Toronto International Film Festival 2023
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TIFF 2023: Flipside, Nowhere Near
Introducing his third feature, Nowhere Near, Miko Revereza said that his first, the train travelogue No Data Plan, was shot in three days and edited in about a month, fooling him into thinking every movie would be as easy. Instead, Nowhere Near took seven years and five or six entirely different cuts to compose itself. Similarly contemplating a mountain of longitudinally acquired footage, Chris Wilcha’s Flipside is assembled from work shot over nearly three decades. Their approaches and intentions are entirely different, but the two films work well together. Wilcha is the maker of 2000’s The Target Shoots First, an immaculate workplace comedy about his mid-’90s […]
by Vadim Rizov on Sep 15, 2023 -
“Is There an Orchestra Playing in the Depths of the Glacier?”: Margreth Olin on Her TIFF-Debuting Documentary, Songs of Earth
My DOX:AWARD top pick for the Ekko jury grid I participated in at this year’s CPH:DOX, Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth, was also number one in my critic’s notebook for the doc most needing to be experienced on the big screen. In this palpably loving portrait of the veteran filmmaker’s elderly parents and the country that shaped them (and her), “Olin juxtaposes jaw-dropping, drone-captured images of the awe-inspiring Norwegian landscape with closeups of her dad’s bald pate, his tender hand on her mother’s back, as the environment and humankind become one” (per that notebook, and my coverage). Thus, it comes as little surprise […]
by Lauren Wissot on Sep 13, 2023 -
TIFF 2023: The Holdovers, Hit Man
In terms of acquisitions, the most financially significant screening of last year’s TIFF was an industry-only one of The Holdovers, a Miramax-developed title whose worldwide rights promptly sold for $30 million to Focus Features; this year, it returned for press and public inspection following its Telluride premiere. It is, as previously announced, a crowdpleaser directed by Alexander Payne, designed for career rejuvenation after the ambitious, unwieldy and expensive commercial failure of 2017’s Downsizing, and effectively written under his instruction by sitcom writer-producer David Hemingson. He cannibalized what was initially written as a prep school-set pilot by, among other things, following Payne’s directive to […]
by Vadim Rizov on Sep 12, 2023 -
“Forgetfulness is Fought with Words”: Lina Soualem on Her TIFF-Premiering Doc, Bye Bye Tiberias
“I wonder if we can find ourselves fully in a world we invented,” the French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker and actor Lina Soualem eloquently ponders in the role of ever-questioning narrator of Bye Bye Tiberias, her extraordinary, multigenerational, female-focused family portrait. Seen through contemporary footage and 90s home movies — expertly interwoven with material from historical archives — the women include not only Soualem’s conservative, customs-observing grandmother and great-grandmother, who never left the Palestinian village their entire community had been forcibly displaced to, but also her mother, Hiam Abbass, a rebellious dreamer set on becoming an international actress. And now, 30 years on […]
by Lauren Wissot on Sep 11, 2023 -
21 Films to Watch During TIFF 2023
The Toronto International Film Festival is fully underway beginning today, and while the vibe will certainly be different without as many Hollywood stars on the red carpet — a number of films have qualified for SAG-AFTRA interim agreements while probably at least as many either were not able to or decided not to try — there’s as always a strong lineup of films to look forward to. Below, Filmmaker‘s editors have compiled a list of 20 films to watch out for, many of which ones that have premiered at other festivals along with several world premieres we are hearing particularly […]
by Natalia Keogan on Sep 7, 2023 -
TIFF 2023 Centerpiece Program Features Films by Víctor Erice, Aki Kaurismäki, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and More
Formerly known as the Contemporary World Cinema program, TIFF announces today the lineup for its 2023 Centerpiece slate, which includes films from Víctor Erice, Aki Kaurismäki, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Wim Wenders and many more. Additionally, TIFF reveals further selections for its gala and special presentation as well as documentary lineups. So far, the festival has also announced programming for its Platform, Midnight Madness and Discovery categories. “We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece programme, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer, in a press release. “The […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Aug 10, 2023 -
TIFF Reveals 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery Lineups
TIFF announces the lineups for its 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery programs today, following documentary, Platform, as well as gala and special presentation titles. 10 films make up the Midnight Madness roster this year, featuring seven world premieres. Larry Charles’s Dicks: The Musical will serve as the opening night film, while Weston Razooli’s Riddle of Fire, which we covered out of Cannes, will close out the program. This year’s Discovery slate is comprised of 26 films, 23 of which are world premieres, across 25 different countries. The opening night Discovery title will be actress Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut Gonzo Girl. […]
by Natalia Keogan on Aug 3, 2023 -
TIFF Reveals 2023 Platform Lineup and Jury
Having already announced documentary as well as gala and special presentation lineups, TIFF now unveils 10 world premiering films selected for this year’s Platform program. The 2023 Platform jury is also revealed today, consisting of of Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, Cannes Jury Prize-winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim, whose 2022 film Riceboy Sleeps won the Platform Prize last year. The Platform Prize—consisting of $20,000 CAD—is given to the best film as selected by the jury. Notable past recipients of the Platform Prize also include Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon (2021), Kamila Andini’s Yuni (2021), Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal (2019), Alice Winocour’s Proxima (2019), […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Aug 2, 2023 -
TIFF 2023 Documentary Lineup Includes Films by Frederick Wiseman, Errol Morris, Roger Ross Williams and More
On Monday, TIFF announced the gala and special presentation titles for this year’s festival, which runs from September 7 through 17. Now the documentary slate has been revealed, which includes 93-year-old veteran filmmaker Frederick Wiseman’s French restaurant doc Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros, Errol Morris’s John le Carré exploration The Pigeon Tunnel, Roger Ross Williams’s anti-blackness investigation Stamped From the Beginning, co-directors Caroline Suh and Cara Mones’s Louis C.K. takedown Sorry/Not Sorry, Pierre-Henri Gibert’s Agnès Varda tribute Viva Varda! and more. TIFF’s opening night doc film will be Copa 71, Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine’s film about an international women’s soccer tournament […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jul 26, 2023 -
TIFF Announces First Wave of 2023 Programming With 60 Gala and Special Presentation Titles
The Toronto International Film Festival unveils today 60 titles programmed for the 2023 edition’s gala and special presentation sections. Taking place from September 7-17, TIFF’s first wave lineup announcement encompasses 37 World Premieres, seven International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, and four Canadian Premieres. At a glance, several buzzy films that premiered at this year’s Cannes will also screen in Toronto, including Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, Gran Prix winner The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Monster (which won Best Screenplay for Yuji Sakamoto), Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera and Catherine Breillat’s Last […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jul 24, 2023
