#TIFF22: BRENDAN FRASER TO BE HONOURED AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Brendan Fraser is on the verge of a major comeback! The star of TIFF ’22 selection THE WHALE will receive the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance for his outstanding performance in The Whale. The TIFF Tribute Awards presented by BVLGARI will return to an in-person gala fundraiser during the 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 11 at Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The TIFF Tribute Award for Performance is presented by IMDbPro.

With a career spanning more than 30 years, Fraser has received recognition for his work by both critics and his peers. Known for playing Rick O’Connell in The Mummy trilogy, Fraser has gone on to star in many projects in both television and film. Fraser will make his return to Toronto with Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which will have its North American Premiere at this year’s Festival.

“Brendan Fraser gives a performance of staggering depth, power, and nuance in The Whale,” said Bailey, TIFF CEO. “This former Torontonian has been an action star, a screen comic, and a romantic lead. We’re thrilled to welcome him home as the actor behind one of the finest performances of the year.”

Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale tells the story of a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption. The A24 film is based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter and also stars Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, and Samantha Morton. It is being distributed in Canada by Elevation Pictures.

The TIFF Tribute Award for Performance presented by IMDbPro to Fraser is one of two acting awards being handed out. These two awards recognize an outstanding performance by either an individual or ensemble in the now gender-neutral acting category. Fraser joins the recently announced recipients of the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance presented by Polestar, the ensemble of My Policeman. Past recipients honoured in the prestigious acting category were Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch in 2021; Kate Winslet and Sir Anthony Hopkins in 2020; and Meryl Streep and Joaquin Phoenix in 2019.

Also joining the list of 2022 TIFF Tribute Award honourees Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Sam Mendes who will be receiving the TIFF Ebert Director Award. The TIFF Tribute Awards have served as an awards-season bellwether, with past honourees such as Chastain, Hopkins, Phoenix, Roger Deakins, Taika Waititi, and Chloé Zhao going on to win awards on the international stage. Once again, the TIFF Tribute Awards honour the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, recognizing leading industry members, acting talent, directorial expertise, new talent, and a below-the-line artist and creator. The Awards gala event also serves as TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser to support TIFF’s Every Story fund, which promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in film and TIFF’s core mission to transform the way people see the world through film. More information on the event and honourees will follow in the coming weeks.

#TIFF22: TIFF DOCS, CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA PROGRAMMES ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Some additional titles from the TIFF Docs programme presented by A&E IndieFilms, Contemporary World Cinema programme presented by Sun Life, were just announced earlier today, plus an additional title in the Discovery programme. This lineup features titles from over 50 countries from around the world. Additionally, TIFF is excited to announce five doc sessions as part of the 2022 Industry Conference. 

TIFF DOCS
*Previously announced
Presented by A&E IndieFilms

“This year’s TIFF Docs lineup has a wonderful mix of joy, creativity, and ingenuity in the face of adversity,” said TIFF Docs programmer Thom Powers, now in his 17th year overseeing the section. “In recent years, we witnessed numerous films launched from this section into distribution deals and Oscar nominations. This year has a rich crop for both.”

*752 Is Not A Number Babak Payami | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Laura Poitras | USA
North American Premiere

*Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On Madison Thomas | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Casa Susanna Sébastien Lifshitz | France, USA
North American Premiere

Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels Mila Turajlic | Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro
World Premiere

*The Colour of Ink Brian D. Johnson | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Documentary Now! Alex Buono, Rhys Thomas, Micah Gardner | USA
World Premiere

*Ever Deadly Tanya Tagaq, Chelsea McMullan | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Free Money Sam Soko, Lauren DeFilippo | Kenya, USA
World Premiere

Mariupolis 2 Mantas Kvedaravičius | Lithuania, France, Germany
North American Premiere

The Grab Gabriela Cowperthwaite | USA
World Premiere

In Her Hands Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen | USA, Afghanistan
World Premiere

TIFF Docs Opening Film
*Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues Sacha Jenkins | USA
World Premiere

Maya and the Wave Stephanie Johnes | USA
World Premiere

Miúcha, The Voice of Bossa Nova Daniel Zarvos, Liliane Mutti | Brazil, France
Canadian Premiere

My Imaginary Country (Mi País Imaginario) Patricio Guzmán | Chile, France
North American Premiere

Patrick and the Whale Mark Fletcher | Austria
World Premiere

Pray for our Sinners Sinéad O’Shea | Ireland
World Premiere

Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot William Kentridge | South Africa, USA
World Premiere

Theatre of Thought Werner Herzog | USA
International Premiere

*To Kill a Tiger Nisha Pahuja | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

While We Watched Vinay Shukla | UK
World Premiere

DOC CONVERSATIONS @ TIFF INDUSTRY CONFERENCE

On September 13, the Industry Conference will focus on conversations covering both the craft and business of documentary filmmaking. Access to the programming will be available to all press and industry pass holders. For public audiences interested in attending, limited day packages will be made available.

