Who’d have guessed that Woody Allen would have eventually become such a cute 77-year-old. At any rate, wrapping today’s big, big round of announcements from the Toronto International Film Festival, running September 5 through 15, we now have more Galas, quite a few more Special Presentations, and the TIFF Kids program to look forward to. To see all the previous lineup announcements, click here.
GALAS
Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties. “Clive Owen and Billy Crudup lead a powerhouse cast—including Mila Kunis, Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone)—as a pair of brothers on opposite sides of the law in Guillaume Canet’s English-language remake of the gritty, 1970s-set crime drama Les liens du sang.”
Fred Schepisi’s Words and Pictures. “Clive Owen [again!] and Juliette Binoche star in this playful comic drama about an English teacher who challenges the school’s art teacher to a ‘war’ between words and pictures—and, in the process, sparks an unlikely romance.”
Marion Vernoux’s Bright Days Ahead (Les Beaux jours). “César-winning French cinema icon Fanny Ardant stars in this sophisticated and sexy drama about a married woman in her sixties tumbling into an affair with a much younger man.”
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Alberto Arvelo’s The Liberator (Libertador). “Rising international star Édgar Ramírez (Carlos) stars in this enthralling epic about Venezuelan political leader Simón Bolívar and his lifelong quest to bring autonomy and democracy to the Americas.”
Sean Durkin’s Southcliffe. “In this timely and ambitious four-part dramatic series, director Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and celebrated British television writer Tony Grisoni tell the tragic tale of a ‘sleepy little English market town’ turned upside down when one of its little-liked residents turns his guns on his fellow citizens.”
Reha Erdem‘s Singing Women (Sarki Söyleyen Kadinlar). “An island off the coast of Turkey is about to be evacuated due to a possible earthquake—but its inhabitants have been stricken with a mysterious illness, consigning them to an uncertain fate. Reha Erdem’s genre-defying new film transports us to a wonderfully wry, oblique universe.”
Dexter Fletcher‘s Sunshine on Leith. “The sophomore feature from British actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher (Wild Bill) stars Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur) and Jane Horrocks (Little Voice) in a vibrant cinematic adaptation of the acclaimed stage musical, inspired by the chart-topping album from Scottish band The Proclaimers.”
James Franco’s Child of God. “The latest from actor-turned-filmmaker James Franco is adapted from characteristically tough and violent Cormac McCarthy novel that draws the director’s ambitions into disturbing terrain as it explores the rituals and desperation of the Southern US’s rural poor.”
Alex Gibney’s The Armstrong Lie. “Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) masterfully explores the fall of the disgraced cycling champion following the 2009 Tour de France, making use of his extraordinary access to attain rare interviews with former teammates, alleged doping mastermind Dr. Michele Ferrari, and Armstrong himself.”
Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s The Last of Robin Hood. “Kevin Kline stars as Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling Hollywood star and notorious ladies man, in this stylish biopic about the actors’ final years and high-flying, May-December romance with underage starlet, Beverly Aadland (Dakota Fanning).”
Megan Griffiths’s Lucky Them. “A rock journalist (Toni Collette) is given the impossible assignment to hunt down a long-unseen revered local musician, and is joined on the road by a music-hating, aspiring documentarian (Thomas Haden Church), in director Megan Griffith’s edgy comedy.”
Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu’s Love is the Perfect Crime (Amour Crime Parfait). “Mathieu Amalric plays a befuddled, womanizing professor whose complicated life takes a turn for the worse following the disappearance of a student, in Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu’s wickedly fun comic thriller.”
Patrice Leconte’s A Promise (Une Promesse). “Set in pre-First World War Germany, Patrice Leconte’s venture into English-language filmmaking chronicles the simmering love triangle between an ailing factory owner (Alan Rickman), his young bride (Rebecca Hall) and his protégé (Richard Madden).”
