43 films from Canadian and international filmmakers has been selected for the 2024 Centrepiece lineup at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival, taking place September 5-15, 2024.
World Premieres include Front Row, from Algerian director Merzak Allouache, marking his 19th feature film, a family-friendly comedy about feuding matriarchs battling over the best beachfront spot. Seven Days, the latest from Iranian filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi and writer Mohammad Rasoulof (also in the Centrepiece programme with his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig), centers on an Iranian human rights activist named Maryam who has spent the last six years in prison and has been granted a rare seven-day medical leave. Pimpinero: Blood and Oil, a gripping thriller set in the early 2010s from acclaimed Colombian filmmaker Andrés Baiz (Griselda, Narcos), starring Colombian music icon Juanes, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Speitzer, and Laura Osma, takes place in the treacherous desert bordering Colombia and Venezuela, where gasoline smugglers or pimpineros risk their lives transporting illegal fuel. Under the Volcano, a tense and timely second feature from Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur following Bread and Salt, which garnered a Special Jury Prize at Venice ’22, tells the story of a Ukrainian family on vacation in the Canary Islands who become refugees overnight when Russia’s ongoing occupation of Ukraine turns into a full-scale invasion. Another timely film covering pressing social issues is Antoinette Jadaone’s Sunshine, from the Philippines, starring up-and-coming Maris Racal (her third collaboration with the filmmaker), who plays a young gymnast who discovers she’s pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts. The latest from Belgian director Guillaume Senez (Keeper, TIFF ’15), A Missing Part is a thoughtful and moving drama about a father’s search for his daughter, with an exceptional lead performance by Romain Duris. From Canada, Measures for a Funeral, from acclaimed filmmaker and Short Cuts alumni Sofia Bohdanowicz and her frequent collaborator, actor Deragh Campbell, tells a singular story about a forgotten Canadian violinist. Also, Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara are at the centre of the gripping documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, which charts the global rise of the trailblazing twins, their advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, and their simultaneously liberating and fraught relationship with social media, from American documentary filmmaker and writer Erin Lee Carr (At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal, Britney vs Spears), who directed and produced the film.
Other Centrepiece standout World Premieres include Jane Austen Wrecked My Life from France. In an utterly charming debut, writer-director Laura Piani draws from Austen’s works while crafting a wholly contemporary romantic comedy — featuring a Frederick Wiseman cameo — that stands on its own merits. Kiwi-Australian filmmaker Marcelle Lunam, who has directed multiple music videos and short films, as well as the feature documentary Habana Shakes, presents Addition, a warm-hearted and illuminating adaptation of the bestselling novel by Toni Jordan, starring Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), who plays a mathematician struggling to balance her compulsive counting habit (and imaginary friendship with Nikola Tesla) with a new romance. The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos, a debut from Nigeria’s Agbajowo Collective, is a thriller with flecks of magical realism, telling a story about the government’s forced evictions of informal settlements. Inspired by the directors’ lived experiences, the film stars Temi Ami-Williams (Eyimofe – This Is My Desire) and celebrity activist-actor Adebowale Adedayo (a.k.a. Mr Macaroni, also at the Festival with Discovery selection Freedom Way). From China, renowned scriptwriter Huo Xin presents Bound in Heaven, a poignant tale of love and resilience starring Ni Ni, Zhou You, and Liao Fan. This deeply touching film tackles domestic violence and terminal illness with assured direction and outstanding performances.
2024 CENTREPIECE PROGRAM (in alphabetical order)
Addition
Marcelle Lunam | Australia
World Premiere
Sales Title
A Missing Part
Guillaume Senez | Belgium/France
World Premiere
Sales Title
An Unfinished Film
Lou Ye | Singapore/Germany
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Anywhere Anytime Milad Tangshir | Italy
International Premiere
Sales Title
April Dea Kulumbegashvili | Italy/France/Georgia
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Beloved Tropic
Ana Endara | Panama/Colombia
World Premiere
Sales Title
Bound in Heaven
Huo Xin | China
World Premiere
Sales Title
By the Stream
Hong Sangsoo | South Korea
North American Premiere
Cloud
Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Crocodile Tears
Tumpal Tampubolon | Indonesia/France/Singapore/Germany
World Premiere
Sales Title
Don’t Cry, Butterfly
Dương Diệu Linh | Vietnam/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Edge of Night
Türker Süer | Germany
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara
Erin Lee Carr | USA
World Premiere
Flow
Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia/France/Belgium
Canadian Premiere
Front Row
Merzak Allouache | Algeria/Saudi Arabia/France
World Premiere
Sales Title
Happyend
Neo Sora | Japan/USA
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Happy Holidays
Scandar Copti | Palestine/Germany/France/Italy/Qatar
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Laura Piani | France
World Premiere
Sales Title
Julie Keeps Quiet
Leonardo van Dijl | Belgium/Sweden
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End
Michael Jonathan | New Zealand
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Kill the Jockey
Luis Ortega | Argentina/Mexico/Spain/Denmark/USA
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Little Jaffna
Lawrence Valin | France
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Los Tortuga
Belén Funes | Spain/Chile
World Premiere
Sales Title
Matt and Mara
Kazik Radwanski | Canada
North American Premiere
Measures for a Funeral
Sofia Bohdanowicz | Canada
World Premiere
Sales Title
My Sunshine
Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan/France
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Pimpinero: Blood and Oil
Andrés Baiz | Colombia
World Premiere
Presence
Steven Soderbergh | USA
International Premiere
Santosh
Sandhya Suri | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
Sales Title
Seven Days
Ali Samadi Ahadi | Germany
World Premiere
Sales Title
Souleymane’s Story
Boris Lojkine | France
International Premiere
Sales Title
Sunshine
Antoinette Jadaone | Philippines
World Premiere
Sales Title
Sweet Angel Baby
Melanie Oates | Canada
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos
Agbajowo Collective: James Tayler, Ogungbamila Temitope, Okechukwu Samuel, Mathew Cerf, Tina Edukpo, Bisola Akinmuyiwa, A.S. Elijah | Nigeria/Germany/South Africa/USA
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Mother and the Bear
Johnny Ma | Canada/Chile
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Mountain
Rachel House | New Zealand
North American Premiere
Sales Title
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran/France/Germany
Canadian Premiere
The Swedish Torpedo
Frida Kempff | Sweden
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Village Next to Paradise
Mo Harawe | France/Austria/Germany/Somalia
North American Premiere
Sales Title
To a Land Unknown
Mahdi Fleifel | United Kingdom/France/Germany/Netherlands/Greece/Qatar /Saudi Arabia/Palestine
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Under the Volcano
Damian Kocur | Poland
World Premiere
Sales Title
Universal Language
Matthew Rankin | Canada
North American Premiere
When the Light Breaks
Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland/Netherlands/Croatia/France
North American Premiere
Sales Title