Toronto International Film Festival 2020
This is a list of movies from TIFF 2020 which I have seen, using my TIFF Interest List as the source and listed in chronological viewing order. I saw titles #1-5 before the festival in other locations, and then #6-40 at the festival itself via the online viewing platform.
Hopefully I will be back in Toronto in person for TIFF 2021. Thanks to the TIFF team for an excellent virtual event.
Hopefully I will be back in Toronto in person for TIFF 2021. Thanks to the TIFF team for an excellent virtual event.
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62 titles
- DirectorPushpendra SinghStarsMoti Khan ManganiyarNijre Khan ManganiyarAnwar Khan ManganiyarMoti Khan, a musically gifted child from the lower caste Muslim Manganiyars of the Thar Desert, is forced to sing and play music for their ancestral patrons in order to survive.Mumbai Film Festival 2019
- DirectorFlorian ZellerStarsAnthony HopkinsOlivia ColmanMark GatissA man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.Sundance Film Festival 2020
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsJames NortonVanessa KirbyPeter SarsgaardA Welsh journalist breaks the news in the western media of the famine in Ukraine in the early 1930s.VoD
- DirectorMagnus von HornStarsMagdalena KolesnikJulian SwiezewskiAleksandra KoniecznaThree days in the life of fitness motivator Sylwia Zajac, a social media celebrity surrounded by loyal employees and admirers, who is really looking for true intimacy.Marche du Film 2020
- DirectorKris ReyStarsGillian JacobsJemaine ClementJosh WigginsFollowing the launch of her new novel, 35-year-old writer Kate's former professor invites her to speak at her alma mater. After accepting the invitation, Kate finds herself deeply enmeshed in the lives of a group of college students.VoD
- DirectorNicole RiegelStarsPamela AdlonAustin AmelioBecky Ann BakerTo pay for her education, and the chance of a better life, a young woman joins a dangerous scrap metal crew.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorDanielle ArbidStarsLaetitia DoschSergei PoluninLou-Teymour ThionA mother falls into an addictive relationship with a Russian diplomat, with whom she has nothing in common.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorChristos NikouStarsAris ServetalisSofia GeorgovassiliAnna KalaitzidouAmidst a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia, middle-aged Aris finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help unclaimed patients build new identities.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorDawn PorterStarsPete SouzaBarack ObamaBen RhodesFormer Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza's journey as a person with top secret clearance and total access to the President.Official Selection
- DirectorCurtis VowellStarsRose MatafeoMatthew LewisEmily BarclayWannabe-adventurer Zoe freaks out when she falls pregnant to her long-term boyfriend Tim. As Tim embraces the prospect of fatherhood, Zoe attempts to rush through her dreams.TIFF Private Screening [7/10]
- DirectorBen LewinStarsChristina BenningtonDanielle MacdonaldShazad LatifA brilliant young fund manager leaves her unfulfilling job and long-term boyfriend to chase her lifelong dream of becoming an opera singer in the Scottish Highlands.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorRegina KingStarsKingsley Ben-AdirEli GoreeAldis HodgeA fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.Official Selection
- DirectorBen SharrockStarsSidse Babett KnudsenKenneth CollardAmir El-MasryOmar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request.Official Selection
- DirectorMalgorzata SzumowskaMichal EnglertStarsAlec UtgoffMaja OstaszewskaAgata KuleszaZhenia, a Russian-speaking immigrant from the East, works as a masseur in Poland and becomes a guru-like figure in a wealthy gated community of his clients.TIFF Private Screening
- DirectorEmma SeligmanStarsRachel SennottDanny DeferrariFred MelamedAt a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy and ex girlfriend.Official Selection
- DirectorChaitanya TamhaneStarsAditya ModakArun DravidSumitra BhaveSelf-doubt, sacrifice and struggle converge into an existential crisis for a devoted classical vocalist as the mastery he strives for remains elusive.Official Selection
- DirectorGlendyn IvinStarsNaomi WattsGriffin Murray-JohnstonAndrew LincolnA family takes in an injured Magpie that makes a profound difference in their lives.Official Selection
- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsFrances McDormandDavid StrathairnLinda MayA woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.Official Selection
- DirectorKornél MundruczóStarsVanessa KirbyShia LaBeoufEllen BurstynWhen a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.Official Selection
- DirectorViggo MortensenStarsViggo MortensenLance HenriksenLaura LinneyJohn Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.Official Selection
