TIFF Interest List 2018
This is a list to track films I want to catch at The Toronto International Film Festival in 2018. As usual it is an excellent line-up and, starting with over 100 films, obviously no chance of catching all of these in 10 days, but I will try my best.
As I watch things they will be moved to this list.
The list is in alphabetical order after the opening film. My Top 20 picks can be found on this list.
As I watch things they will be moved to this list.
The list is in alphabetical order after the opening film. My Top 20 picks can be found on this list.
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62 titles
- DirectorGonzalo TobalStarsLali EspósitoEmilio VodanovichLeonardo SbaragliaA young student is the only one accused of the brutal murder of her best friend, a case that is excessively reported by the media. Cornered by the evidence, she must face her own doubts about what really happened.
- DirectorHajooj KukaStarsAbdallah AlnurGanja ChakadoEkram MarcusA Kasha is a universal offbeat love story set in a time of civil war - but the war is in Sudan and it is happening right now. We follow Adnan, an AK47-loving rebel, his long-suffering love interest, Lina, and the armydodging Absi, over a fateful 24 hours in a rebel-held area of Sudan.
- DirectorKoen MortierStarsVincent RottiersFatou N'DiayePaul BartelUn Ange follows the encounter of a prostitute, Fae, and a world-famous athlete, Thierry.
- DirectorPella KagermanHugo LiljaStarsEmelie GarbersBianca CruzeiroArvin KananianA spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.
- DirectorMichael NoerStarsJesper ChristensenClara RosagerMagnus KrepperIn 1800s Denmark, a farmer has a bad harvest and thus not enough food for his family. He makes a deal, that includes his farm and his daughter getting married, with a nearby rich farmer.
- DirectorTuva NovotnyStarsPia TjeltaAnders BaasmoPer FrischBLIND SPOT is a story about the grey zones in mental illness; the blind spots hard to discover, as experienced by a mother realizing her daughter struggling with far worse issues than she realized.
- DirectorWi Ding HoStarsJack KaoHong-Chi LeeLouise GrinbergThis is a story about a common man who has extraordinary events in his mundane life. The film depicts the protagonist's turns of events in three eras, three seasons, three nights, in the same city, as told with reverse chronology.
- DirectorAkash ShermanStarsPatrick J. AdamsTroian BellisarioEnnis EsmerAn obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsSofia BoutellaRomain GuillermicSouheila YacoubFrench dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
- DirectorKei Chika-uraStarsYulai LüTatsuya FujiSayo AkasakaA Chinese man moves illegally to Japan in order to improve his life and gain opportunity. He buys and assumes a false identity at considerable cost and is, therefore, more than happy to accept a job offer meant for someone else. Having forged his way into a new setting once again he has to contend with the reality that the job is preparing traditional Japanese soba noodles.
- DirectorAndy TohillRyan TohillStarsMoe DunfordEmily TaaffeFrancis MageeAfter serving fifteen years for murder, Callahan returns home to find Sean, his victim's father searching for the body. Callahan soon realises that the only way to get rid of him is to help him dig.
- DirectorTim SuttonStarsMichael AgeeAdam BartleyJamie BellTwo men prepare to compete in a legendary bare-knuckle fight where the winner gets a $100,000 prize.
- DirectorLuis OrtegaStarsLorenzo FerroCecilia RothLuis GneccoThe angelic face of Carlos, a 17-year-old teenager, hides a dark facet of robberies, lies and murders.
- DirectorLouis GarrelStarsLouis GarrelLaetitia CastaLily-Rose DeppA couple's relationship becomes complicated when she leaves him for his best friend, and returns after he dies.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsAlexandre LandryMaripier MorinRémy GirardA shy and insecure delivery truck driver accidentally arrives on the scene of a major crime and picks up two bags of cash and hides them. Only the help of a prostitute and a former biker released from jail might get him out of trouble.
