#TIFF22: HILLARY & CHELSEA CLINTON TO APPEAR AT TIFF WITH “GUTSY”

How amazing is this? In additional to stars of the screen at TIFF ’22 , we have gamechanges like Hillary and Chelsea Clinton gracing us with their presence this year! Both are schedulied to appear as part of The Visionaries Programme at TIFF‘s Industry Conference at the Festival this year, the conversation showcasing their upcoming Apple TV+ Documentary Series Gutsy, based on The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience.

The Visionaries programme at TIFF’s Industry Conference offers inspirational keynotes from distinguished industry leaders who are forging innovative new paths creatively and in business. The Visionaries programme is supported by The Hollywood Reporter as its official media partner.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hillary and Chelsea Clinton to TIFF 2022,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “As two ‘gutsy’ women themselves, their breadth of experience and insight into social issues and gender politics is inspiring. We are honoured to host this special conversation as part of TIFF’s Industry Conference and spotlight their upcoming Apple Original documentary series Gutsy.”

Based on the Clintons’ acclaimed New York Times bestselling book, The Book of Gutsy Women, the Apple series features Hillary and Chelsea as they embark on a thought-provoking journey to speak with innovative women artists, activists, community leaders, and everyday heroes who show us what it truly means to be gutsy. The docuseries shows Hillary and Chelsea as you’ve never seen them before, revealing their special mother–daughter bond and the unique, multi-generational way they approach the important and timely issues highlighted in each episode. 

Joining the Clintons in the docuseries are some of their personal heroes: extraordinary, courageous, and resilient women who have made an impact in their community and on the world, including Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Dr. Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, and many more.

Produced for Apple by HiddenLight Productions in association with Left/Right LLC, “Gutsy” is executive produced by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, alongside Johnny Webb, Siobhan Sinnerton, Roma Khanna, Ken Druckerman, Banks Tarver, and Anna Chai, who also serves as showrunner, with producers Kevin Vargas and Claire Featherstone, and consulting producers Huma Abedin and Bari Lurie.

GUTSY premieres September 9, 2022 on Apple TV+.

(Photo credit: Apple TV+)

#TIFF22: ADDITIONAL GALAS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Amazing news! An additional batch of Galas and Special Presentations have been announced today to premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival! Titles include the latest from Tyler Perry, Florian Zeller, Peter Farrelly and Catherine Hardwicke. Causeway starring and produced by Jennifer Lawrence, and The Good Nurse starring Oscar winners Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain are among the new announcements!

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2022
*Previously announced

Alice, Darling Mary Nighy | Canada, USA
World Premiere 

Black Ice Hubert Davis | Canada 
World Premiere

Butcher’s Crossing Gabe Polsky | USA
World Premiere 

The Greatest Beer Run Ever Peter Farrelly | USA 
World Premiere

The Hummingbird Francesca Archibugi | Italy, France
World Premiere

Hunt Lee Jung-jae | South Korea 
North American Premiere

A Jazzman’s Blues Tyler Perry | USA 
World Premiere

Kacchey Limbu Shubham Yogi | India
World Premiere

Moving On Paul Weitz | USA
World Premiere

Paris Memories Alice Winocour | France 
North American Premiere

Prisoner’s Daughter Catherine Hardwicke | USA 
World Premiere

Raymond & Ray Rodrigo García | USA
World Premiere

Roost Amy Redford | USA
World Premiere

Sidney Reginald Hudlin | USA
World Premiere

The Son Florian Zeller | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

 Opening Night Film  
*The Swimmers Sally El Hosaini | United Kingdom
World Premiere

What’s Love Got To Do With It? Shekhar Kapur | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*The Woman King Gina Prince-Bythewood | USA
World Premiere

---

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2022
*Previously announced 

Allelujah Sir Richard Eyre | United Kingdom 
World Premiere 

All Quiet on the Western Front Edward Berger | USA, Germany 
World Premiere

The Banshees Of Inisherin Martin McDonagh | United Kingdom, Ireland, USA
North American Premiere

