The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival added several world premieres by prolific filmmakers including Netflix’s Rian Johnson threequel Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Sony Pictures Classics’ Nicholas Hytner title The Choral, Miramax/Paramount’s Derek Cianfrance caper The Roofman, Paul Greengrass’ AppleTV+ movie The Lost Bus, Searchlight’s The Rental Family from Beef episodic director Hikari as well as the Canadian premiere of Hament from Oscar winning Nomadland filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
In total TIFF unveils today 11 more Official Selections in the Gala and Special Presentations programmes. The fest, presented by Rogers, runs from Sept. 4-14.
“Since its inception, TIFF has championed global cinema that opens our eyes and brings us together,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “We are delighted to share 11 more titles from our Gala and Special Presentations programmes that showcase the remarkable originality and excellence of today’s most exciting and acclaimed directors. These films reflect a sweeping range of voices and styles that embodies the spirit of TIFF and our commitment to a public audience.”
The Choral is Hytner’s first feature narrative film since 2015’s The Lady in the Van, the theatre diector’s first movies being The Madness of King George in 1994 and The Crucible in 1996. It’s the fourth movie between scribe Alan Bennett and Hytner after The Lady In The Van, The History Boys and The Madness Of King George. Unlike those pics, The Choral is based on an original screenplay instead of a play. The Choral is about an ambitious choral society in Yorkshire in 1916 in which the chorus master and most of the choir have volunteered for the front. Under the direction of the demanding Dr. Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes), the choral recruits a group teenage boys and girls. Together they discover the joys of singing and the urgency of desire as the new boys come to terms with their enlistment in the army.
Starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, Rental Family follows a lonely, down and out American actor living in Tokyo who starts working for a Japanese “rental family” company to play various stand-in roles in other people’s lives. Along the way, he discovers unexpected joys within his built-in family. Rental Family hits theaters on Nov. 21.
Wake Up Dead Man is the third Knives Out movie to world premiere at TIFF. The third movie in the franchise sees Daniel Craig return in his role of famed private detective Benoit Blanc to solve his most dangerous case yet in as-yet-undisclosed setting. The ensemble cast includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. The movie debuts on Netflix on Dec. 12.
Starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, Roofman follows fugitive Jeffrey Manchester, a former United States Army Reserve officer, known colloquially as Roofman due to his propensity to steal from branches of McDonald’s after entering their premises via the roof. He evades capture from the cops by hiding in the walls of a Toys R Us store. The movie opens on Oct. 10.
The Lost Bus starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera follows what went wrong in California’s Camp Fire, the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century, and the bus driver and school teacher who helped through the tragedy. Greengrass’ July 22 from Netflix made its North American premiere at TIFF after Venice in 2018.
The full Festival schedule will be released on tiff.net on Tuesday, August 12.
Here’s the line-up broken out by section:
Galas (in alphabetical order):
The Choral | Nicholas Hytner | UKWorld Premiere | Gala Presentation
Homebound | Neeraj Ghaywan | IndiaNorth American Premiere | Gala Presentation
Hamnet | Chloé Zhao | UKCanadian Premiere | Gala Presentation
A Private Life | Rebecca Zlotowski | FranceNorth American Premiere | Gala Presentation
Roofman | Derek Cianfrance | USAWorld Premiere | Gala Presentation
She Has No Name | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | ChinaNorth American Premiere | Gala Presentation
Special Presentations (in alphabetical order):Franz | Agnieszka Holland | Czech Republic/Germany/PolandWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
The Lost Bus | Paul Greengrass | USAWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
Rental Family | HIKARI | USA/JapanWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
Steal Away | Clement Virgo | Canada/BelgiumWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Rian Johnson | USAWorld Premiere | Special Presentation
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