Lee Sang-il’s Unforgiven (Yurusarezarumono). “Ken Watanabe (Inception) stars in director Lee Sang-il’s visionary remake of Clint Eastwood’s iconic Academy Award winner. Continuing a rich tradition of cross-cultural adaptations, Lee swaps six-shooters for samurai swords, transposing the classic western to Meiji-period Japan.”
Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now. “Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) stars in this adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s award-winning near-future novel about an American teenager sent to live with her family in Britain on the eve of the Third World War, directed by Kevin McDonald (The Last King of Scotland).”
Laïla Marrakchi’s Rock the Casbah. “Marrakchi returns to the Festival with another lively family drama chronicling the foibles and hypocrisies of Morocco’s middle class, aided by a stellar ensemble that includes screen legend Omar Sharif and Nadine Labaki, director and star of 2011 People’s Choice Award Winner Where Do We Go Now?“
Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu). “This decade-spanning epic from maestro Hayao Miyazaki is his most unique films to date, inspired by the true stories of Jiro Horikoshi, visionary designer of one the most beautiful airplanes in history—the famed Zero fighter—and the poet Tatsuo Hori, whose verses are brought to life by the vivid animation of Studio Ghibli.” See the first reviews from Japan.
Arie Posin’s The Face of Love. “Five years after the death of her beloved husband Garrett (Ed Harris), Nikki (Annette Bening) meets a man who seems to be his exact double. Arie Posen directs this emotionally thorny drama about how we cope with loss, live in the moment, and ultimately move forward.”
Charlie Stratton’s Therese. “This bold adaptation of Émile Zola’s sordid novel of adultery and murder in 19th-century Paris places the talented Elizabeth Olsen in the title role, engaging our sympathies and our revulsion in equal measure, until the satisfyingly grim finale.”
Nils Tavernier’s The Finishers. “Inspired by the remarkable real-life feats of Rick and Dick Hoyt, this sophomore drama from veteran documentarian Nils Tavernier (Aurore) is the powerful story of a father who teams with his wheelchair-bound son to conquer the grueling gauntlet of an Ironman Triathlon.”
Johnnie To‘s Blind Detective. “To’s first collaboration with superstars Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau is a deliciously madcap riff on the ‘buddy cop’ genre, as a retired sleuth with an uncanny ability teams with a quick-witted inspector to fight Hong Kong’s criminal underworld, one costume at a time.”
John Turturro’s Fading Gigolo. “Woody Allen plays as bookseller-turned-pimp to John Turturro’s middle-aged neophyte hustler, in actor-writer-director Turturro’s inspired left-field comedy. The premise is as inspired as it is absurd, and Turturro carries it off with his own affecting and surprisingly romantic vision of New York City.”
TIFF KIDS
Ask Hasselbalch’s Antboy. “A shy twelve-year-old becomes a superhero after being bitten by a very special ant, in this delightful comedy-adventure based on the popular children’s books by Kenneth Bøgh Andersen.”
Thierry Ragobert’s Amazonia. “Born and raised in captivity, a capuchin monkey suddenly finds himself fighting for survival in the wilds of the Amazon jungle in this remarkable live-action adventure, shot on location in breathtaking 3D.”
Shilpa Ranade’s The World of Goopi and Bagha. “A captivating animated adaptation of a cherished children’s classic by Satyajit Ray, this timeless fable is the story of Goopi and Bagha, a pair of musicians gifted with magical powers by the King of Ghosts.”
Oskar Santos’s Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang. “Zip & Zap, Spain’s most beloved mischief makers, land on the big screen at last in this action-packed escapade, which pits the comic book heroes against the nefarious headmaster of a rural reform school.”
Anthony Silverston’s Khumba. “Presented in stunning 3D and featuring the voice talents of Liam Neeson, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Buscemi, this vibrant savannah adventure summons the spirit of The Lion King to tell the tale of a semi-striped zebra on a quest for a legendary watering hole.”
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