The Toronto International Film Festival announced its 2020 lineup this morning. Nothing spectacular. Most stuff from Cannes/Venice/Sundance, as expected. Regardless, this is probably going to be the best film festival lineup we’re going to be getting this year.
Only 9 Cannes-labeled titles were chosen this year: “Falling,” “Ammonite,” “Another Round,” “Ete 85,” “Memory House,” “True Mothers,” “Limbo,” “Spring Blossom,” and “Beginning.” I would put all nine of these titles high up on your must-watch list.
The organizers of the fest already commented on today’s reveal, stating they expect a hybrid festival ready for public consumption, a mix of digital and a physical component. Supposedly, they’ll be relying on drive-ins and outdoor screenings and “some” indoor screenings. Meanwhile, the digital component will be the driving force of the fest this year, not just for the public, but for the industry as well.
I will try to watch every single one of these movies, although I have already seen 4 of them, but I have also highlighted the ones that are a priority for me during the festival.
2020 lineup:
“180 Degree Rule,” Farnoosh Samadi, Iran
“76 Days,” Hao Wu, Anonymous, Weixi Chen, USA
“Ammonite,” Francis Lee, United Kingdom
“Another Round (Druk),” Thomas Vinterberg, Denmark
“Bandar Band,” Manijeh Hekmat, Iran/Germany
“Beans,” Tracey Deer, Canada
“Beginning (Dasatskisi),” Dea Kulumbegashvili, Georgia/France
“The Best is Yet to Come (Bu zhi bu xiu),” Wang Jing, China
“Bruised,” Halle Berry, USA
“City Hall,” Frederick Wiseman, USA
“Concrete Cowboy,” Ricky Staub, USA
“David Byrne’s American Utopia,” Spike Lee, USA Opening Night Film
“The Disciple,” Chaitanya Tamhane, India
“Enemies of the State,” Sonia Kennebeck, USA
“Falling,” Viggo Mortensen, Canada/United Kingdom
“The Father,” Florian Zeller, United Kingdom/France
“Fauna,” Nicolás Pereda, Mexico/Canada
“Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds,” Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer, United Kingdom/USA “Gazamonamour,” Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser, France/Germany/Portugal/Palestine/Qatar
“Get the Hell Out (Taochulifayuan),” I-Fan Wang, Taiwan
“Good Joe Bell,” Reinaldo Marcus Green, USA
“I Care A Lot,” J Blakeson, United Kingdom
“Inconvenient Indian,” Michelle Latimer, Canada
“The Inheritance,” Ephraim Asili, USA
“Lift Like a Girl (Ashya Captain),” Mayye Zayed, Egypt/Germany/Denmark
“Limbo,” Ben Sharrock, United Kingdom
“Memory House (Casade Antiguidades),” João Paulo, Miranda Maria, Brazil/France
“MLK/FBI,” Sam Pollard, USA
“The New Corporation: An Unfortunately Necessary Sequel,” Joel Bakan, Jennifer Abbott, Canada
“New Order (Nuevo orden),” Michel Franco, Mexico
“Night of the Kings (La Nuit des rois),” Philippe Lacôte, Côte d’Ivoire/France/Canada/Senegal
“Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao, USA
“No Ordinary Man,” Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt, Canada
“Notturno,” Gianfranco Rosi, Italy/France/Germany
“One Night in Miami,” Regina King, USA
“Penguin Bloom,” Glendyn Ivin, Australia/USA
“Pieces of a Woman,” Kornél Mundruczó, USA/Canada/Hungary
“Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time (Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre),” Lili Horvát, Hungary
“Quo Vadis, Aïda?,” Jasmila Žbanic, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Norway/The Netherlands/Austria/Romania/France/Germany/Poland/Turkey
“Shadow In The Cloud,” Roseanne Liang, USA/New Zealand
“Shiva Baby,” Emma Seligman, USA/Canada
“Spring Blossom,” Suzanne Lindon, France
“A Suitable Boy,” Mira Nair, United Kingdom/India Closing Night Presentation
“Summer of 85 (Été 85),” François Ozon, France
“The Third Day,” Felix Barrett, Dennis Kelly, United Kingdom
“Trickster,” Michelle Latimer, Canada
“True Mothers (Asagakuru),” Naomi Kawase, Japan
“Under the Open Sky (Subarashikisekai),” Miwa Nishikawa, Japan
“Violation,” Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli, Canada
“Wildfire,” Cathy Brady, United Kingdom/Ireland
The 45th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10–19, 2020.
No surprise, “Practical Magic 2” is not doing well with critics. We all saw it coming. The first was also hammered with bad reviews. The only reason we’re getting a sequel is due to its cult base and ‘90s nostalgia.