Blueback Robert Connolly | Australia
World Premiere

The Blue Caftan Maryam Touzani | Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark
North American Premiere

Broker Hirokazu Kore-eda | South Korea
Canadian Premiere

*Brother Clement Virgo | Canada 
World Premiere

*Bros Nicholas Stoller | USA
World Premiere

*Catherine Called Birdy Lena Dunham | United Kingdom 
World Premiere 

Causeway Lila Neugebauer | USA
World Premiere

Chevalier Stephen Williams | USA
World Premiere

Corsage Marie Kreutzer | Austria, France, Germany
North American Premiere

Decision to Leave Park Chan-wook | South Korea
North American Premiere

Devotion JD Dillard | USA 
World Premiere 

Driving Madeleine Christian Carion | France
International Premiere

El Suplente Diego Lerman | Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, France
World Premiere

Empire of Light Sam Mendes | United Kingdom, USA
Canadian Premiere

The Eternal Daughter Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

*The Fabelmans Steven Spielberg | USA
World Premiere

*Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere

Good Night Oppy Ryan White | USA 
International Premiere

The Good Nurse Tobias Lindholm | USA
World Premiere 

Holy Spider Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France
Canadian Premiere

Joyland Saim Sadiq | Pakistan 
North American Premiere

The King’s Horseman Biyi Bandele | Nigeria 
World Premiere

The Lost King Stephen Frears | United Kingdom 
World Premiere 

A Man of Reason Jung Woo-sung | South Korea
World Premiere

The Menu Mark Mylod | USA
World Premiere

*On the Come Up Sanaa Lathan | USA
World Premiere 

One Fine Morning Mia Hansen-Løve | France
Canadian Premiere

Other People’s Children Rebecca Zlotowski | France
North American Premiere 

Moonage Daydream Brett Morgen | USA
North American Premiere

*My Policeman Michael Grandage | United Kingdom 
World Premiere

Nanny Nikyatu Jusu | USA
International Premiere

No Bears Jafar Panahi | Iran
North American Premiere

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile Kathlyn Horan | USA
International Premiere

Saint Omer Alice Diop | France 
North American Premiere

Sanctuary Zachary Wigon | USA
World Premiere

Stories Not to be Told Cesc Gay | Spain
World Premiere  

Triangle of Sadness Ruben Östlund | Sweden, United Kingdom, USA, France, Greece 
North American Premiere

Walk Up Hong Sangsoo | South Korea
World Premiere

Wendell & Wild Henry Selick | USA
World Premiere

The Whale Darren Aronofsky | USA
North American Premiere

Women Talking Sarah Polley | USA
International Premiere 

The Wonder Sebastián Lelio | United Kingdom, Ireland
Canadian Premiere

(Photo credit: Netflix)

#TIFF22: “THE SWIMMERS” ANNOUNCED AS OPENING NIGHT GALA

TIFF have announced today their Opening Night selection, which will be THE SWIMMERS! TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, says “The Swimmers was the very best kind of surprise when we saw it this summer — an exciting, epic journey and the arrival of an important filmmaker. I’m thrilled that audiences in Toronto will be the first to discover Sally El Hosaini’s remarkable film, and that this year on our Opening Night we can honour everyone who risks everything to reach a better, safer life.”.

Based on a true story, The Swimmers follows the journey from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.

Starring Manal Issa, Nathalie Issa, Ahmed Malek, Matthias Schweighöfer, Ali Suliman, Kinda Alloush, James Krishna Floyd, and Elmi Rashid Elmi. Directed by Sally El Hosaini, with a screenplay written by El Hosaini and multi-award-winning screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne. Produced by Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner alongside Ali Jaafar and Tim Cole with Stephen Daldry executive producing. 

Netflix will be releasing THE SWIMMERS, and it will premiere September 8, 2022 at TIFF.

