TIFF 51: Jury of Two, Part III

Though the NYFF reviews may continue to pervade our page like an invasive species that just won't quit and go away, it's time to give a proper ending to the longest TIFF coverage we've ever done at The Film Experience. Though all good things must come to an end, it need not be a bitter one. So, let's go out on a fun note, with Cláudio Alves and Eurocheese back for the third and final part of their Jury of Two chat.

Diego Calva's hot social worker from CLUB KID welcomes you to the end of our TIFF 51 coverage.

CLÁUDIO: Well, it's been fun to analyze the many films we watched at TIFF (screeners included, I'm almost at 70!), yet I'm hankering for some silliness now. Some Canadian-flavored silliness at that, so be ready for a lot of nonsensical Heated Rivalry references. In my mind, the Far North used to be the realm of Cronenberg perversions and Maddin madness, but it's now all about the Hockey boys, the Hockey gays, and the Hockey romance. Picture that a Tim Hortons and one of Church Street's most outrageous gay clubs had a love child. That's both the Canada of my sick, sick mind and the venue for this imaginary awards ceremony. In that spirit, our first category is…

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TIFF 51: Latin American Gems, Part III – The Everlasting Return

by Cláudio Alves

Last but not least, in this miniseries of Latin American highlights from the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, we have a quartet of films that ponder return, whether to a place or a time, perchance a cultural root or the depths of literary history.

You have Lisandro Alonso’s Double Freedom, premiered at Cannes to rave reviews and which, effectively, marks a sequel, quasi-remake of the director’s quarter-century-old debut. The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs considers the work of Sara Flores, a Peruvian painter from the Amazon, while Life of Jorge Luis Borges is another madcap proposition from El Pampero Cine, focusing on director Mariano Llinás’ investigation into the titular writer. Also, it’s five and a half hours long and the funniest film at TIFF 51. Finally, Where the River Begins follows three youths in contemporary Bogotá as they leave behind their lives of urban misery and return to the Indigenous riverside village of their past, their shared legacy, their dreams…

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TIFF 51: Latin American Gems, Part II – Queer Stories

by Cláudio Alves

Latin American storytelling at TIFF wasn’t just about great feats of actress-ing, as I explored in part one of this miniseries within the broader festival coverage. Another common thread found between several projects was an exploration of queerness in its many forms. From an Irish studio's attempt to honor a Dominican child’s journey of self-discovery to a French-Haitian tale of sexual liberation from the chains of Christian fundamentalism, the Toronto program had much to offer in matters of LGBTQIA+ representation. Honestly, having landed in Portugal from Canada and immediately jumped into covering Queer Lisboa for a local outlet, these ideas kept percolating in my mind, bolstered by such films as this year’s Queer Lion winner, the Brazilian provocation that is London, which I might need to find a way to write about before the fall festival season is over for good. 

Alas, tonight, let me recommend you Sharon Kleinberg’s I Am Mario, Louise Bagnall’s Julián, Gessica Généus’ Marie Madeleine, and Joaquín Ruano’s Nosotros…

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TIFF 51: Latin American Gems, Part I – Actress-y Delights

by Cláudio Alves

Fair warning, the fall festival coverage isn’t over yet – it will never be over!

I kid, I kid. We’ll conclude the TIFF odyssey next Tuesday, exactly one month after the 51st Toronto International Film Festival screened its last picture with a very silly convo between myself and Brian Rector (aka Eurocheese). Until then, I still have more reviews to drop, mostly capsules that will hopefully spark your interest in smaller films likely to be released in limited form this year or the next. So take these as friendly recommendations, reminders to pay attention when you hear that these films might be playing near you. In that spirit of sharing cinematic joys and celebrating the Davids to Hollywood’s Goliaths, I decided to give some special space to Latin American cinema, which had an incredible showing at this year’s fest, spanning fiction to non-fiction, shorts to five-and-a-half-hour epics.

For this first batch of texts, I’m shining a light on films held together, in one way or another, by sublime lead actress turns. After all, there’s nothing that The Film Experience readership loves more than great actress-ing. They are Diego Luna’s Ashes, Fernando Eimbcke’s Flies, Neto Villalobos’ Love is the Monster, and Gabriel Martins’ On Behalf of My Son…

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TIFF 51: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney” and “Sunburn” were among the fest’s best Canadian films

by Cláudio Alves

Sometimes, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that TIFF is a Canadian film festival. It’s the biggest Canadian film festival, to be specific, and, as such, it bears the responsibility of celebrating and helping launch local talent, voices and, indeed, Canadian film. By defining Hollywood-made movies as ineligible for the International People’s Choice Award, unlike UK- and Ireland-based projects, TIFF blurs the line between itself and the American film industry, perhaps as part of its endless quest to make the fest indissociable from the start of Hollywood’s awards season. Still, it remains a landmark cultural institution of Canada and, hopefully, for Canadians before it is for LA-based studio fare.

With that in mind, let’s talk about this year’s Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award winner, Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, a uniquely Canadian documentary fever dream by Winnipeg filmmaker Matthew Rankin. There’s also Serville Poblete’s Sunburn, a Toronto-set summery daydream that was awarded the Best Canadian Film prize…

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