Last year’s hybrid edition of the Toronto International Film Festival somewhat worked, given the dire circumstances, and today it was announced that the festival will again do a mix of both online and in-person screenings for its 45th edition.
TIFF is set to kick off on September 9th with 10 days of screenings, and over 100 films in its Official Selection. The first 12 titles of the lineup were announced today, most notably Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho.”
The press and industry screening platform launched last year will remain in place. “This will be a part of the festival going forward,” TIFF director Cameron Bailey told IndieWire. “We saw so many festivals going online as a necessity, but it’s a feature for us now.”
Additional titles confirmed for the selection include Céline Sciamma’s “Petite Maman,” Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” “Le Bal des Folles,” directed by Mélanie Laurent; “The Guilty” remake from director Antoine Fuqua and starring Jake Gyllenhaal; “Charlotte,” directed by Eric Warin and Tahir Rana; “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over,” directed by Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner; HBO’s Alanis Morissette documentary “Jagged,” directed by Alison Klayman; “Lakewood,” directed by Philip Noyce; “Night Raiders,” directed by Danis Goulet; and “The Starling” by director Theodore Melfi.
The Canadian border remains closed to Americans, but one can see it re-opening before September. Over 75% of Canadians have had their first dose of the vaccine and 25% are fully vaccinated (including myself).
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.