#TIFF22: LENA DUNHAM’S “CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY” TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from Lena Dunham, but how exciting is it that her latest effort, CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY is set to premiere at TIFF ’22? The Film adapted from Karen Cushman‘s Novel, arrives later this year on Prime Video.

Synopsis:

The year? 1290. In the Medieval English village of Stonebridge, Lady Catherine (known as Birdy) is the youngest child of Lord Rollo and Lady Aislinn. Her playground is Stonebridge Manor, a house that, like the family, has seen better days. Financially destitute and utterly greedy, Rollo sees his daughter as his path out of financial ruin by marrying her off to a wealthy man for money and land. But Birdy, like all the great teen heroines, is spirited, clever, and adventurous–and ready to put off any suitor that comes in increasingly ingenious ways. Her imagination, defiance and deep belief in her own right to independence put her on a collision course with her parents. When the most vile suitor of all arrives, they are presented with the ultimate test of love for their daughter.

From Prime Video, Catherine Called Birdy stars Bella Ramsey, Lesley Sharp, Sophie Okonedo, Joe Alwyn, Isis Hainsworth, Dean-Charles Chapman, Paul Kaye, with Billie Piper and Andrew Scott. It is directed by and screenplay written by Lena Dunham, based on the book by Karen Cushman. Producers are Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Dunham, and Jo Wallett. 

CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY arrives September 23, 2022 on Prime Video Canada.

(Photo credit: Prime Video)

#TIFF22: “THE FABELMANS” TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Legendary Filmmaker Stephen Spielberg will be at TIFF ’22 with THE FABELMANS! The Film, inspired by his own upbringing stars Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen. Rogen and Williams last teamed-up on TIFF ’11 selection, TAKE THIS WALTZ.

Synopsis:

A deeply personal portrait of 20th Century American childhood, The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.

The film’s ensemble cast includes four-time Academy Award® nominee Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea, My Week with Marilyn); Paul Dano (The Batman, There Will Be Blood); Seth Rogen (Steve Jobs, An American Pickle); Gabriel LaBelle (The Predator, American Gigolo series); Oscar® nominee Jeannie Berlin (The Heartbreak Kid, Inherent Vice); Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, 13 Hours); Robin Bartlett (Moonstruck, Lean on Me); Keeley Karsten (Hunters, Evil Lives Here) and Academy Award® nominee Judd Hirsch (Uncut Gems, Ordinary People).

Inspired by Spielberg’s own childhood, The Fabelmans is written by Spielberg and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Caroline, or Change), who has earned Oscar nominations for his screenplays for Spielberg’s Lincoln and Munich. The film is produced by three-time Oscar® nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (West Side Story, The Post), Spielberg and Kushner.

Universal Pictures Canada release THE FABELMANS this November.

#TIFF22: “MY POLICEMAN” STARRING HARRY STYLES TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Huge news! Harry Styles stars in MY POLICEMAN along with The Crown‘s Emma Corrin, which just has been announced to premiere at TIFF ’22!

Adapted for the screen by Ron Nyswaner from Bethan Roberts’ award-winning novel of the same name, My Policeman follows three young people – policeman Tom (Harry Styles), teacher Marion (Emma Corrin), and museum curator Patrick (David Dawson)– as they embark on an emotional journey in 1950s Britain. Flashing forward to the 1990s, Tom (Linus Roache), Marion (Gina McKee), and Patrick (Rupert Everett) are still reeling with longing and regret, but now they have one last chance to repair the damage of the past. Based on the book by Bethan Roberts, director Michael Grandage carves a visually transporting, heart-stopping portrait of three people caught up in the shifting tides of history, liberty, and forgiveness. From Prime Video, My Policeman stars Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina Mckee, Linus Roache, David Dawson and Rupert Everett. It is directed by Michael Grandage from a screenplay by Ron Nyswaner, based on the book by Bethan Roberts. Producers are Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Robbie Rogers, Cora Palfrey and Philip Herd.

