The increased emphasis on red carpet and premiere status in Toronto seems to have left the festival with an identity crisis. Compared to festivals like Locarno and Rotterdam, which have hit their stride in promoting the new guard of international cinema, just a quick glance at this year’s program guide makes it clear that the “Festival of Festivals” is in the midst of redefining itself. Wavelengths, formerly a sidebar of avant-garde shorts programs, has expanded to include the section previously known as Visions. Many of the more interesting films in the festival could be found here, including the much-buzzed-about Leviathan […]

Sally Potter’s theoretical bent has long placed her in a strange position, in which difficult films like Yes consistently gain mainstream distribution while leaving audiences demanding refunds. Continuing this duality, Ginger & Rosa—an emotionally charged tale of two girls coming of age in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis—finds Potter treating overtly political material with a level of accessibility in plot and performance that’s new to her work. Rosa (Alice Englert) and Ginger (Elle Fanning) are lifelong friends born on the same day. Rosa is the more carefree and liberated of the two, while the sensitive Ginger takes pleasure […]