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Look at Me[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival will spotlight 48 films from international filmmakers in this year’s 2018 Contemporary World Cinema roster with a strong presence from Latin America and Eastern Europe — telling stories of identity, depicting family dynamics, and making bold political statements.
Several of the the impressive 27 World Premieres in the program are from TIFF veterans, including Belmonte from Uruguay’s Federico Veiroj, The Other Story from Israel’s Avi Nesher, Stupid Young Heart from Finnish Academy Award nominee Selma Vilhunen, Quién te Cantará from Spain’s Carlos Vermut, and Look at Me from Tunisia’s Nejib Belkadhi.
The program also highlights film selections that have already captivated audiences worldwide this year, including “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” by Radu Jude, Birds of Passage by directing duo Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, and Border by Ali Abbasi.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema Program
The Accused ( Acusada) Gonzalo Tobal | Argentina
North American Premiere
Angel (Un Ange) Koen Mortier | Belgium/Netherlands/Senegal
International Premiere
Asako I & II ( Netemo Sametemo) Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan/France
North American Premiere
Before the Frost ( Før Frosten) Michael Noer | Denmark
World Premiere
Belmonte Federico Veiroj | Uruguay/Spain/Mexico
World Premiere
Birds of Passage ( Pájaros de verano) Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra | Colombia/Denmark/Mexico/France
Canadian Premiere
Black 47 Lance Daly | Ireland/Luxembourg
North American Premiere
The Black Book Valeria Sarmiento | Portugal/France
World Premiere
Border ( Gräns) Ali Abbasi | Sweden/Denmark
North American Premiere
Bulbul Can Sing Rima Das | India
World Premiere
Core of the World Natalia Meshchaninova | Russia/Lithuania
International Premiere
The Dive ( Hatzlila) Yona Rozenkier | Israel
North American Premiere
Donbass Sergei Loznitsa | Germany/Ukraine/France/Netherlands/Romania
North American Premiere
El Ángel Luis Ortega | Argentina/Spain
North American Premiere
EXT. Night ( Leil Khargi ) Ahmad Abdalla | Egypt/United Arab Emirates
World Premiere
The Factory (Завод (Zavod)) Yury Bykov | Russia/France/Armenia
World Premiere
Florianópolis Dream ( Sueño Florianópolis) Ana Katz | Argentina/Brazil/France
North American Premiere
“I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” ( Îmi este indiferent dacă în istorie vom intra ca barbari)
Radu Jude | Romania/Czech Republic/France/Bulgaria/Germany
North American Premiere
Jinpa ( Zhuang Si Le Yi Zhi Yang ) Pema Tseden | China
North American Premiere
Let Me Fall (Lof mer ad falla) Baldvin Z | Iceland/Finland/Germany
International Premiere
Look at Me Nejib Belkadhi | Qatar/France/Tunisia
World Premiere
Minuscule – Mandibles From Far Away ( Minuscule – Les Mandibules du Bout du Monde) Thomas Szabo,
Hélène Giraud | France
World Premiere
The Most Beautiful Couple (Das schönste Paar) Sven Taddicken | Germany/France
World Premiere
Museum (Museo) Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico
North American Premiere
One Last Deal (Tuntematon mestari) Klaus Härö | Finland
World Premiere
The Other Story (Sipur Acher) Avi Nesher | Israel
World Premiere
Quién te Cantará Carlos Vermut | Spain/France
World Premiere
The Realm (El Reino) Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain/France
World Premiere
Redemption (Geula) Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, Joseph Madmony | Israel
North American Premiere
Retrospekt Esther Rots | Netherlands/Belgium
World Premiere
Roads in February (Les routes en février) Katherine Jerkovic | Canada/Uruguay
World Premiere
Rosie Paddy Breathnach | Ireland
World Premiere
Sew the Winter to my Skin Jahmil X.T. Qubeka | South Africa/Germany
World Premiere
Sibel Çagla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti | France/Germany/Luxembourg/Turkey
North American Premiere
Stupid Young Heart (Hölmö nuori sydän) Selma Vilhunen | Finland/Netherlands/Sweden
World Premiere
Styx Wolfgang Fischer | Germany/Austria
North American Premiere
The Sweet Requiem (Kyoyang Ngarmo) Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam | India/USA
World Premiere
That Time of Year (Den Tid På Året) Paprika Steen | Denmark
World Premiere
Ulysses & Mona Sébastien Betbeder | France
World Premiere
The Vice of Hope (Il Vizio Della Speranza) Edoardo de Angelis | Italy
World Premiere
Winter Flies (Všechno bude) Olmo Omerzu | Czech Republic/Slovenia/Poland/Slovakia
International Premiere
Working Woman (Isha Ovedet) Michal Aviad | Israel
International Premiere
Previously announced Canadian titles in the Contemporary World Cinema program include Darlene Naponse’s
Falls Around Her, Bruce Sweeney’s
Kingsway, Renée Beaulieu’s
Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin, Thom Fitzgerald’s Splinters, Sébastien Pilote’s
The Fireflies Are Gone, and Maxime Giroux’s
The Great Darkened Days.
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The Elephant Queen[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival did not forget the kids with the TIFF Kids and TIFF Next Wave selections, guaranteeing something for film lovers of all ages. This year’s selection includes The Elephant Queen, a fascinating documentary following the elephant Athena and her herd, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor; Icebox, based on an award-winning short of the same name that follows a twelve-year-old Honduran, Oscar, who faces the harsh reality of navigating immigration after fleeing gang violence in his hometown; Minuscule – Mandibles From Far Away, a story of a young ladybug who works to save the rainforest after being swept away on a grand adventure; and the stunningly animated Tito and the Birds, which follows ten-year-old Tito on his quest to learn more about birds as his town faces a strange new affliction that makes people sick when they get scared.
This year’s TIFF Next Wave lineup features 11 titles selected by the TIFF Next Wave committee, a group of young film aficionados responsible for picking the films they believe their peers would most enjoy. From the Ethiopian civil war ( Fig Tree) to the Closing Night Film of Midnight Madness ( Diamantino), Next Wave champions new and diverse voices. This year’s lineup boasts five films helmed by women and eight feature filmmaking debuts, including the world premieres of Jonah Hill’s nostalgic coming of age film, Mid90s, and Jasmin Mozaffari’s skillfully tenacious Firecrackers, made by an almost entirely female key crew.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.