Toronto Keeps Lineup Coming; Todd Solondz Among 38 Additions

A scene from Lone Scherfig's "An Education." Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced yet another batch of titles for its 34th edition, which runs September 10-19, 2009.  Thirty-eight films across three different programs - Special Presentations, Vanguard, and Discovery - were announced to the public this morning, joining a group of titles announced earlier this week, as well as twenty-two titles from the week prior.

The highlights from the eight Special Presentations include Todd Solondz’s much-anticipated “Life During Wartime,” the world premieres of Stephen Poliakoff’s “Glorious 39,” Yoichi Sai’s “Kamui,” and Renato De Maria’s “The Front Line,” as well as high-profile films that previously screened in either Sundance (Lone Scherfig’s “An Education”) or Cannes (Pedro Almodovar’s “Broken Embraces,” Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet”).

Twenty-one feature films were additionally set for Toronto’s Discovery program - which showcases “provocative feature films by new and emerging directors.” Notable among the announced titles are Oliver Hermanus’s “Shirley Adams,” Paul Fierlinger and Sandra Fierlinger’s “My Dog Tulip,” Martin Pieter Zandvliet’s “Applause,” Rachel Ward’s “Beautiful Kate,” J. Blakeson’s “The Disappearance of Alice Creed,” and the directorial debut of actress Samantha Morton in “The Unloved,” a portrait of a young British girl plucked from an abusive family and thrown into the hands of government care.

Finally, the Vanguard program - which features “bold films that challenge our social and cultural assumptions” -  announced nine titles.  Among them the world premieres of Jesper Ganslandt’s “The Ape,” Dorothee van den Berghe’s “My Queen Karo,” Paul King’s “Bunny and the Bull,” and Luis Ortega’s “The Dirty Saints,” and the North American premieres of Cannes alums “Spring Fever,” directed by Lou Ye, and Gaspar Noe’s “Enter The Void.”

A complete list of titles is below, with descriptions provided by the festival.

Special Presentations

Broken Embraces
Pedro Almodovar, Spain North American Premiere
Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches a point when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years ago, when he was still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie. As the past is revisited, a story of “amour fou” unfolds, dominated by fatality, jealousy, the abuse of power, treachery and a guilt complex.

An Education
Lone Scherfig, United Kingdom Canadian Premiere
A coming-of-age story about a teenaged girl in 1960s suburban London and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Torn between her parents’ dream of going to Oxford University and a more tempting kind of life, she must decide if the new path is one that will trap her or set her free.

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Penelope Cruz in a scene from Pedro Almodovar’s “Broken Embraces.” Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. The Front Line Renato De Maria, Italy World Premiere Set during a turbulent period in 1970-80s Italy, the plot centres on passionate couple Sergio and Susanna, who have been living as fugitives. Pursuing an uncompromising cause as members of the notorious Prima Linea, they have become increasingly alienated from the real world. Their luck finally runs out when Susanna is captured and thrown in jail. Putting his life on the line, Sergio embarks on a radical plan. Glorious 39 Stephen Poliakoff, United Kingdom World Premiere This tense conspiracy thriller set on the eve of World War II and based on disturbing real events, focuses on a young woman who stumbles across evidence of a sinister Nazi appeasement plot. As her close friends begin to die in suspicious circumstances, she finds her own life in danger from an increasingly menacing and powerful enemy. Kamui Yoichi Sai, Japan World Premiere A crowd pleasing, sweeping epic brilliantly directed by one of Japan’s finest auteurs, Kamui is the adventurous story of a fugitive ninja played by superstar Kenichi Matsuyama. Life During Wartime Todd Solondz, USA North American Premiere Happiness director Todd Solondz returns with another unsettling dark comedy about sexual obsession between friends, family and lovers struggling to find love, forgiveness and meaning in a war-torn world. Allison Janney and Ciaran Hinds star. A Prophet Jacques Audiard, France North American Premiere A young Arab man, Malik, is sent to a French prison where he is cornered by the leader of the ruling Corsican gang. He is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans. The Secret of Their Eyes Juan Jose Campanella, Argentina/Spain International Premiere Benjamin Chaparro, a secretary of a court in Buenos Aires, is about to retire and decides to write a novel based on a case that deeply affected him thirty years ago. Chaparro’s tale crosses Argentina’s turbulent years during the 1970s, when nothing was necessarily what it seemed to be. -for Discovery and Vanguard titles, please continue to the next page-   (1 of 3)  Next Page › posted on July 23, 2009 |Share