#TIFF: TIFF ANNOUNCE FEBRUARY 2024 PROGRAMMING

This February, TIFF Cinematheque is set to captivate audiences with a dynamic lineup featuring legendary directors, as the return of popular series such as From The Collection, Midnight Madness Presents, MDFF Selects, See the North, New and Restored, TIFF Next Wave Presents, and Oscar-nominated international films, promising an exhilarating cinematic experience.

Among the highlights is a special partnership between Wavelengths Presents, LUX Scotland, and Mercer, Union Toronto, to welcome to TIFF Lightbox Turner Prize–winning artist Charlie Prodger, whose celebrated trilogy of films (Stoneymollan Trail, BRIDGIT, SaF05) will be presented together for the first time in North America.

Adding to the excitement, TIFF Cinematheque pays tribute to the iconic Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, an original master of cinema, marking his centenary, and his extraordinary contributions to film also being recognized as an official 100th anniversary celebration in UNESCO’s calendar. The mini-retrospective titled 100 Years of Parajanov will showcase his final masterpiece, Ashik Kerib. This film serves as a poignant love letter to Azeri culture, exemplifying Parajanov’s unparalleled artistic legacy that continues to resonate with audiences today.

A spotlight on the great American writer, thinker, and civil rights activist James Baldwin in Remembering James Baldwin, programmed as part of Black History Month, showcases four recently restored documentaries, three of which are shorts. Award-winning writer, executive producer, and host Amanda Parris joins TIFF for the launch of For the Culture with Amanda Parris, a CBC Gem documentary series. Access to the screening and a pre-screening conversation with Amanda for emerging creators will be provided by Visa through the Visa Sharing the Screen Program.

TIFF’s celebration of Lunar New Year, generously supported by the RBC Foundation, kicks off on February 11 with a special screening of Lulu Wang’s acclaimed film The Farewell. Prior to the screening, audiences are invited to explore an arts fair in the TIFF Lightbox atrium, a free drop-in event presented in partnership with Asian Arts and Culture Trust.

In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, TIFF Cinematheque is presenting the works of Yash Chopra and Douglas Sirk, two filmmakers operating in vastly different industries and time periods, bridging the audiences through their heroine-led melodramas in alluring yet subversive ways in Desirous Discords: Romantic Melodramas of Yash Chopra & Douglas Sirk. Foregrounding in their work the finest of aesthetic pleasures, both Chopra and Sirk surround their self-sacrificing characters with bourgeois excess, florid stimuli, and a spectral, lurking animacy.

With awards season in full swing, Lila Avilés’ Tótem (TIFF ’23), Mexico’s entry for this year’s Best International Feature Oscar, screens on January 25 as part of MDFF Selects, followed by a limited theatrical run starting February 2; the latest installment in See the North presented by MUBI ― TIFF’s free monthly series of Canadian cinematic treasures ― is Nisha Pahuja’s documentary To Kill a Tiger on February 13, shortlisted for the 2024 Oscars, and a 2022 Canada’s Top Ten film; for the 19th consecutive year, ShortsTV and Magnolia Pictures present the Oscar-Nominated Short Films opening February 16; and Pawo Choyning Dorji’s The Monk and the Gun (TIFF ’23), Bhutan’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar, begins its theatrical run on February 23.

Other New Releases coming to TIFF Lightbox include the highly anticipated release of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s period action drama Malaikottai Vaaliban, featuring veteran superstar Mohanlal, opening on January 24, joining TIFF’s recently announced lineup of New Releases: Captain Miller, Origin, Ferrari, The Teachers’ Lounge, Four Daughters, The Settlers, How To Have Sex, The Peasants, and Perfect Days.

Secret Movie Club and International Cinema Cafe also return this month. TIFF Cinematheque and Public Programming tickets are available now for TIFF Members and to the public on January 19. For tickets to New Releases, check tiff.net.