27 Debuts From Around The World In TIFF’s Discovery Programme
Toronto –The Toronto International Film Festival continues to shine a light on the works of up-and-coming filmmakers with this year’s Discovery programme. A group of 27 titles make up the diverse Discovery selection, showcasing provocative feature films by new and emerging directors. As well, TIFF announces the addition of the World Premiere of Larysa Kondracki’s The Whistleblower to its line-up of Special Presentations.
DISCOVERY PROGRAMME
As If I Am Not There Juanita Wilson, Ireland/Macedonia/Sweden
World Premiere
As If I Am Not There explores one woman’s experience of the horrors that took place at the beginning of the Bosnian War. Disturbing and powerful, the film is an important testament to the survivors of the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia.
ATTENBERG Athina Rachel Tsangiri, Greece
North American Premiere
A dying architect and his emotionally stunted daughter inhabit a once booming industrial community in the middle of nowhere, now populated by the precious few who didn’t have the heart to leave it behind.
Autumn Aamir Bashir, India
World Premiere
Shot in striking, widescreen images in India's Kashmir region, Bashir's debut tells the story of Rafiq, a young man struggling to come to terms with the loss of his older brother, who has disappeared in the ongoing border conflict.
Beautiful Boy Shawn Ku, USA
World Premiere
A married couple on the verge of separation are leveled by the news that their 18-year-old son has committed a mass shooting at his college, then taken his own life. Stars Michael Sheen and Maria Bello.
Blame Michael Henry, Australia
International Premiere
A group of young vigilantes seeking revenge for a sexual betrayal fall far from grace. When the truth is out, they find themselves on the dark side of justice.
The Call Stefano Pasetto, Italy/Argentina
World Premiere
Two women, one a married middle-aged airline stewardess, and the other a free-wheeling factory worker, meet and decide to change their lives. Moving to Patagonia and leaving their men behind, they find that escape carries with it a different set of responsibilities.
Ceremony Max Winkler, USA
World Premiere
Along with his unwitting best friend, a young guy looks to crash the wedding of an older woman with whom he's infatuated. Stars Uma Thurman.
Dirty Girl Abe Sylvia, USA
World Premiere
Danielle is the dirty girl of Norman High School. When her misbehaviour gets her banished to a remedial class, she teams up with an innocent closet-case and they head out on a road trip to discover themselves. Stars Juno Temple, Dwight Yoakam, Milla Jovovich and William H. Macy.
Girlfriend Justin Lerner, USA
World Premiere
When an unexpected financial windfall affords a young man with Down syndrome some freedom, he decides to pursue the object of his high school crush, Candy. The decision brings him into conflict with her volatile ex-boyfriend, and the three find themselves involved in a complex, unpredictable triangle of love, aspiration and dreams. Stars Evan Sneider and Jackson Rathbone.
Griff the Invisible Leon Ford, Australia
World Premiere
Griff, office worker by day, superhero by night, has his world turned upside down when he meets Melody, a beautiful young scientist who shares his passion for the impossible. Stars Ryan Kwanten.
Half of Oscar Manuel Martin Cuenca, Spain/Cuba
World Premiere
Oscar and Maria are reunited by the imminent death of their grandfather. Maria has not been heard from in over two years, and now arrives pregnant and with a boyfriend.
Inside America Barbara Eder, Austria
North American Premiere
Drawing on her memories as an exchange student in a nowhere town on the US-Mexico border, Barbara Eder explores the dark side of the American Dream.
Look, Stranger Arielle Javitch, USA
World Premiere
Look, Stranger is an elegant, spare and powerful telling of one young woman's journey through a war-torn landscape in an effort to get back home. Stars Annamaria Marinca.
Mandoo Ebrahim Saeedi, Iraq
North American Premiere
After the death of Saddam, Shaho, an Iranian Kurd, is determined to take his ailing father back to his village so he can live out his final days in familiar surroundings. The only thing that stands in his way is a wide-eyed young woman.
Marimbas From Hell Julio Hernández Cordón, Guatemala/France/Mexico
World Premiere
Don Alfonso loses his job playing the marimba, an indigenous, traditional Guatemalan instrument, at a hotel in Guatemala City. He approaches musician Blacko and proposes that they fuse the sound of the marimba with heavy metal.
Norberto’s Deadline Daniel Hendler, Uruguay/Argentina
North American Premiere
Award-winning actor Daniel Hendler offers a hilarious account of a man trying to combat his shyness. After being fired from his job, Norberto tries his hand at real estate and his new boss suggests he take some personal affirmation courses. Instead he discovers the theatre and his love and unknown talent for acting.