MY POLICEMAN arrives November 4, 2022 on Prime Video Canada.

(Photo/video credit: Prime Video Canada)

#TIFF22: “BROS” TO PREMIERE AT 2022 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

I can tell already that TIFF ’22 is going to be so epic! Amazing news! Billy Eichner‘s BROS will be premiering at the Festival this September! The Rom-Com directed by Nicholas Stoller, written by and starring Eichner also stars Canada’s own Luke Macfarlane! Judd Apatow produces!

Synopsis:

Bros is a smart, swoony and heartfelt comedy about how hard it is to find another tolerable human being to go through life with.

Starring Billy Eichner, the first openly gay man to co-write and star in his own major studio film, Bros features an entirely 2SLGBTQIA+ principal cast, including Luke Macfarlane (Killjoys), Amanda Bearse (Married…with Children), Guy Branum (The Other Two), Guillermo Díaz (Scandal), Dot-Marie Jones (Glee), Miss Lawrence (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Eve Lindley (Dispatches from Elsewhere), Ts Madison (The Ts Madison Experience), Jim Rash (The Way Way Back) and Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire).

Bros is directed by Nicholas Stoller from his screenplay with Eichner. The film is produced by Judd Apatow, Stoller and Josh Church (co-producer Trainwreck, Step Brothers) and is executive produced by Eichner and Karl Frankenfield.

Following its Premiere at TIFF ’22, BROS opens September 30, 2022 via Universal Pictures Canada.

(Photo credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

#FIRSTLOOK: “BROTHER” TO PREMIERE AT TIFF ’22

Filmed right here in Toronto, Clement Virgo‘s BROTHER will get a huge debut home at TIFF ’22! Based on David Chariandy’s prize-winning novel of the same name, Virgo adapted the Novel for the screen.

Synopsis:

Brother is the story of Francis and Michael, sons of Caribbean immigrants maturing into young men amidst Toronto’s pulsing 1990’s hip-hop scene. A mystery unfolds when escalating tensions set off a series of events which changes the course of the brothers’ lives forever.

Brother stars Lamar Johnson (The Hate U Give), Aaron Pierre (Underground Railroad), Kiana Madeira (Fear Street) and Marsha Stephanie Blake (When They See Us). The film is produced by recently announced member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Damon D’Oliveira, as well as Virgo, of Conquering Lion Pictures, along with Aeschylus Poulos and Sonya Di Rienzo of Hawkeye Pictures. Executive producers are Aaron L. Gilbert and Steven Thibault of BRON and Laurie May and Noah Segal of Elevation Pictures.The film will be distributed in Canada by Elevation Pictures and BRON Releasing will manage the sale in other territories.

(Photo credit: Elevation Pictures)

#TIFF: TIFF ANNOUNCE “SUMMER OF SEOUL”

TIFF will be celebrating Korean Cinema this Summer with their Summer of Seoul, launching July 8, 2022 with an Opening Night Celebration! The Screenings and Special Events all take place at TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX.

Films & Special Events

July 8, 7pm
Opening Night: Free live performance by Korea Town Acid and mural art by Jieun Kim (a.k.a. June)

Summer of Seoul jumps beyond the screen through free public art activations in the TIFF Bell Lightbox Atrium. Gather at 7pm for an improvisational set by electronic musician and DJ Korea Town Acid. Born in Seoul and currently based in Toronto, Korea Town Acid layers hardware, drum machines, samplers, and synths to create cinematic and genre-bending soundscapes with moody textures. Her song “Sobriety,” from her latest album Cosmos, was nominated for Underground Dance Single of the Year at the 2022 Juno Awards.

Then, witness the unveiling of mural art by muralist, tattoo artist, and art producer Jieun Kim (a.k.a. June), on display in the TIFF Bell Lightbox Atrium throughout Summer of Seoul. Born in Korea, June’s work explores the immigrant experience and questions notions of location and “home.” As an expansion of her studio work, June is interested in creating safe spaces through street art.

