Despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers strikes, the Toronto Film Festival continues to turn up the star wattage for its 48th edition, adding movies with Dakota Johnson, Bérénice Bejo, Awkwafina, Sandra Oh and Mads Mikkelsen to its lineup on Thursday.
For the Gala section, TIFF unveiled the A-list heavy crime drama Finestkind from Brian Helgeland, the Oscar-winning writer-director behind Mystic River and L.A. Confidential; and A Knight’s Tale, which stars Ben Foster, Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones and Toby Wallace.
Also headed to Roy Thomson Hall is the South Korean drama A Normal Family, directed by Hur Jin-ho, the Korean auteur who in the past premiered Dangerous Liaisons and April Snow in Toronto. TIFF earlier tapped fellow Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers for its Special Presentations sidebar, and has now bumped that drama up to a gala screening in Toronto after a world bow in Locarno.
There’s also a gala world premiere for Karan Boolani’s directorial debut Thank You For Coming, with Anil Kapoor starring and Rhea Kapoor producing. In the Special Presentations section, Toronto programmers added Christy Hall’s directorial debut Daddio, with Dakota Johnson paired with Sean Penn in a drama about a woman in a cab talking to the taxi driver about key relationships in their lives; and Mexican director Alejandro Lozano’s El Sabor de la Navidad.
That will join the 20th Century Studios comedy Quiz Lady, starring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh and getting a first look in Toronto ahead of a November bow on Hulu in the U.S.; and a world premiere for Lone Scherfig’s The Movie Teller, which features Bérénice Bejo, the silent star of The Artist.
Also booked into Special Presentations is The Promised Land, a Danish period drama starring Mads Mikkelsen from A Royal Affair director Nikolaj Arcel that will get a Canadian premiere after competing in Venice; Ru, a 1970s-set drama by Canadian director Charles-Olivier Michaud about a shy young Vietnamese woman adjusting to a new life in Canada; and the Venice competition film Evil Does Not Exist, the latest feature from Oscar-winning Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
TIFF also unveiled its Centerpiece program, which includes the Cannes titles Close Your Eyes by Victor Erice and Aki Kaurismaki’s deadpan comedy Fallen Leaves; the immigrant drama Green Border from Polish director Agnieszka Holland; and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, which is set in Japan and also bowed in Cannes.
There’s world premieres in the sidebar formerly known as Contemporary World Cinema for Ian Gabriel’s Death of a Whistleblower, a true events thriller about biological warfare in Africa and the Middle East; Italian actor and director Edoardo Gabbriellini’s Holiday; Louise Archambault’s Irena’s Vow, the Holocaust drama starring Sophie Nelisse and Dougray Scott; and Hala filmmaker Minhail Baig’s latest film, We Grown Now, which is set in her hometown of Chicago.
The Toronto Film Festival, set to run Sept. 7 to 17, earlier announced it would open its 2023 edition with Japanese anime legend Hayao Miyazaki’s much anticipated final film, The Boy and the Heron.
