TIFF '24: Oscar submissions from Denmark & Bulgaria

by Cláudio Alves

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE may have benefited from a different title, different expectations.
Like last year, my 2024 TIFF journey was marked by many a Best International Film Oscar submission. I've already written about some of them, including contenders from Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Palestine, and Portugal. Now, as this protracted post-festival coverage reaches its end – got to move on to NYFF at some point – let's consider the official submissions from Denmark and Bulgaria. The Cannes-competing The Girl with the Needle from Magnus von Horn, and the TIFF-premiering Triumph by Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva dramatize shocking true stories that prove Lord Byron was right. Truth really is stranger than fiction…

Click to read more ...

Cannes Diary: Uncanny women

by Elisa Giudici

WILD DIAMOND © Silex Films

On the second day of the competition, following that hour-long panel with Meryl Streep—whose charm, humor, and down-to-earth demeanor exceeded expectations—I delved into two films featuring tough, abrasive women capable of evoking genuine unease...

Click to read more ...