- DirectorAalam-Warqe DavidianStarsMareta GetachewYohannes MusaWeyenshiet Belachew16 year old Jewish Mina, is trying to navigate between a surreal routine dictated by the civil war in Ethiopia and her last days of youth with her Christian boyfriend Eli. When she discovers that her family is planning to immigrate to Israel and escape the war, she weaves an alternate plan in order to save Eli. But in times of war, plans tend to go wrong. Marsha's coming of age film debut film is based on her childhood memories of a civil-war-torn Ethiopia.
- DirectorCarmel WintersStarsHazel DoupeDara DevaneyJohnny CollinsFrom the producers of "Once" and "Sing Street", "Float Like a Butterfly" is a powerful, timely story of a girl's fight for freedom and belonging. In a gender-reversal of the classic film "Billy Elliott," 15-year-old Frances must fight for the right to fight back. Raised in roadside camps in rural Ireland, Frances wants to champion her people inside the boxing ring and out, like her idol Muhammad Ali. But society is determined to break her spirit and destroy her way of life. And her father, once her greatest ally, is too defeated himself to imagine anything better for his daughter. But Frances was not born to be broken. In the mother of all fights, she must dig deep to find in herself the Champion her father once knew her to be.
- DirectorAna KatzStarsMercedes MoránGustavo GarzónManuela Martínez MoránA recently separated Argentinian couple, along with their two teenage children, go on a family vacation to Florianópolis, Brazil, where they become delightfully and problematically involved with the family from whom they rent a house.
- DirectorKeith BehrmanStarsJosh WigginsDarren MannTaylor HicksonTwo popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
- DirectorLukas DhontStarsVictor PolsterArieh WorthalterOliver BodartA promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.
- DirectorAlejandra Márquez AbellaStarsIlse SalasFlavio MedinaCassandra CiangherottiA well-to-do socialite and her husband must wrestle with the impact of Mexico's 1982 economic crisis.
- DirectorMaxime GirouxStarsMartin DubreuilRomain DurisReda KatebWhile a world war rages, Philippe, a draft-dodger from Quebec, takes refuge in the American West, surviving by competing in Charlie Chaplin impersonation contests. As Philippe makes his long journey home, he encounters various characters under the sway of a destructive madness borne of the chaotic times. His voyage, both violent and fascinating, is a hallucinatory initiation to the darker side of the American dream.
- DirectorWen JiangStarsEddie PengFan LiaoYun ZhouA young swordsman in 1930's China returns home to try and solve a five-year-old murder case. Described as the third installment of the gangster trilogy that includes "Let The Bullets Fly" and "Gone With The Bullets."
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsTaapsee PannuAbhishek BachchanVicky KaushalA love triangle between a spirited young woman, her outgoing boyfriend and a fiance who's husband material.
- DirectorDaniel SawkaStarsGenesis RodriguezCarrie LazarSarah MinnichA young boy becomes trapped inside America's rigid immigration process. (Feature adaptation of the 2016 short film, "Icebox.")
- DirectorBenjamin GilmourStarsSam SmithMohammad MosamKefayat Lag HumaniFormer Australian soldier, Mike Wheeler, returns to Afghanistan, seeking redemption from the family of a civilian man he killed during the war.
- DirectorRadu JudeStarsIoana IacobAlexandru DabijaAlex BogdanAn artist commissioned to stage a re-enactment of a Romanian war battle receives pushback from producers for including a realistic portrayal of her country's treatment of Jews during WWII.
- DirectorCaroline PoggiJonathan VinelStarsAomi MuyockSebastian UrzendowskyAugustin RaguenetIn a dystopian world where violent misfits reign supreme, one woman and her makeshift family of rehabilitated marauders fight for peace.
- DirectorRenée BeaulieuStarsBrigitte PoupartVincent LeclercNathalie CavezzaliRevealing women, showing men Dermatology professor Marie-Claire is embarking on a new project linking skin cells and sexuality, when unexpected events disrupt her professional, family and intimate life.
