By David Baldwin

Helen’s (Louise Brealey) life did not turn out the way she expected. She lives in a room at her (ex?)husband’s home with his new girlfriend, their new baby, and his dying mother Gwen (Sorcha Cusack). Helen cares for Gwen during the day and works nights at the local chicken processing plant. She is thrown out of sorts however when her former neighbour and high school crush Joanne (Annabel Scholey) returns to town.

What follows is an often whimsical love story between two women who refuse to be defined by their past traumas. Did I mention that the characters in the Film have a habit of breaking out into song whenever one of their favourite tunes comes on? That just seems to be the world Helen and Joanne inhabit in CHUCK CHUCK BABY, Writer/Director Janis Pugh’s debut narrative feature. She infuses the proceedings with a sense of wonder, and continually uses floating chicken feathers as a motif in and out of the plant (which somehow seems less grueling than it should). She also does a great job balancing the Film’s cuteness and humour with its fiercely feminist undertones. Some moments might be slighter than others, but I just wish Pugh did not stray away so quickly whenever something dark is added into the mix.

The lead pair of Brealey and Scholey are terrific from start to finish. Their chemistry is off the charts and the intimacy and love they bring to their burgeoning relationship is a delight to watch. They do just as well in their more dramatic moments, ensuring the audience feels every ounce of pain and regret they do. The Supporting Cast around them is solid with Cusack as the clear standout. She gets many of the film’s most profound moments and does an exemplary job landing its most emotional beats. Anytime she popped up, it felt like a warm hug you did not want to pull away from.

CHUCK CHUCK BABY screens at TIFF ’23:

Friday, September 8 at 3:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sunday, September 10 at 6:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Saturday, September 16 at 8:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

By David Baldwin

Benjamin (Mark Clennon, TIFF Rising Star ’23) has not been having the best night. His new boyfriend Malcolm (Anthony Diaz) rejected his sexual advances, and the party he attends afterwards dredges up memories best forgotten. He stumbles home drunk, makes a bad decision and ends up being sexually assaulted by a random stranger. Benjamin thankfully does not contract HIV, but needs to start taking PEP immediately to prevent it potentially coming later. He does not have health insurance though, nor the $900 he needs to buy the drugs outright.

All of this happens in the first twenty minutes of I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, and the next hour or so is spent watching Benjamin frantically race to collect as much money as he can from his “friends” in order to pay for the PEP treatment. We learn choice details about Benjamin along the way, alongside the highs and lows of the people orbiting around him. It is episodic in a sense, yet feels gritty, harrowing and authentic – the side of Toronto that only its less wealthy residents know exists.

While it left me with a few questions (like why the Film suggests there is only one shabby pharmacy anywhere near Benjamin’s apartment), I found Writer/Director M.H. Murray’s direction to be confident and assured. He has a steady hand and crafts a film that even veteran directors would find challenging to create. It has its flaws yet makes for a bold and audacious feature debut; one that suggests Murray will be a talent to keep our eyes on.

Even better is Clennon, also making his feature debut, whose terrific performance alternates between riveting and aggravating. He spends much of the Film silent, using his eyes and emotions to guide Benjamin’s frightening journey. It makes for a number of great character moments, and tells us more than words ever could. It is a star-making turn no doubt, and is complemented by rock solid supporting work from Diaz and Nat Manuel who plays his friend Ariel. I wish they both had more to do, but when you are being overshadowed by a towering performance like Clennon’s, maybe having less to do is not so much of a bad thing.

I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE screens at TIFF ’23:

Thursday, September 7 at 9:30 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox

Friday, September 8 at 10:00 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox

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

It’s official TIFFMAS! It was a bit of running about today but thrilled that TIFF ’23 finally has kicked-off. While the Opening Night Gala took place at Roy Thomson Hall and Princess of Wales Theatre for Hayao Miyazaki’s THE BOY AND THE BLUE HERON, it was just like every other TIFF we’ve loved with King Street lit abuzz with starpower in front of Royal Alexandra Theatre for the Premiere of GONZO GIRL, based on true accounts by Hunter S. Thompson‘s assistant. This marks Oscar winner Patricia Arquette‘s first time directing, and in addition to starring in the Film, we also get Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & The Six) and icon Willem Dafoe also! Arquette receives TIFF’s Share Her Journey Changemaker Award this weekend as well. Well deserved.