July 8, 8pm
Opening Night: Special Screening of Winter Sonata (Episodes 1 & 2)
The Opening Night event will be hosted by ETALK and THE SOCIAL’s Lainey Lui.
The K-drama that helped start the Korean Wave, 2002’s Winter Sonata is necessary education for fans of the genre. The journey of talented musical student Joon-sang (Bae Yong-joon) and the innocent Yoo-jin (Choi Ji-woo) from friendship to first love, beset by familial obstacles and tragedy along the way, propelled Bae to superstardom and earned him the regal honorific of “Yonsama” from his Japanese fans. The series, so popular that it was credited with boosting South Korea’s “soft power” and facilitating geopolitical relationships, also spawned fashion trends, an anime, an industry of film-location tours, murals, and a musical.

July 9, 5pm
Peppermint Candy – North American premiere of the new 4K restoration
This screening will be introduced by Robyn Citizen, TIFF’s Director Festival Programming & Cinematheque.
This end-of-the-millenium opus by writer-director Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine, Burning) traverses 20 years (1979–1999) of defining events in Korean history through the story of Kim Yong-ho (Sol Kyung-gu), a middle-aged everyman seen rushing in despair towards a train as the film opens. A series of episodic flashbacks in reverse chronology trace how Yong-ho was shaped by, and sometimes actively complicit in, socio-political forces — the authoritarian period, the Democratization protests, and the IMF crisis of the late ’90s — as well as personal failures that hurt others and slowly unravelled his sense of self. A film that seamlessly blends social realism, melodrama, and Lee’s singular ability to depict human complexity, Peppermint Candy was produced during a pivotal transitional period for the South Korean film industry and helped to define New Korean Cinema as a distinct cinematic movement, making it essential viewing.

July 9, 8pm
Joint Security Area
The blockbuster thriller that put Park Chan-wook on the map as an auteur of New Korean Cinema, Joint Security Area broke box-office records when it was released in 2000, and firmly established Song Kang-ho as a leading actor. One night, an injured South Korean army sergeant, Lee Soo-hyeok (Lee Byung-hun), is rescued as he tries to cross from the north side of the Demilitarized Zone. He is fleeing an altercation that has left two North Korean soldiers dead and raised a number of questions as to why and how Sgt. Lee ended up on the other side of the border. The film offers a rare, fully fleshed-out North Korean character (Song, in a commanding and charismatic performance) who is neither a spy nor a mere mouthpiece for political propaganda.

July 10, 2pm
The World of Us
This screening will feature an introduction by series programmer Hanbin Kim.
Yoon Ga-eun’s moving, true-to-life film tackles the realities of bullying, classroom pecking orders, and the importance of loyalty. Written and directed by Yoon — whose short film Sprout won the Crystal Bear in the 2014 Berlin Film Festival’s Kplus competition — The World of Us explores the profound impact of the ostracization experienced by many young students.

July 15, 6:15pm
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance – Presented on 35mm!
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance explores the lengths to which honest people will go when circumstances push them into tight places. Deaf and individualistic, Ryu (Shin Ha-kyun) works at a factory and spends his spare time with his beloved sister (Im Ji-eun) and his offbeat girlfriend, Yeong-mi (Bae Doona). When he loses his job, Ryu takes desperate measures and becomes entangled in dangerous underworld activities. He soon winds up on the wrong side of his former employer, Park Dong-jin (Song Kang-ho), a dark force to be reckoned with. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a brilliantly constructed film and a brutal tale that director Park Chan-wook imbues with a visceral atmosphere of overwhelming claustrophobia and desperation. Park’s exceptional film draws upon his own sympathy — not for vengeance itself, but for the pain that spawns it.

