Elevation Pictures have announced their upcoming 2024 release slate with multiple titles which recently have done the Festival Circuit.
ORIGIN
Opens in theatres on January 19
Directed by: Ava DuVernay
Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald,
Niecy Nash-Betts, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood.
I.S.S.
Opens in theatres on January 19
Directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbaek,
John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, Masha Mashkova
Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling from this, the astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, working with Nick Shafir’s Blacklist script, brings together a stellar cast that includes Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbaek, John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, and Masha Mashkova, in a high-stakes thriller set entirely in the confines of the I.S.S. as astronauts are called to duty in fateful and terrifying ways.
FITTING IN
Opens in theatres on February 2
Directed by: Molly McGlynn
Starring: Maddie Ziegler, Emily Hampshire, Djouliet Amara,
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Ki Griffin
A joyful, comedic drama, from writer/director Molly McGlynn, Fitting In is a coming-of-age story that follows 16-year-old Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) who is unexpectedly diagnosed with a reproductive condition, MRKH syndrome. The diagnosis upends her plans to have sex, her presumptions about womanhood and sexuality, her relationship with her mother, and most importantly, herself.
FLOAT
Opens in theatres on February 9
Directed by: Sherren Lee
Starring: Robbie Amell, Sarah Desjardins, Andrea Bang
A city girl rejected by her parents makes an impulsive decision to spend the summer at a small beach town with her estranged aunt. She nearly drowns and is rescued by the lifeguard next door, who offers to teach her how to swim.
PERFECT DAYS
In theatres on February 16
Directed by: Wim Wenders
Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada,
Yumi Aso, Sayuri Ishikawa, Tomokazu Miura, Min Tanaka
Hirayama (Kôji Yakusho) is a cleaner of public toilets in Tokyo. He lives alone in a small house full of plants, his days going by according to quiet rhythms that never seem to change. His is a neighborhood of tiny cafés frequented by the same people, of bookshops that sell works by Patricia Highsmith or young, contemporary Japanese writers.
Hirayama speaks very little, but he has a great passion for music, books, and the trees he loves to photograph. As he drives to work in his minivan, fully equipped with his cleaning gear, The Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, or Lou Reed ring in ageless, husky hums from a tape player.
FRENCH GIRL
Opens in theatres on February 23
Directed by: James A. Woods & Nicolas Wright
Starring: Zach Braff, Vanessa Hudgens, William Fichtner
Follows Gordon Kinski, a high school teacher from Brooklyn, who goes with his girlfriend and chef Sophie Tremblay to her hometown of Quebec City where she is testing for the Michelin 3-star restaurant of super-chef Ruby Collins.
500 DAYS IN THE WILD
Opens in theatres on March 1
Directed by: Dianne Whelan
Starring: Dianne Whelan
Follows Dianne Whelan that after disappointed with the state of the world did a solo self-recorded journey travelling across Canada.
IRENA’S VOW
Opens in theatres on March 15
Directed by: Louise Archambault
Starring: Sophie Nélisse, Dougray Scott, Andrzej Seweryn, and Maciek Nawrocki
Through the eyes of a strong-willed woman comes the remarkable true story of Irena Gut Opdyke and the triumphs of the human spirit over devastating tragedy. 19-year old Irena Gut is promoted to housekeeper in the home of a highly respected Nazi officer when she finds out that the Jewish ghetto is about to be liquidated. Determined to help twelve Jewish workers, she decides to shelter them in the safest place she can think of: the basement of the German commandant’s house. Over the next two years, Irena uses her wit, humor, and courage to hide her friends until the end of the German occupation, concealing them in the midst of countless Nazi parties, a blackmail scheme, and even the birth of a child. Her story is one of the most inspiring of our time.
(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)
By Mr. Will Wong
Wim Wenders is back with a gorgeous portrait of every day life, that leaves its audience with a renewed sense of appreciation of life and living.
The Film centers around Japanese screen legend Kôji Yakusho who plays Hirayama, a middle-aged man working as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, residing within a throw’s reach of the Tokyo Tower. He lives a quiet, mundane life, obsessed with caring for his plants, clocked down to a routine. A series of unexpected encounters with others around him peel off layers and from there we get glimpses into his past. Through his interactions with others around, we learn more and more about the perpetually cool, calm and collected Hirayama.
Wenders pairs an eclectic and nostalgic Soundtrack highlighted by Otis Redding, Nina Simone, Patti Smith, The Rolling Stones and more and this works remarkably well with the story. Though we spend an inordinate amount of time with Hirayama scrubbing toilets and cleaning bathrooms, never for once do we lose sight of his quiet zest for life and his endless willingness to help others around him. It isn’t till late that you realize that you have built a deep emotional connection with him. Yakusho is charming, captivating and spellbinding, a phenomenal performance.
PERFECT DAYS screens at TIFF ’23:
Thursday, September 7
TIFF Bell Lightbox
5:30 PM
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