Galas
A Normal Family Hur Jin-ho | South Korea World Premiere
Finestkind Brian Helgeland | USA World Premiere
Smugglers Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea North American Premiere
Thank You For Coming Karan Boolani | India World Premiere
Special Presentations
Daddio Christy Hall | United States International Premiere
El Sabor de la Navidad Alejandro Lozano | Mexico World Premiere
Evil Does Not Exist Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Japan North American Premiere
Quiz Lady Jessica Yu | USA World Premiere
Ru Charles-Olivier Michaud | Canada World Premiere
The Movie Teller Lone Scherfig | Spain/France/Chile World Premiere
The Promised Land Nikolaj Arcel | Denmark/Germany/Sweden Canadian Premiere
Centerpiece
100 Yards Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng | China International Premiere
About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey/France/Germany/Sweden North American Premiere
A Happy Day Hisham Zaman | Norway/Denmark World Premiere
A Ravaging Wind (El Viento Que Arrasa) Paula Hernández | Argentina/Uruguay World Premiere
A Road to A Village (गाउ आएको बाटो) Nabin Subba | Nepal World Premiere
Banel & Adama (Banel e Adama) Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France/Senegal/Mali North American Premiere
Chuck Chuck Baby Janis Pugh | United Kingdom International Premiere
City of Wind (сэр сэр салхи) Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir | France/Mongolia/Portugal/Netherlands/Qatar/Germany North American Premiere
Close Your Eyes (Cerrar Los Ojos) Víctor Erice | Spain/Argentina North American Premiere
Luminaries
Death of a Whistleblower Ian Gabriel | South Africa World Premiere
Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet lehdet) Aki Kaurismäki | Finland/Germany Canadian Premiere
Luminaries
Fitting In Molly McGlynn | Canada
Canadian Premiere
Sloan Science on Film Showcase, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Green Border (Zielona Granica) Agnieszka Holland | Poland/Czech Republic/France/Belgium North American Premiere
Luminaries
Hey, Viktor! Cody Lightning | Canada Canadian Premiere
Holiday Edoardo Gabbriellini | Italy World Premiere
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant)
Ariane Louis-Seize | Canada North American Premiere
I Do Not Come To You By Chance Ishaya Bako | Nigeria World Premiere
In Flames Zarrar Kahn | Canada/Pakistan North American Premiere
Inshallah a Boy (Inshallah Walad) Amjad Al Rasheed | Jordan/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/Egypt North American Premiere
Irena’s Vow Louise Archambault | Canada/Poland World Premiere
Je’vida Katja Gauriloff | Finland Canadian Premiere
Kanaval Henri Pardo | Canada/Luxembourg World Premiere
Limbo Ivan Sen | Australia North American Premiere
Lost Ladies (Laapataa Ladies) Kiran Rao | India World Premiere
Mountains Monica Sorelle | USA International Premiere
National Anthem Luke Gilford | USA International Premiere
Perfect Days Wim Wenders | Japan Canadian Premiere
Robot Dreams Pablo Berger | Spain/France North American Premiere
Shadow of Fire Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan North American Premiere
Shayda Noora Niasari | Australia Canadian Premiere
Sira Apolline Traoré | Burkina Faso/Senegal/France/Germany North American Premiere
Snow Leopard (Xue Bao) Pema Tseden | China North American Premiere
Sweet Dreams Ena Sendijarević | Netherlands/ Sweden/ Indonesia/France North American Premiere
The Breaking Ice Anthony Chen | China North American Premiere
The Delinquents Rodrigo Moreno | Argentina/Brazil/Luxembourg/Chile North American Premiere
The Feeling That the Time for Something Has Passed Joanna Arnow | USA North American Premiere
The Monk and the Gun Pawo Choyning Dorji | Bhutan/France/USA/Taiwan International Premiere
The Nature of Love (Simple Comme Sylvain) Monia Chokri | Canada/France North American Premiere
The Reeds (Son Hasat) Cemil Ağacıkoğlu | Turkey/Bulgaria World Premiere
The Settlers (Los Colonos) Felipe Gálvez Haberle | Chile/Argentina/France/Denmark/United Kingdom/Taiwan/Sweden/Germany
North American Premiere
The Teachers’ Lounge Ilker Çatak | Germany North American Premiere
They Shot the Piano Player (Dispararon Al Pianista) Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal | Spain/France Canadian Premiere
Toll (Pedágio) Carolina Markowicz | Brazil/Portugal World Premiere
Upon Open Sky (A Cielo Abierto) Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga | Mexico/Spain North American Premiere
We Grown Now Minhal Baig | USA World Premiere
Woodland (WALD) Elisabeth Scharang | Austria World Premiere
Your Mother’s Son (Anak Ka Ng Ina Mo) Jun Robles Lana | Philippines World Premiere
Documentary
I am Sirat A collaboration between Deepa Mehta and Sirat Taneja | Canada World Premiere
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