Another day another festival announcement. TIFF keeps adding to the festival. Even though they've reduced the number of films this year it's still SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM IN EACH SECTION. Herewith the Midnight Madness and Platform choices. Let us know which ones you're most curious about!
Gael García Bernal in the French film "If You Saw His Heart"
PLATFORM
This section of 12 films, which tends to focus on directors in early stages of their careers, is actually juried (though TIFF isn't known for awards really outside of "People's Choice" which tends to have a strong correlation to eventual Best Picture nominations at the Oscars).
“Platform is the place to look for the distinct stamp of today's most interesting directors as they establish their reputations.
- -Cameron Bailey, TIFF's artistic director
The three-person jjury for 2017's Platform are directors Chen Kaige (China), Malgorzata Szumowska (Poland) and Wim Wenders (Germany)
• Beast (UK) A troubled woman becomes involved with a suspected killer in this debut from Michael Pearce [WORLD PREMIERE]
• Brad's Status (US) Screenwriter Mike White returns to the director's chair for this story about a man (Ben Stiller) comparing himself unfavorably to friends while touring colleges with his teenage son [WORLD PREMIERE]...
• Custody (France) Xavier Legrande, recently nominated for the short film Oscar, made a full length family drama about what the title implies
• Dark River (UK) the acclaimed female director Clio Barnard (The Arbor, Selfish Giant) returns with this drama starring Ruth Wilson as a woman returning to her family's farm to deal with a tenant situation [WORLD PREMIERE]
• The Death of Stalin (France/UK/Belgium) Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop) returns with a political comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi, and Andrea Riseborough [WORLD PREMIERE, OPENING FILM OF THIS SECTION]
• Euphoria (Sweden/Germany) Alicia Vikander and Eva Green star as estranged sisters attempting reconciliation [WORLD PREMIERE]
• If You Saw His Heart (France) Gael García Bernal is an outcast whose life brightens when he meets a Frenchwoman (Marine Vacht from François Ozon's films). Does Bernal speak French in this? Hmmm. [WORLD PREMIERE]
Barbara Alpert's new film "Mademoiselle Paradis"
• Mademoiselle Paradis (Austria/Germany) Barbara Albert directs this true story about a blind pianist and a physician working to restore her sight. Two of Albert's previous films were selected to represent Austria at the Oscars so this might be one to keep an eye on. [WORLD PREMIERE]
• Razzia (France) Nabil Ayouch's tells multiple stories tied up in one on the streets of Casablanca [WORLD PREMIERE]
• Sweet Country (Australia) Warwick Thornton, who won the Camera d'Or at Cannes for his debut film, the aboriginal drama Samson & Delilah (2009), returns with a period western starring Sam Neill about an aboriginal couple on the run. [CLOSING FILM OF THIS SECTION]
• The Seen and the Unseen (Indonesia) a young girl, whose twin brother is dying, retreats into a fantasy world [WORLD PREMIERE]
what will people say? in Norwegian and Urdu
• What Will People Say (Norway/Germany/Sweden) A teenager in Norway is sent back to Pakistan by her parents, bringing her world crashing down. The director Iram Haq is herself Norwegian-Pakistani and previously made the Oscar submission I Am Yours (2013) [WORLD PREMIERE]
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
These are usually violent films or cult-hopefuls of some kind. Not yours truly's kind of thing but your mileage may vary
• Bodied (USA) a satire about rap battles as brutal sport
• Brawl in Cell Block 99 (USA) Don Johnson and Vince Vaughn in a prison drug running movie
• Downrange (USA) a sniper attacks a group of kids. From the director of Versus
• Let the Corpses Tan (Belgium/France) thieves versus cops in the ruins of a Mediterranean hamlet
• Mom and Dad (USA) Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair turn violently against their own children
• Revenge (France) a bloody thriller about a guys getaway. One of them brings a mistress
• The Crescent (Canada) atmospheric horror about a woman and child on a remote estate
• The Disaster Artist (USA) James Franco directs /stars in this film about the making of infamous bad movie The Room
• The Ritual (UK) Four men and a night of terror in the Swedish highlands
• Vampire Clay (Japan) a plasticine demon devour art school denizens