Yahoo Lifestyle TIFF Centrepiece Lineup Includes Works By Steven Soderbergh, Erin Lee Carr & Mohammad Rasoulof
The 49th edition of the Toronto Film Festival continues to announce more movies, with the festival on Tuesday unveiled its 2024 Centrepiece lineup that features 43 titles from filmmakers representing 41 countries. TIFF runs September 5-15 under its new sponsorship with Rogers.
In total, the list includes 18 world premieres from Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain and the U.S..
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The section is a reflection of TIFF’s spirit of providing an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work from influential filmmakers.
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who made it to Cannes this past year with The Seed of the Sacred Fig after fleeing his home country, is at TIFF with not one but two movies. He’ll have The Seed of the Sacred Fig, but also a title he wrote, Seven Days, which is directed by Iranian filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi. The movie centers on an Iranian human rights activist who has spent the last six years in prison and has been granted a rare seven-day medical leave.
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Steven Soderbergh will return to TIFF with the avant garde Presence, the horror pic he premiered at Sundance where it was acquired by Neon. Written by David Koepp, Presence stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan.
American documentary filmmaker and writer Erin Lee Carr (At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal, Britney vs Spears) turns the spotlight on Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara in Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, which follows the twins’ global rise, their advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, and their simultaneously liberating and fraught relationship with social media.
Other notable world premieres include Front Row, from Algerian director Merzak Allouache, one of the filmmakers selected as a Luminary — TIFF’s spotlight on new work from the world’s most influential art-house directors. His 19th feature film is a family-friendly comedy about feuding matriarchs battling over the best beachfront spot; Pimpinero: Blood and Oil, a gripping thriller set in the early 2010s from acclaimed Colombian filmmaker Andrés Baiz (Griselda, Narcos), stars Colombian music icon Juanes, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Speitzer and Laura Osma and takes place in the treacherous desert bordering Colombia and Venezuela, where gasoline smugglers or pimpineros, risk their lives transporting illegal fuel; and Under the Volcano, the second feature from Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur following Bread and Salt, which garnered a Special Jury Prize at Venice 2022. The new film tells the story of a Ukrainian family on vacation in the Canary Islands who become refugees overnight when Russia’s ongoing occupation of Ukraine turns into a full-scale invasion.
Another film covering pressing social issues: Antoinette Jadaone’s Sunshine, from the Philippines, starring up-and-comer Maris Racal (her third collaboration with the filmmaker), She plays a young gymnast who discovers she’s pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts. The latest from Belgian director Guillaume Senez (Keeper, TIFF ’15), A Missing Part, is a drama about a father’s search for his daughter starring Romain Duris. From Canada, Measures for a Funeral, from filmmaker and Short Cuts alumni Sofia Bohdanowicz and her frequent collaborator, actor Deragh Campbell, tells the story of a forgotten Canadian violinist.
There’s also Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, from France, in which writer-director Laura Piani draws from Austen’s works while creating a contemporary romantic comedy; the movie features a Frederick Wiseman cameo. Kiwi-Australian filmmaker Marcelle Lunam, who has directed multiple music videos and short films as well as the feature documentary Habana Shakes, has Addition, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Toni Jordan. Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), who plays a mathematician struggling to balance her compulsive counting habit (and imaginary friendship with Nikola Tesla) with a new romance. The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos, a debut from Nigeria’s Agbajowo Collective, is a thriller with flecks of magical realism, telling a story about the government’s forced evictions of informal settlements. Inspired by the directors’ lived experiences, the film stars Temi Ami-Williams (Eyimofe – This Is My Desire) and activist-actor Adebowale Adedayo (a.k.a. Mr Macaroni, also at the Festival with Discovery selection Freedom Way). From China, Huo Xin is bringing Bound in Heaven, a tale of love and resilience set against domestic violence and terminal illness starring Ni Ni, Zhou You and Liao Fan.
The 2024 Centrepiece selection was programmed by Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Giovanna Fulvi, Nataleah Hunter-Young, June Kim, Dorota Lech, Jason Ryle and Norm Wilner.
2024 CENTREPIECE PROGRAMME (in alphabetical order)
Addition Marcelle Lunam | Australia
World Premiere
Sales Title
A Missing Part Guillaume Senez | Belgium/France
World Premiere
Sales Title
An Unfinished Film Lou Ye | Singapore/Germany
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Anywhere Anytime Milad Tangshir | Italy
International Premiere
Sales Title
April Dea Kulumbegashvili | Italy/France/Georgia
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Beloved Tropic Ana Endara | Panama/Colombia
World Premiere
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Bound in Heaven Huo Xin | China
World Premiere
Sales Title
By the Stream Hong Sangsoo | South Korea
North American Premiere
Cloud Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Crocodile Tears Tumpal Tampubolon | Indonesia/France/Singapore/Germany
World Premiere
Sales Title
Don’t Cry, Butterfly Dương Diệu Linh | Vietnam/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Edge of Night Türker Süer | Germany
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara Erin Lee Carr | USA
World Premiere
Flow Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia/France/Belgium
Canadian Premiere
Front Row Merzak Allouache | Algeria/Saudi Arabia/France
World Premiere
Sales Title
Happyend Neo Sora | Japan/USA
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Happy Holidays Scandar Copti | Palestine/Germany/France/Italy/Qatar
North American Premiere
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Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Laura Piani | France
World Premiere
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Julie Keeps Quiet Leonardo van Dijl | Belgium/Sweden
North American Premiere
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Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End Michael Jonathan | New Zealand
North American Premiere
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Kill the Jockey Luis Ortega | Argentina/Mexico/Spain/Denmark/USA
North American Premiere
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Little Jaffna Lawrence Valin | France
North American Premiere
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Los Tortuga Belén Funes | Spain/Chile
World Premiere
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Matt and Mara Kazik Radwanski | Canada
North American Premiere
Measures for a Funeral Sofia Bohdanowicz | Canada
World Premiere
Sales Title
My Sunshine Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan/France
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Pimpinero: Blood and Oil Andrés Baiz | Colombia
World Premiere
Presence Steven Soderbergh | USA
International Premiere
Santosh Sandhya Suri | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
Sales Title
Seven Days Ali Samadi Ahadi | Germany
World Premiere
Sales Title
Souleymane’s Story Boris Lojkine | France
International Premiere
Sales Title
Sunshine Antoinette Jadaone | Philippines
World Premiere
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Sweet Angel Baby Melanie Oates | Canada
World Premiere
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The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos Agbajowo Collective: James Tayler, Ogungbamila
Temitope, Okechukwu Samuel, Mathew Cerf, Tina Edukpo, Bisola Akinmuyiwa, A.S. Elijah |
Nigeria/Germany/South Africa/USA
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Mother and the Bear Johnny Ma | Canada/Chile
World Premiere
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The Mountain Rachel House | New Zealand
North American Premiere
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The Seed of the Sacred Fig Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran/France/Germany
Canadian Premiere
The Swedish Torpedo Frida Kempff | Sweden
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Village Next to Paradise Mo Harawe | France/Austria/Germany/Somalia
North American Premiere
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To a Land Unknown Mahdi Fleifel | United Kingdom/France/Germany/Netherlands/Greece/Qatar
/Saudi Arabia/Palestine
North American Premiere
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Under the Volcano Damian Kocur | Poland
World Premiere
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Universal Language Matthew Rankin | Canada
North American Premiere
When the Light Breaks Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland/Netherlands/Croatia/France
North American Premiere
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