July 16, 7:30pm & July 21, 8pm
Oldboy
Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004, Park Chan-wook’s revenge masterpiece is credited with bringing Korean cinema to mainstream attention in North America. The film begins on a dark and stormy night when an ordinary man, Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), is kidnapped and inexplicably imprisoned in a tiny room for 15 years. Finally freed by his unseen, anonymous captor, the revenge-hungry Dae-su finds himself enmeshed in an even larger and more sadistic web.

July 22, 9pm & July 24, 4pm
Lady Vengeance – Presented on 35mm!
The apotheosis of revenge wears red eyeshadow and an intense, angelic look in Park Chan-wook’s last entry in his dazzling Vengeance Trilogy. Lady Vengeance is a perilous venture into the psychology of a woman pursuing her personal sense of justice — without ever finding salvation. Lee Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae) has been imprisoned for 13 years for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a six-year-old boy. With her fascinating mixture of evil wisdom and naïveté, she wastes no time in winning over her cellmates’ sympathies; all the prisoners become instrumental in the scheme Geum-ja has meticulously drafted for her future as a free woman.

July 23, 7:30pm
Tale of Cinema with Dennis Lim
The screening will be preceded by an extended introduction from Dennis Lim, Artistic Director of the New York Film Festival, and followed by a book signing of Lim’s most recent publication, Tale of Cinema.
Having premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Hong Sang-soo’s sixth feature film remains — amid a vertiginously prolific filmography that has yielded 21 films since — one of the filmmaker’s major touchstones, not least because it introduces his use of zooms and voiceover. In the first story, depressive student Sang-won (Lee Ki-woo) runs into an old flame, Young-shil (Uhm Ji-won). After a night of copious drinking and fumbling foreplay in a hotel room, they engage in a suicide pact. The second story focuses on Dong-soo (Kim Sang-kyung), a recent film-school graduate who, while exiting a cinema, sees a woman he believes to be the actress (also named Young-shil) from the film he has just watched — which, incredibly, may have been inspired by his life.

July 24, 7:30pm
House of Hummingbird
This screening will feature an introduction by series programmer Hanbin Kim.
Amid middle-school heartbreak, complications at cram school, and a complicated family life, a South Korean teenager faces the trials of growing up and finding her identity, in Bora Kim’s sincere coming-of-age tale.

July 29, 6:15pm
Thirst
Park Chan-wook’s cheeky take on Émile Zola’s scandalous serialized 19th-century novel Thérèse Raquin puts a modern, globalized spin on vampire mythology. The filmmaker’s frequent collaborator Song Kang-ho plays Sang-hyun, hot priest to Tae-ju, the repressed wife of his childhood friend. The two men reunite after news of Sang-hyun’s miraculous recovery from the fatal Emmanuel Virus — contracted through a failed vaccine experiment — spreads beyond his awed parishioners and into the wider community. However, the blood transfusion that cured Sang-hyun of the deadly virus has infected him with an undeadly one that intensifies all of his appetites. 

July 31, 1:30pm
K-Mania: The Popularity of Korean Film and Culture
We are thrilled to host a panel of experts — University of Toronto professor Dr. Michelle Cho; film critic, journalist, and podcaster Carolyn Hinds; and PhD student Grayson Lee — to discuss the films, music, dramas, and fandom that make up the cultural phenomenon of the Korean Wave. Moderated by Robyn Citizen, Director of Festival Programming and Cinematheque at TIFF.

July 31, 7:30pm
Chunhyang – 4K Digital Presentation!
This screening will include an in-person introduction by University of Toronto professor Dr. Michelle Cho.
The great Im Kwon-taek is one of South Korea’s most important and prolific filmmakers. His work is distinguished by its spectacular, epic cinematography depicting the varied and beautiful landscape of his homeland. Im is also the finest living chronicler of Korean culture, centring his much-loved nation and its arts. Radiant, exuberant, and passion-filled, Chunhyang is Im’s most accessible work by far. The film’s ingenious structure sees a traditional Pansori singer recounting a complex 18th-century epic before a large contemporary audience. 

