Von Trier, Ozon, Haneke, and Denis Help Complete Toronto Lineup

A scene from Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon." Image courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Toronto International Film Festival rounded out its 2009 schedule today with the announcement of films for a number of programmes, bringing the festival’s total to 271 features and 64 shorts from 64 countries. That marks 22 more feature films than last year.  The festival has said to have received approximately 3000 submissions for this their 34th edition, and their eventual selection has resulted in 72% of the feature films being world, international, or North American premieres

The freshly announced films include new works from a number of renowned international filmmakers in the festival’s Master’s section. Jaco Van Dormael, Lars von Trier, Claire Denis, Marco Bellocchio and Michael Haneke will each see the North American premieres of their latest works at the fest, while Francois Ozon and Amos Gitai will have the World premieres of theirs.  The festival also announced numerous films in the Vanguard, Special Presentations, Sprockets Family Zone, Contemporary World Cinema, and Discovery sections, as well as a complete list of filmmakers and actors expected in attendance. 

The films announced today are listed below with descriptions provided by the festival, and indieWIRE will also be updating its complete list of films screening in Toronto.

Special Presentations

Mr. Nobody
Jaco Van Dormael, France/Germany/Canada/Belgium North American Premiere
Mr. Nobody tells the story of Nemo (Jared Leto), the world’s oldest man. In 2092, Mars has become a trendy vacation destination and humans have achieved immortality, thanks to advances in genetics. At the age of 120 years, Nemo is the last mortal left on Earth. His death is drawing near, and media from all over the world are eager to cover the event. Nemo doesn’t really remember who he is, and is only able, while under hypnosis, to call up a few snippets of disordered memories. Also starring Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh-Dan Pham and Rhys Ifans.

Discovery

Crab Trap
Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia/France World Premiere
Treading a fine line between documentary and fiction, Crab Trap is a meditative look at daily life in a remote village on the Pacific coast of Colombia that explores the nuances of social and racial relations in one of the most isolated areas of the country.

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Mall Girls Katarzyna Roslaniec, Poland International Premiere When a 14-year-old girl arrives at a new high school, she is typecast as an outsider from the sticks. Survival means working things out with a clique of girls who troll the local malls and score the latest in consumer toys and clothes by trading sexual favours for cash with the men they find there. The Man Beyond the Bridge Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, India World Premiere A lonely man finds a companion in a mad woman in a dense forest in the Western Ghats of India. When she becomes pregnant, a conflict arises between a society that refuses to take responsibility for one of its members and one man’s endeavour to integrate her in his life. Nora Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, USA/United Kingdom/Mozambique Toronto Premiere Zimbabwean dancer Nora Chipaumire stars in this beautiful and rigorously choreographed fable based on her own life and shot on location in Southern Africa. (This film will be screened with Saint Louis Blues.) Saint Louis Blues Dyana Gaye, France/Senegal North American Premiere In this sparkling and surprising Senegalese musical, Dyana Gaye turns a shared taxi ride from Dakar to Saint Louis into a confection that could have been made by Jacques Demy. (This film will be screened with Nora.) Sprockets Family Zone Timetrip: The Curse of the Viking Witch Mogens Hagedorn, Denmark North American Premiere Ninth-grader Valdemar and younger sister Sille embark on a trip through Danish history as they attempt to break an age-old curse in this exciting, action filled, time-travel adventure. Under the Mountain Jonathan King, New Zealand North American Premiere When teenaged twins Theo and Rachel meet the mysterious Mr. Jones, they learn that they may hold the key to saving the world from impending destruction in this thrilling adventure based on Maurice Gee’s acclaimed novel. -The lineup continues on page 2- Loading ... Will you be attending the Toronto International Film Festival this year? Yes! I wish... No, thanks. Read & React: Von Trier, Ozon, Haneke, and Denis Help Complete Toronto Lineup   (1 of 3)  Next Page › posted on August 20, 2009 |Share