- DirectorNéjib BelkadhiStarsNidhal SaadiIdryss KharroubiSaoussen MaalejA Tunisian immigrant has to return home when his wife has a stroke.
- DirectorBaldvin ZophoníassonStarsElín HallEyrún Björk JakobsdóttirLára Jóhanna JónsdóttirDrawing on true stories and interviews with the families of addicts, this harrowing portrait of addiction follows Stella and Magnea through the decades as precarious teenage years morph into perilous adulthoods.
- DirectorNandita DasStarsNawazuddin SiddiquiRasika DugalTahir Raj BhasinThe film is a biographical account of writer Saadat Hasan Manto's life and is set in 1940s India.
- DirectorEmmanuel MouretStarsCécile de FranceEdouard BaerAlice IsaazFooled by a notorious libertine, a widow plans her revenge.
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloElena Sofia RicciRiccardo ScamarcioA film about the life of Silvio Berlusconi.
- DirectorJoël KarekeziStarsAbby Mukiibi NkaagaCédrick Mbongo MbuluNsereko Mazinga HenryThe Mercy of the jungle is a road movie that deals with wars in Congo through the eyes of two lost soldiers in the jungle by showcasing their struggle, weakness and hope.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonBilly Bob ThorntonOdessa YoungA drug-dependent young man faces his past and his inner demons after he is interned in an institution for the addicted.
- DirectorAlonso RuizpalaciosStarsGael García BernalLeonardo OrtizgrisAlfredo CastroIn 1985, a group of criminals mock the security of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City to extract 140 pre-Hispanic pieces from their showcases.
- DirectorOlivier Masset-DepasseStarsVeerle BaetensAnne CoesensMehdi NebbouWhen a sudden tragedy uproots the lives of two women and their families, they begin to question the relationships they once held so dear, in this psychological thriller from Olivier Masset-Depass.
- DirectorKiah Roache-TurnerStarsBen O'TooleMonica BellucciCaroline FordA man discovers that he is part of a secret sect of magical beings who hunt down and destroy demons in the Internet.
- DirectorPatricia RozemaStarsAmy NostbakkenNorah SadavaMaev BeatyCassandra, who is portrayed by the two women, expresses the opposing voices that exist inside the modern woman's head, during a 48-hour period as she tries to organize the affairs for her mother's funeral.
- DirectorKlaus HäröStarsHeikki NousiainenPirjo LonkaAmos BrotherusAn elderly art dealer investigates the history behind an unsigned painting that promises to bring his suffering career to a successful end.
- DirectorAvi NesherStarsSasson GabayJoy RiegerYuval SegalTwo rebellious young women - one fleeing the chaos of secular hedonism for the disciplined comforts of faith; the other desperate to transcend her oppressive religious cross paths unexpectedly in Jerusalem, to startling consequences.
- DirectorCarlos ReygadasStarsNatalia LópezPhil BurgersCarlos ReygadasA family lives in the Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. Esther is in charge of running the ranch, while her husband Juan, a world-renowned poet, raises and selects the beasts. Although in an open marriage, their relationship begins to crumble when Esther falls in love with an American horse-breaker and Juan is unable to control his jealousy.
- DirectorCamilla Strøm HenriksenStarsYlva Bjørkaas ThedinMaria BonnevieSverrir GudnasonFrom a young age, Jill has acted as the responsible adult in her small family. She cares for her loving but mentally unstable mother and her younger brother. The news that their estranged father will be visiting on Jill's birthday gives the children much needed hope. When the family is struck by tragedy, Jill keeps it a secret.
- DirectorCarlos VermutStarsNajwa NimriEva LlorachCarme EliasWhen Lila, a celebrated but fame-weary and amnesiac singer forgets how to perform, super-fan Violeta steps in to teach Lila how to be Lila once again.
- DirectorRodrigo SorogoyenStarsAntonio de la TorreMónica LópezJosep Maria PouA Spanish politician whose high-class lifestyle is based on nefarious and illegal business threatens to break his entire party after a newspaper exposes him to the public eye.