August 7, 1:30pm
Microhabitat
This screening will feature an introduction by series programmer Hanbin Kim.
Set in contemporary Seoul, Microhabitat follows Miso (Esom), a housemaid with three mandatory indulgences: cigarettes, a glass of whisky at the end of the day, and emotional intimacy with her boyfriend. Jeon Go-woon’s debut film examines the conflicts between personal happiness and universal values, and the weight of contradictions a person has to endure. 

August 20, 6pm
Mother – Presented on 35mm!
This screening will feature a pre-recorded introduction by Karen Han, author of Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema.
Bong Joon-ho followed the smash success of The Host with this darkly stylish thriller. The magnificent Kim Hye-ja stars as the doting mother of a grown son with an intellectual disability. When a young female student is brutally murdered and her son is blamed as the culprit, the middle-aged matriarch swings into action to prove his innocence by any means necessary. As he did in Memories of Murder, Bong balances humour and horror to stunning effect, while Kim — one of South Korea’s most legendary actresses — creates an indelible portrait of motherly devotion taken to its most ruthless extreme.

August 20, 9:15pm & August 26, 9:30pm
The Host – Presented on 35mm!
Inspired by a boyhood fantasy, Bong Joon-ho brought his producer a picture of Seoul’s Han River with an image of the Loch Ness monster Photoshopped in — and thus The Host was born. In this truly original and audacious creature feature, a lazy afternoon alongside the Han is shattered when a large, unidentified mass hanging from a bridge reveals itself to be a slobbering monstrosity that snatches away the young daughter of dimwitted snack vendor, Gang-du (Song Kang-ho, a recurring star in Bong’s films). With the city shut down by the government and their American “advisors,” Gang-du and his family go on the lam to try and retrieve the girl from the monster’s slimy clutches.

August 21, 7:30pm
Gull
Provocative emerging director Kim Mijo’s debut feature follows Obok (Jung Ae-hwa), a mother and wife in Seoul who holds a stall in a food market that is threatened by impending gentrification. Days before her eldest daughter’s wedding, Obok is sexually assaulted by a fellow stallholder, who is also the chairman of the redevelopment committee. She attempts to repress her trauma, but her anger continues to grow until she finally reveals the truth to her eldest daughter and contacts the police. Justice seems hopeless due to a lack of concern from the authorities or support from her family and community — but against all odds, she speaks up to protect her dignity.

August 26, 6:15pm & August 28, 4pm
Burning
These screenings will be introduced by Robyn Citizen, TIFF’s Director Festival Programming & Cinematheque.
A profoundly enigmatic take on Haruki Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning,” Lee Chang-dong’s exploration of a vexed ménage à trois in contemporary Seoul begins as working-class would-be writer Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in) encounters Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), a young woman who used to go to his school, and agrees to take care of her cat while she travels to Africa. She returns with a new “friend” in tow: a handsome, refined, and wealthy man whose name, Ben (Steven Yeun), seems to signal his international aspirations but whose vocation remains mysterious. As the men fall into an uneasy relationship — the obsessed Jong-su is both fascinated by Ben’s upscale lifestyle and jealous of his suave hold on Hae-mi — the fate of the drifty young woman in the middle seems increasingly imperilled.

 Tickets go on-sale at http://tiff.net June 22, 2022 at 10 am and to the public on June 29, 2022.

#GIVEAWAY: ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A RUN-OF-ENGAGEMENT PASS TO SEE “FLEE” IN TORONTO

Elevation Pictures x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win a Run-of-Engagement Pass to see critically-acclaimed FLEE at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Details here.

Synopsis:

Recounted mostly through animation, Amin opens up about his past for the first time of his journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan. He begins to look back over his life as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon-to-be husband.

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK.

Rules and regulations here.

Note: Winners will only be contacted from our official Facebook account. Please do not accept friend requests from other accounts asking you to give out your personal information.

Elevation Pictures release FLEE now playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)