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsFélix LefebvreBenjamin VoisinPhilippine VelgeWhen 16-year-old Alexis capsizes off the coast of Normandy, 18-year-old David heroically saves him. Alexis has just met the friend of his dreams, who opens his eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art and sexual bliss.Official Selection
- DirectorSam PollardStarsMartin Luther KingJ. Edgar HooverDavid GarrowBased on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.Official Selection
- DirectorJ BlakesonStarsRosamund PikePeter DinklageEiza GonzálezA crooked legal guardian who drains the savings of her elderly wards meets her match when a woman she tries to swindle turns out to be more than she first appears.Official Selection
- DirectorAlex AppelJonathan LiseckiStarsAlicia WittLuluMark MosesA single woman focused on her career in New York is forced to deal with the aftermath of a failed relationship when an ex-boyfriend hires her company.TIFF Private Screening [7/10]
- DirectorPietro CastellittoStarsMassimo PopolizioManuela MandracchiaGiorgio MontaniniTwo families, one bourgeois and intellectual and the other proletarian and fascist, are brought together by a trivial accident that will bring these two polar-opposites together and set them on a collision course.TIFF Private Screening
- DirectorTracey DeerStarsKiawentiioRainbow DickersonViolah BeauvaisBased on true events, Tracey Deer's debut feature chronicles the 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government forces in 1990 Quebec.Official Selection
- DirectorCathy BradyStarsNora-Jane NooneNika McGuiganKate DickieThe story of two sisters who grew up on the fractious Irish border. When one of them, who has been missing, finally returns home, the intense bond with her sister is re-ignited. Together they unearth their mother's past, but they uncover secrets and resentments which have been deeply buried and now threaten to overwhelm them.Official Selection
- DirectorEvan MorganStarsKaitlyn Chalmers-RizzatoAdam BrodyKaleb HornA once-celebrated kid detective, now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity; until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorRicky StaubStarsIdris ElbaCaleb McLaughlinLorraine ToussaintSent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys.Official Selection
- DirectorDusty MancinelliMadeleine Sims-FewerStarsMadeleine Sims-FewerAnna MaguireJesse LaVercombeA troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.Official Selection
- DirectorReinaldo Marcus GreenStarsMark WahlbergReid MillerConnie BrittonThe true story of a small-town, working-class father who embarks on a walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay. Meanwhile, he realizes he is instead missing out on his son's life back at home.Official Selection
- DirectorDavid OyelowoStarsDavid OyelowoAmiah MillerLonnie ChavisA boy sets out on a quest to save his ill mother by searching for a mythic figure said to have magical healing powers.Official Selection
- DirectorNathan GrossmanStarsGreta ThunbergSvante ThunbergNiclas SvenningsenThe documentary follows Greta Thunberg, a teenage climate activist from Sweden, on her international crusade to get people to listen to scientists about the world's environmental problems.Official Selection
- DirectorGabriel SabloffStarsDavid A.R. WhiteWilliam BaldwinBurt YoungA contract killer becomes the reverend of an LA church until a cult leader and his minions kidnap his adopted daughter. Blinded by vengeance, he cuts a bloody path across the city. The only thing that can stop him is his newfound faith.TIFF Private Screening
- DirectorNicole GarciaStarsPierre NineyStacy MartinBenoît MagimelSet in Paris the story follows Lisa, who, while on vacation with her husband, rekindles a passionate affair with her ex-boyfriend. But that may lead to a murder.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorWerner HerzogClive OppenheimerStarsWerner HerzogClive OppenheimerSimon SchafferA documentary from Werner Herzog about meteors and comets and their influence on ancient religions and other cultural and physical impacts they've had on Earth.Official Selection
- DirectorNicolás PeredaStarsGabino RodríguezLuisa PardoFrancisco BarreiroA pair of estranged offspring visit their parents in an abandoned Mexican village.Official Selection
- DirectorRoseanne LiangStarsChloë Grace MoretzNick RobinsonBeulah KoaleA female WWII pilot traveling with top secret documents on a B-17 Flying Fortress encounters an evil presence on board the flight.Official Selection
- DirectorSuzanne LindonStarsSuzanne LindonArnaud ValoisFrédéric PierrotA 16 year old girl, bored with her own age group, becomes involved with an older man at a theater she passes.Official Selection
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsHiromi NagasakuArata IuraAju MakitaA woman with an adopted child is contacted unexpectedly by the child's birth mother.Official Selection
- DirectorSam FriedlanderStarsDanny PudiEmily ChangBen GoldsmithWhen two couples with mixed feelings about having kids hatch a plan to share one baby, it seems like the perfect compromise--until things spiral out of control.