We’re only getting started but this is a promising start!

Some Snaps:

Not sure if you had a chance to check-out our chat with Sonia Mangat in the CTV eTalk TIFF Lounge, but it was so much fun!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By George Kozera

Winner of the Palme d’Or this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Co-Writer and Director. Justine Triet‘s, ANATOMY OF A FALL makes its Canadian Premiere at TIFF and this auspicious movie deserves a plethora of critical and awards laden attention. Sandra Hüller plays Sandra, a successful German Novelist on trial for the murder of her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis). Living in a chalet not far from Grenoble with her husband and their visually impaired 11-year- old son Daniel (Mio Machado Graner), the Movie opens with Sandra being interviewed by a graduate student when an instrumental version of 50 Cent‘s PIMP begins to loudly blast from the husband’s office in attic. Unable to continue the interview, the graduate student leaves followed by Daniel taking the dog for a walk. When he returns he finds his father dead on the ground, lying in a pool of blood. Did Samuel fall..did he jump…was he pushed by Susan? When the autopsy is incondusive, Sandra is arrested and along with an old friend of hers who happens to be a lawyer, Vincent (Swann Artaud), it is decided to go the suicide route as their legal defense.

ANATOMY OF A FALL is the fourth legal drama I’ve seen from France in eight months and the country’s courtroom proceedings fascinate me to no ends. Prosecutors and defense lawyers seem to be less concerned with justice than they are with winning and think nothing of regaling the jurors with conjectures, outlandish theories, distortions of facts and, in this movie, blatant homophobia. The prosecutor (expertly played by Antione Reinartz) is the most hissable villain I have seen on screen in recent history. Triet directs the court sequences with Hitchcockian assurance, but her masterpiece moment occurs when the court hears (and the audience sees) a 15-minute recording, taped in secret by Samuel, of him and Sandra in an intense argument that literally had me palpitating. It is up there with one of the most powerful moments I’d ever seen captured on celluloid.

I am uncertain if France will choose ANATOMY OF A FALL as its submission for Oscar consideration for 2023; there may be just too much English spoken in this Movie. But let’s start a hype campaign and have Sandra Hüller‘s name on the Best Actress list of nominees. Whereas the Actress may currently be best known for her role in “Toni Erdmann“, her performance here is superb. Sublime. Astonishing. As are Mio Machado Graner and Snoop the dog.

ANATOMY OF A FALL SCREENS at TIFF ’23:

Thursday Sept.7-Royal Alexandra Theatre-5pm

Friday Sept.8-Scotiabank -4pm

In this exclusive new video, go behind the scenes for a sneak peek at TIFF ’23 selectiin All the Light We Cannot See, a groundbreaking new limited series premiering on November 2, 2023.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr and starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, Dark breakout Louis Hoffman, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti, the series is directed and executive produced by Shawn Levy, written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), and will have its world premiere at TIFF this coming Sunday, September 10, 2023.

Watch never-before-seen interviews with the cast and the creative team of All the Light We Cannot See discussing adapting the award-winning novel, casting the character of Marie Laure authentically and equitably with an actress who is blind, and hear from Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie on working with Aria Mia Loberti in her first ever acting role.

Today we get a new official Trailer from NYAD, premiering at TIFF ’23!

ABOUT NYAD

DIRECTORS: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
WRITER: Julia Cox
BASED ON: The Book “Find A Way” by Diana Nyad
PRODUCERS: Andrew Lazar, Teddy Schwarzman
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, Michael Heimler, Vanessa Humphrey, Julia Cox, D. Scott Lumpkin
KEY CAST: Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans, Ethan Jones Romero, Luke Cosgrove, Jeena Yi, Eric T. Miller

RELEASE DATE | In Select Theaters October 20 | On Netflix November 3

SYNOPSIS | A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, NYAD recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana (four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110 mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often referred to as the “Mount Everest” of swims. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster) and a dedicated sailing team.

The inspirational and thrilling film marks the narrative directorial debut of Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue). NYAD is produced by Andrew Lazar, p.g.a. and Teddy Schwarzman, p.g.a. with a screenplay by Julia Cox, adapted from the memoir “Find a Way” by Diana Nyad.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

We approach the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival with managed expectations and full-on expect things a little lower key this year. But how exciting is it to capture some of the first sightings already around town?