VISIONARIES: Inside the Brain of Werner Herzog
Presented by SHOWTIME®

In his new film Theatre of Thought, Werner Herzog (celebrating his 80th birthday in September) explores the cutting edge of research on the brain. He’s joined by two figures who appear in the film, brain scientist Rafael Yuste and entrepreneur Jamie Davies, to discuss hopes and fears for the future of brain exploration.

VISIONARIES: What Laura Poitras Learned from Nan Goldin
Presented by SHOWTIME®

Oscar-winning director Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) discusses what she learned over three years in the making of her new film All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. The film profiles the artist Nan Goldin, who has campaigned for museums to disassociate from the patronage of the Sackler family, owners of the opioid company Purdue Pharma.

DIALOGUES: Covering Afghanistan for In Her Hands
Presented by SHOWTIME®
A Share Her Journey initiative generously supported by Betty-Ann Heggie

The new documentary In Her Hands focuses on Afghanistan’s youngest woman mayor, Zarifa Ghafari, during the tumultuous period of the Taliban’s return to power. Filmmakers Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen share clips while reflecting on the challenges of filming under wartime conditions.

PERSPECTIVES Truth, Lies, and a Million Dollar Board Game
Presented by SHOWTIME®

Filmmaker Vinay Shukla joins to discuss his new film While We Watched, which profiles the journalist Ravish Kumar of NDTV India as he struggles to maintain journalistic independence under death threats. For Shukla’s previous documentary An Insignificant Man, his team created a board game that gained massive support on Kickstarter. He’ll discuss plans to follow that model by pairing a board game with his new film.

PERSPECTIVES DocuMentality: The Growth of a Movement
Presented by SHOWTIME®

DocuMentality is an expanding initiative that seeks to normalize conversations about mental health in the documentary industry and provide best-practice guidance for filmmakers. The project started with efforts in the UK and US. Now, the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) is spearheading a new wave of focus groups with support from the Canada Media Fund. On this panel, audiences will hear from DocuMentality team member Malikkah Rollins and DOC’s Sarah Spring about the past, present, and future of the movement. We’ll also hear from filmmaker Rebeca Huntt describing what she learned about maintaining mental balance in the making of her intensely personal film Beba that premiered at TIFF last year. Moderator: Inney Prakash (Maysles Documentary Center).

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
Presented by Sun Life

Aftersun Charlotte Wells | United Kingdom, USA
North American Premiere

Alam Firas Khoury | France, Palestine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
World Premiere

Amanda Carolina Cavalli | Italy
International Premiere

Ashkal Youssef Chebbi | France, Tunisia, Qatar
North American Premiere

Autobiography Makbul Mubarak | Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Germany, Qatar
North American Premiere

Beyond the Wall (Shab, Dkheli, Divar) Vahid Jalilvand | Iran
North American Premiere

*Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Pierre Földes | France, Luxembourg, Canada, Netherlands 🇨🇦
International Premiere

*Bones of Crows Marie Clements | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

*Coyote (Le Coyote) Katherine Jerkovic | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Domingo and the Mist (Domingo y la Niebla) Ariel Escalante Meza | Costa Rica, Qatar
North American Premiere

El agua Elena López Riera | Switzerland, Spain, France
North American Premiere

*The End of Sex Sean Garrity | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

EO Jerzy Skolimowski | Poland, Italy
North American Premiere

*Falcon Lake Charlotte Le Bon | Canada 🇨🇦
North American Premiere

*Fixation Mercedes Bryce Morgan | Canada, USA, Germany 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Godland (Vanskabte Land/Volaða Land) Hlynur Pálmason | Denmark, Iceland, France, Sweden
Canadian Premiere

The Happiest Man in the World Teona Strugar Mitevska | North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
North American Premiere

The Hotel Wang Xiaoshuai | Hong Kong
World Premiere

La Jauría Andrés Ramírez Pulido | Colombia, France
North American Premiere

Life (Жизнь) Emir Baigazin | Kazakhstan
World Premiere

Living Oliver Hermanus | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

Love and Mathematics (Amor y matemáticas) Claudia Sainte-Luce | Mexico
World Premiere

Love Life Koji Fukada | Japan, France
North American Premiere

Luxembourg, Luxembourg Antonio Lukich | Ukraine
North American Premiere

*The Maiden Graham Foy | Canada 🇨🇦
North American Premiere

Manticore (Mantícora) Carlos Vermut | Spain
North American Premiere

Muru Tearepa Kahi | New Zealand
International Premiere

My Sailor, My Love Klaus Hӓrӧ | Finland, Ireland
World Premiere

Nightalk Donald Shebib | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

*North of Normal Carly Stone | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

