson docuseries “They Call Me Magic”; the Emmy Award nominated documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”; the Critics’ Choice Documentary Award nominated film “The Velvet Underground”; the upcoming documentary honoring iconic Academy Award winning actor, filmmaker and actor Sidney Poitier, “Sidney”; and the recently announced untitled feature film about the life of beloved actor and advocate Michael J. Fox.

TIFF continues to deliver its promise to showcase Canadian talent. Just announced today are two more new Features to premiere this September in Toronto, THE SWEARING JAR and STELLAR from levelFILM.

THE SWEARING JAR

Contemporary World Cinema

Directed by: Lindsay MacKay
Written by: Kate Hewlett
Starring: Adelaide Clemens, Patrick J. Adams, Douglas Smith & Kathleen Turner

“It is a rare and miraculous thing to find your one true soul mate.” Carey soon learns that finding two of them can pose an even greater problem. Equal parts humour and heartbreak, THE SWEARING JAR tells two love stories at once, exploring the challenge of marriage, parenting, loss and moving on.

STELLAR

Contemporary World Cinema

Written and Directed by: Darlene Naponse
Starring: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Braeden Clarke, Rossif Sutherland

HE and SHE sit apart, quietly in a tiny dive bar. They accidentally touch and a meteorite blasts through the atmosphere. As the meteorite approaches, the two continue in their protected selves. Based on the historical research of the meteorite hitting the area of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek territory, millions of years ago, forming one of the largest iron ore deposit in the world.

The meteorite bursts into the atmosphere and onto the land, it shoots fireballs hundreds of kilometres away, pushes the water far, building hills of rock, and as the waters come back as a tsunami the water in a way, melts the rocks.

The land millions of years later is occupied by the Anishnawbek of Atikameksheng, then as colonizers approach, the natural beauty of this formation becomes fortune to the settlers. This is the backstory and environment – the natural world around the lovers.

The story pushes through historical trauma, formed by colonization.

Inside this tiny dive bar, though touch, their duality formulates.

STELLAR is set within the fluidity of time, touch, realism and reverie. Some may call this magic realism. Based within Indigenous knowledge and way of life, this story allows two people to heal, through touch, calm, love and patience in a fantastical space that leaves the audience dreamlike and yet it is dangerous and violent, there is love.

Elevation Pictures is thrilled to announce that BONES OF CROWS and NORTH OF NORMAL were a part of today’s TIFF 2022 Conference, and TIFF’s ongoing commitment to showcase Canadian talent.

BONES OF CROWS

Director: Marie Clements
Starring Grace Dove, Phillip Lewitski, and Rémy Girard

Unfolding over 100 years, BONES OF CROWS is a feature film told through the eyes of Cree Matriarch Aline Spears as she survives a childhood in Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse.

NORTH OF NORMAL

Director: Carly Stone
Starring Sarah Gadon, James D’Arcy, and Robert Carlyle

Based on her riveting memoir, NORTH OF NORMAL follows Cea Sunrise Person’s unconventional childhood in the Canadian wilderness and her complicated relationship with her perpetually pot-smoking teen mom.

Sphere Films is thrilled to announce that FALCON LAKE by Charlotte Le Bon will have its North-American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the Contemporary World Cinema section. Presented as a World Premiere at the 54th Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and in competition for the Caméra d’Or at Cannes as a first feature, FALCON LAKE stars Sara Montpetit (Maria Chapdelaine), Karine Gonthier-Hyndman (Like-Moi), Monia Chokri (Heartbeats) and young French actor Joseph Engel (The Crusade).

Bastien and Chloé spend their summer vacation with their families at a lake cabin in Quebec, haunted by a ghost legend. Despite the age gap between them, the two teenagers form a singular bond. Ready to overcome his worst fears to earn a place in Chloé’s heart, the holiday becomes a turbulent pivotal moment for the young boy.

FALCON LAKE is the feature directorial debut by actress Charlotte Le Bon (The Hundred-Foot Journey, Mood Indigo, The Walk, Yves Saint Laurent), who previously directed the short film Judith Hotel, which screened at Cannes. As a visual artist, Le Bon explored the themes of the strange and surreal through her paintings, drawings and lithographs before turning to film. Her expertise shines in this first feature, where the impressive cast comes together in a superbly crafted coming-of-age story, loosely adapted from the novel Une Soeur by Bastien Vivès.

Produced by Sylvain Corbeil and Nancy Grant (Metafilms) in cooperation with CBC/Radio-Canada and Super Écran, with financial support from the SODEC, Telefilm Canada, Eurimages and the Harold Greenberg Fund, as well as Quebec and Canadian tax credits, FALCON LAKE was co-produced by David Gauquie, Julien Deris and Jean-Luc Ormières (Cinéfrance Studios) and Jalil Lespert (Onze Cinq). Memento International oversees international sales.

Distributed in Canada by Sphere Films, FALCON LAKE will be released on October 14, 2022.

Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy star in Comedy-Horror, THE MENU which will premiere at TIFF ’22.. Here’s a first look at the official Trailer for the upcoming Feature directed by Mark Mylod and produced by Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up).

Synopsis:
A couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

THE MENU arrives in theatres November 18, 2022 via Searchlight Pictures.

(Photo/video credit: Searchlight Pictures)