October Diego Vega, Daniel Vega, Peru/Venezuela/Spain
North American Premiere
Money-lender Clemente only knows how to relate to others through transactions. His life is turned upside down when someone leaves him a baby in a basket. When a client, Sofia, steps in to help tend to the baby, Clemente is faced with new possibilities during Lima's October celebration of the Lord of Miracles.
The Piano in a Factory Zhang Meng, China
World Premiere
To fight for custody of his daughter who loves playing the piano, a steel factory worker decides to forge a piano from scratch. An offbeat ballad of friendship and devotion, The Piano in a Factory is an endearing portrait of China in the early 1990s when the certainty of state-run industry begins to falter.
Pinoy Sunday Wi Ding Ho, Taiwan
North American Premiere
Pinoy Sunday is the story of Manuel and Dado, two Filipino migrant workers, who discover a discarded sofa. This transforms their normal Sunday routine into a tale of adventure, perseverance and self-discovery.
The Place in Between Sarah Bouyain, France/Burkino Faso
North American Premiere
Bouyain's sensitive debut is a portrait of women caught between Africa and Europe. A biracial woman travels from France to Burkina Faso in search of her mother. In France, a white woman seeks to learn an African language for reasons unknown.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale Jalmari Helander, Finland/Norway/France/Sweden
North American Premiere
Santa Claus is somewhat less than jolly – in fact, he's the stuff nightmares are made of – in Jalmari Helander's atmospheric and witty re-working of a cherished folk tale.
Sandcastle Boo Junfeng, Singapore
North American Premiere
A gentle and affectionate study of the themes of identity, history and memory, Boo Junfeng’s debut feature Sandcastle is a loving portrait of a young man coming to terms with the lives of his parents and his grandparents, while trying to make sense of Singapore’s troubled history.
Soul of Sand Sidharth Srinivasan, India
World Premiere
Bhanu Kumar, a lower caste watchman, stands fierce guard over his feudal master’s disused, barren mine. One night, a runaway couple in desperate search of refuge, come to Bhanu seeking shelter. The rusted gate of the Royal Silica Mine opens, exposing a bloody world of lust, fear and violence in the name of caste, ownership and honour.
Viva Riva! Djo Tunda Wa Munga, Democratic Republic of Congo/France/Belgium/South Africa
World Premiere
Riva returns home to Kinshasa flush with cash. The town is literally out of gas, and he is sitting on a truckload of it. His first night home, Riva falls in love with a beautiful woman and is emboldened when he learns that a local gangster is keeping her on a short leash. Meanwhile, the gang Riva left behind in Angola arrive in hot pursuit of the gas he stole from them.
Wasted On the Young Ben C. Lucas, Australia
International Premiere
Wasted on the Young is set in the socially conscious and disaffected society of an elite high school where two step brothers occupy opposite ends of the school hierarchy. When a high school party goes dangerously off the rails, they find that revenge is just a computer click away.
What I Most Want Delfina Castagnino, Argentina
International Premiere
María's four-year relationship is coming to an end while Pilar's father has recently passed away. Though their losses are of a very different nature, the two friends find comfort in each other’s company. María stays with Pilar in the Argentine Patagonia and the two women share wine and lake visits as they confront their future.
Zephyr Belma Bas, Turkey
World Premiere
This shadowy and atmospheric coming-of-age story follows 11-year-old Zephyr. Left in the care of her stoic grandparents, she roams a rural paradise looking for action, trying to figure out who she is and refusing to grow up.
TIFF also presents an addition to its line-up of Special Presentations:
The Whistleblower Larysa Kondracki, Canada/Germany
World Premiere
This harrowing political thriller recounts the story of a female Nebraska police officer turned peacekeeper who uncovers a horrible sex-trafficking underworld in Bosnia and its shocking connection to the UN. As Kathryn Bolkovac (Academy Award®-winner Rachel Weisz) feverishly works to expose the scandal, the UN does its utmost to keep her quiet.
The Festival’s Official Film Schedule was released today. It is available at the TIFF Festival Box Office, at select BLOCKBUSTER® stores across Canada and by visiting tiff.net. Copies will also be distributed via Toronto’s EYE Weekly on Thursday, August 26. Thursday’s issue of the Toronto Star will contain a 24-page section on the Festival and includes the full film schedule.
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