The Origin of Evil Sébastien Marnier | France, Canada
North American Premiere

Plan 75 Chie Hayakawa | Japan, France, Philippines, Qatar
North American Premiere

Return to Dust Li Ruijun | China
North American Premiere

R.M.N. Cristian Mungiu | Romania, France
North American Premiere

*So Much Tenderness Lina Rodriguez | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Sparta Ulrich Seidl | Austria, France, Germany
World Premiere

*Stellar Darlene Naponse | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

Stonewalling Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka | Japan
North American Premiere

*The Swearing Jar Lindsay MacKay | Canada 🇨🇦
World Premiere

The Umbrella Men John Barker | South Africa
International Premiere

Under the Fig Trees Erige Sehiri | Tunisia, Switzerland, France, Qatar
North American Premiere

Valeria Is Getting Married Michal Vinik | Israel
North American Premiere

Victim (OBEŤ) Michal Blaško | Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Germany
North American Premiere

Vicenta B. Carlos Lechuga | Cuba, France, USA, Colombia, Norway
World Premiere

War Sailor (Krigsseileren) Gunnar Vikene | Norway, Germany, Malta
International Premiere

We Are Still Here Beck Cole, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne | Australia, New Zealand
International Premiere

Wildflower Matt Smukler | USA
World Premiere

Winter Boy (Le Lycéen) Christophe Honoré | France
World Premiere

The Worst Ones Romane Gueret, Lise Akoka | France
North American Premiere

Zwigato Nandita Das | India
World Premiere

DISCOVERY
Presented by Dyson

Bruiser Miles Warren | USA
World Premiere

More at tiff.net. The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival runs September 8-19, 2022.

#TIFF22: SAM MENDES TO RECEIVE TIFF EBERT DIRECTOR AWARD AT TIFF TRIBUTE AWARDS

It was just announced earlier today that Director Sam Mendes will be honoured with the TIFF EBERT DIRECTOR Award at this year’s TIFF Tribute Awards Gala, taking place Sunday, September 11, 2022 at Royal York Hotel.

TIFF will be presenting the Canadian Premiere of Mendes’ most recent work Empire of Light, which he wrote, directed, and produced. Mendes made his feature film debut at the Festival in 1999 with the World Premiere of American Beauty, a TIFF People’s Choice Award winner, for which he was honoured with an Oscar in the Best Director category.

“From his first appearance at TIFF with American Beauty, director Sam Mendes brought his exacting and lyrical vision of cinema to Toronto,” said Bailey. “We are delighted to honour his unique voice and body of work with this year’s TIFF Ebert Director Award.” 

Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, Searchlight Pictures’ Empire of Light is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema. Starring Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke, with Toby Jones and Colin Firth, Mendes also teams up with award-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who was also a TIFF Tribute Award recipient in 2019.

The TIFF Ebert Director Award recognizes filmmakers who have exemplified greatness in their careers. Named after legendary film critic Roger Ebert, the Award marks an evolution of the Festival’s Roger Ebert Golden Thumb Award, which in past has gone to celebrated visionaries such as Martin Scorsese, Claire Denis, Ava DuVernay, Wim Wenders, and the late Agnès Varda. Past recipients who received the Award since the TIFF Tribute Awards were introduced include Denis Villeneuve (2021), Chloé Zhao (2020), and Taika Waititi (2019).

Mendes joins the recently announced list of 2022 TIFF Tribute Award honourees, the ensemble of My Policeman, who will receive the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance presented by Polestar. More information on the 2022 TIFF Tribute Awards event and this year’s honourees will follow in the coming weeks.

The TIFF Tribute Awards have served as an awards-season bellwether, with past honourees such as Deakins, Waititi, Zhao, Jessica Chastain, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Joaquin Phoenix going on to win awards on the international stage. The TIFF Tribute Awards honour the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, recognizing leading industry members, acting talent, directorial expertise, new talent, and a below-the-line artist and creator. The Awards event also serves as TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser to support TIFF’s Every Story fund, which promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in film and TIFF’s core mission to transform the way people see the world through film. 

#FIRSTLOOK: INDIGO CELEBRATES “PAGE-TO-SCREEN”

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.

#FIRSTLOOK: “ROSIE”, “UNTIL BRANCHES BEND” AND “LIDO TV” TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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.

#TIFF22: “DIASPORA” AND “SCARING WOMEN AT NIGHT” TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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!”

#TIFF22: PRIMETIME PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED AS PART OF 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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)

#TIFF: NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA PREMIERE FOUR TITLES AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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.

#TIFF22: “THE SWEARING JAR” AND “STELLAR” TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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.

#TIFF22: “BONES OF CROWS” AND “NORTH OF NORMAL” ADDED TO 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP

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.