We're Gearing Up For The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
I am proud to share that for the first time, members of the ForReel team will be in Toronto this September for the Toronto International Film Festival! TIFF will be in-person, showcasing hundreds of films from September 8-18, and also offering a curated Festival At Home selection of films available on the digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform beginning September 13. During this time, our team will be delivering to you reviews, interviews, and social media content so we virtually can bring you along to the festival!
Last year during uncertainty about the course of the pandemic, I had the distinct pleasure of covering TIFF remotely. I saw incredible films like Violet, Justine Bateman’s feature writing/directorial debut, Encounter starring Riz Ahmed, and my favorite film of that year’s festival, Quickening, another writing/directorial debut by Haya Waseem. I had the opportunity to speak with filmmakers and actors, including director Blaine Thurier and actor Luke Bilyk for their film Kicking Blood, as well as director Kate Dolan and actors Hazel Doupeand Carolyn Bracken about their film, You Are Not My Mother. And I also had the distinct honor of participating in TIFF’s Media Inclusion Initiative - a phenomenal program that aims to amplify minority voices in journalism.
This year, TIFF promises to once again offer an incredible lineup of feature films, short films, episodic debuts, and events. The festival will feature program categories including Gala Presentations, Special Presentations, Contemporary World Cinema, DIscovery, Midnight Madness, Platform, Primetime, and Short Cuts. Notable selections include the world premiere of Stephen Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, the North American premiere of Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, the world premiere of Michael Grandage’s My Policeman starring Harry Styles, and the Canadian premiere of Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light.
Other notable screenings include Joyland, directed by Saim Sadiq, produced by Oliver Ridge (watch my interview with Oliver during Tribeca Festival 2022), and winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story directed by Eric Appel and starring Daniel Radcliffe will have its world premiere at the festival in the Midnight Madness program. And Baby Ruby, directed by Bess Wohl and starring Noémie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Jumbo) will also have its world premiere at the festival.
The festival’s Opening Night Gala will feature the world premiere of the Netflix film The Swimmers, directed by El Hosaini. The film was described as “the very best kind of surprise…an exciting, epic journey” by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey. Based on a true story, the synopsis says: “Based on a true story, The Swimmers follows the journey from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.”
TIFF’s Closing Night Gala will feature the world premiere of the film Dalíland, directed by Mary Harron and starring Sir Ben Kingsley. The synopsis reads: “Dalíland tells the story of the later years of the strange and fascinating marriage between the genius Salvador Dalí and his wife, Gala, as their seemingly unshakable bond begins to stress and fracture. Set in New York and Spain in 1973, the story is told through the eyes of James, a young assistant keen to make his name in the art world, who helps the eccentric and mercurial Dalí prepare for a big gallery show.”
You can now find the full lineup and schedule on the TIFF website here. We will be publishing our curtain raiser video ahead of the festival, outlining which movies we’re excited for and which ones you should have on your radar after they screen at the festival.
I am excited to be joined by fellow ForReel writers Taylor Beaumont and Todd Pengelly in attending TIFF. I look forward to watching great films with these guys, meeting fellow journalists, and talking with filmmakers, cast, and crew while I’m there.
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