Seen in-town tonight already are Oscar-nominated Actor Viggo Mortensen who tries writing and directing a second time in his feature THE DEAD DON’T HURT, premiering Friday at the Princess of Wales Theatre. The Feminist Western also stars TIFF Tribute Gala honouree Vicky Krieps. He also speaks at an In-Conversation next Monday at CBC.

While we’re on the topic of excellence, Oscar-winning Filmmaker Barry Jenkins was seen arriving as well. You remember him as the Director of Best Picture-winning MOONLIGHT and he’s set to direct MUFASA, a Lion King Prequel. In additon to being a Platform Programme Juror, he will be here supporting his partner Lulu Wang as she premieres series EXPATS at TIFF ’23 as well! She wasn’t with him, but we can’t wait to see her too. Obsessed with THE FAREWELL and have been waiting since!

We’ve only just begun. Don’t forget to check back daily for sightings!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By Amanda Gilmore

Writer-Director Joanna Arnow’s feature debut follows thirty-something Ann (played by Arnow) in a series of vignettes. Over the course of these vignettes, we watch her idle in her meaningless corporate job, dabbling in different BDSM relationships while stagnating in a long-term submissive sexual relationship with an older man, Allen (Scott Cohen).

Arnow has crafted an acerbic Dark Comedy about being a millennial. Right from the start it’s clear that no one listens — or even thinks — of Ann. Not even her decade-long casual BDSM partner Allen can remember what college she attended. And her employer gives her an award for making it a year at the company…but she’s worked there for over three years. Ann responds to these moments with a fed-up ambivalence that comes across as someone who can’t be bothered to fight something that’s happened a million times before.

Arnow gives an alluring performance as Ann. Her often deadpan delivery leaves immense mystery. At times Ann seems to be content with her life at others it feels like she’s internally screaming for something more. This becomes more apparent when she meets Chris (Babak Tafti) who gives her the chance at a more mutually engaged relationship. Arnow plays Ann with an uneasiness about the change in her mundane life. A life that’s full of others making decisions for her.

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed is an audacious first feature that cements Arnow not only a new voice behind the camera but a force in front of it.

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed screens at TIFF ’23:

Saturday, September 9 at 6 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sunday, September 10 at 9:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sámi voices are being given a significant elevation at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, with acclaimed documentarians Suvi West and Anssi Kömi’s quietly powerful indigenous repatriation non-fiction feature Homecoming (Máhccan) leading a trio of Sámi films at the festival for the first time ever.

Homecoming (Máhccan), premiering as part of the prestigious TIFF docs section, joins fiction features Sara Margrethe Oskal’s The Tundra Within Me from Norway and Katja Gauriloff’s Je’vida from Finland.

For Sámi director Suvi West, who co-directed Homecoming (Máhccan) with partner Anssi Kömi, she sees the significance in such representation on screen at the festival, not just for the Sámi people, but female voices.

Homecoming (Máhccan) shares a personal story about the return of Sámi artifacts, long held in museums, to their homeland. Its World premiere screening is slated for Friday, September 8th at 4:15 p.m. EST at Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre. A 2nd screening will be held on Saturday, September 9th, at 9:15 p.m. at Scotiabank.

Synopsis

The film is set in the museum world at a turning point, where the national museums have to deal with their colonialistic history. The National Museum of Finland returned thousands of everyday objects taken from the indigenous Sámi people back to them.

Filmmaker Suvi West (Along with co-director Anssi Kömi) takes the audience behind the scenes of the museum world, revealing a visual, philosophical, and spiritual realm. She seeks a connection with ancestors through old museum objects, eventually arriving at the collective pain points of the Sámi people. How can the damage caused by outsiders be repaired so that collective pains can be left behind?

Homecoming (Máhccan) is a Finnish/Norwegian co-production produced by Janne Niskala of Vaski Filmi (Finland) in association with Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas and Johanna Dorothea Raita of Ten Thousand Images (Norway).

Screening Times:

Public 09/08/2023 4:15PM Scotiabank 11

Press & Industry 09/09/2023 3:05 p.m. Scotiabank 8

Public 09/09/2023 9:15PM Scotiabank 13

Press & Industry 09/13/2023 9:10 a.m. Scotiabank 5