- DirectorFarnoosh SamadiStarsSadaf AsgariSahar DolatshahiAzita HajianA school teacher from Tehran is preparing to attend a wedding in northern Iran. When her husband suddenly forbids her to go, she makes a choice that will place her on a painful path zig to atonement.
- DirectorTomm MooreRoss StewartStarsHonor KneafseyEva WhittakerSean BeanA young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenMagnus MillangFour high-school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDavid ByrneJacqueline AcevedoGustavo Di DalvaSpike Lee documents the former Talking Heads frontman's brilliant, timely 2019 Broadway show, based on his recent album and tour of the same name.
- DirectorGianfranco RosiGianfranco Rosi's new documentary is an immersive portrait of those trying to survive in the war-torn Middle East.
- DirectorAleem KhanStarsJoanna ScanlanNathalie RichardTalid ArissSet in the port town of Dover, Mary Hussain suddenly finds herself a widow following the unexpected death of her husband. A day after the burial, she discovers he has a secret just twenty-one miles across the English Channel in Calais.
- DirectorMichel FrancoStarsNaian González NorvindEligio MeléndezMónica Del CarmenA lavish high-society wedding unexpectedly turns into a class struggle that leads to a violent coup.
- DirectorFrancis LeeStarsKate WinsletSaoirse RonanGemma Jones1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever.
- DirectorWeixi ChenHao WuAnonymousRaw and intimate, this documentary captures the struggles of patients and frontline medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan.
- DirectorDaniele LuchettiStarsAlba RohrwacherLuigi Lo CascioLaura MoranteA marriage-in-crisis drama set in Naples and Rome over a long period starting in the 1980s.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorMichael DweckGregory KershawStarsPiero BottoSergio CaudaMaria CicciùDeep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years old, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle-which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation.
- DirectorRuthy PribarStarsAlena YivShira HaasTamir MulaDespite living together, Asia barely interacts with her daughter Vika. Their routine is shaken when Vika's health deteriorates rapidly. Asia must step in and become the mother Vika so desperately needsTIFF Private Screening
- DirectorDea KulumbegashviliStarsIa SukhitashviliRati OneliKakha KintsurashviliWhen a Jehovah's Witness community is attacked, leader's wife Yana questions her desires as her familiar world crumbles.Official Selection
- DirectorJasmila ZbanicStarsJasna DjuricicIzudin BajrovicBoris LerAida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp.Official Selection
- DirectorMariusz WilczynskiStarsKrystyna JandaAndrzej ChyraMaja OstaszewskaFleeing from despair after losing those dearest to him, the hero hides in a safe land of memories, where time stands still and all those dear to him are alive.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorZaida BergrothStarsAlma PöystiKrista KosonenShanti RoneyDepiction on the life of Tove Jansson, showing both her personal relationships, and the creation of the popular Moomin books.
- DirectorPhilippe LacôteStarsBakary KonéSteve TientcheuJean Cyrille DigbeuA young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners.
- DirectorSonia KennebeckStarsJoel WidmanStuart AndersonNemo BaleticAn American family becomes entangled in a bizarre web of secrets and lies when their hacker son is targeted by the U.S. government, making them all ENEMIES OF THE STATE.Official Selection
- DirectorLili HorvátStarsNatasa StorkViktor BodóBenett VilmányiMárta, a forty-year-old neurosurgeon, falls in love. She leaves her shining American career behind and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man. But the love of her life claims they have never met before.Official Selection
- DirectorFrederik Louis HviidAnders ØlholmStarsJacob LohmannSimon SearsTarek ZayatJens and Mike, two police officers on routine patrol, find themselves trapped in a maze of buildings when unrest spreads.TIFF Industry Selects
- DirectorStacey LeeStarsAnna LunoeNervoNightwaveFilmed over the summer festival season, Underplayed presents a portrait of the current status of the gender, ethnic, and sexuality equality issues in dance music.Official Selection