- DirectorKatherine JerkovicStarsArlen Aguayo StewartGloria DemassiMathias PerdigónDriven by childhood memories and the hope of a re-encounter, Sarah visits her paternal grandmother in her village in Uruguay. She takes long to understand the prevailing unease - But she is soon faced with the gap between her fantasy regarding the place of origin and that village of old people forgotten by Modernity where the heat is overwhelming and the days seem to last forever.
- DirectorJahmil X.T. QubekaStarsEzra MabengezaPeter KurthKandyse McClureIn a racially-charged and violent 1950's rural South Africa, a liberal journalist recounts the epic chase, edge-of-your-seat capture and intriguing trial of a flamboyant, native "Robin Hood". His captivating re-imagining, paints a portrait of a divisive outlaw - hunted by the government, elusive even to his loved ones, all whilst remaining a champion of the disenchanted.
- DirectorThom FitzgeraldStarsSimon MutabaziShelley ThompsonSofia BanzhafAfter the death of her father, a young woman must come to terms with her strained relationship with her mother.
- DirectorHenry DunhamStarsJames Badge DaleChris MulkeyBrian GeraghtyA former cop-turned-militia man investigates a shooting at a police funeral.
- DirectorWolfgang FischerStarsSusanne WolffGedion Oduor WekesaKelvin Mutuku Ndinda"Styx" depicts the transformation of a strong woman torn from her contented world during a sailing trip.
- DirectorSelma VilhunenStarsJere RistseppäRosa HonkonenVille HaapasaloA teenage couple deals with an unexpected pregnancy while racial tensions mount in their neighborhood.
- DirectorPaprika SteenStarsPaprika SteenJacob LohmannMikas Maximus Dalhoff ChristiansenDeep-rooted grievances can rip families apart--and the ties that bind them together.
- DirectorDon McKellarStarsTanaya BeattyBrandon OakesKiowa GordonThe disappearance of a young Cree woman in Toronto traumatizes her Northern Ontario family, and sends her twin sister on a journey south to find her.
- DirectorAdina PintilieStarsLaura BensonTómas LemarquisChristian BayerleinTogether, a filmmaker and her characters venture into a personal research project about intimacy. On the fluid border between reality and fiction, Touch Me Not follows the emotional journeys of Laura, Tómas and Christian, offering a deeply empathic insight into their lives.
- DirectorChristian PetzoldStarsFranz RogowskiPaula BeerGodehard GieseA man attempting to escape occupied France falls in love with the wife of a dead author whose identity he has assumed.
- DirectorSébastien BetbederStarsManal IssaEric CantonaMathis RomaniUlysses, a secluded artist who mysteriously retired a few years ago, meets Mona, a young art student full of life. The encounter will change them both.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsJuliette BinocheMasatoshi NagaseTakanori IwataFrenchwoman Joan is a world traveller and chronicler. She travels, sees, experience and writes. She lands in the forest and hills near Nara, Japan and meets Satoshi. Despite the mysterious aura and eccentric personality the woodsman finds a place in the visitor's heart.
- DirectorStella MeghieStarsSasheer ZamataTone BellDeWanda WiseA comedian goes away for the weekend with an ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsDogu DemirkolMurat CemcirBennu YildirimlarAn unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.
- DirectorBenedikt ErlingssonStarsHalldóra GeirharðsdóttirJóhann SigurðarsonJuan Camilo Román EstradaHalla becomes a determined environmental activist, but this threatens a long-held hope of hers.
- DirectorMichal AviadStarsLiron Ben-ShlushMenashe NoyOshri CohenLife at work becomes unbearable for Orna. Her boss appreciates and promotes her, while making inappropriate advances. Her husband struggles to keep his new restaurant afloat, and Orna becomes the main breadwinner for their three children. When her world is finally shattered, she must pull herself together to fight, in her own way, for her job and a sense of self-worth.