TIFF runs from Sept. 5 to Sept. 15. We’ll be highlighting the best of the Star’s coverage below:
We first meet Catherine Ravenscroft, the lead played by Cate Blanchett in the miniseries “Disclaimer,” when she is on a personal high, as she receives an award for her investigative journalism work.
Her husband is adoringly by her side, popping open vintage wine to celebrate. But the seven-part psychological thriller — which will screen weekly beginning Oct. 11 on Apple TV Plus and makes its Canadian premiere Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival — then plunges into the precipitous downfall of Ravenscroft as dark secrets unearthed from her past threaten her family and career.
“There are so many different perspectives that go to make up the truth,” says the actor, who
It’s right there in the name: Toronto International Film Festival. Movies from all over the world will be celebrated from Sept. 5 to 15. In particular, we’d like to celebrate these four: “All That We Imagine as Light,” “Caught by the Tides,” “Dahomey” and “Misericordia.”
Our critic reviews ‘All That We Imagine as Light,’ ‘Caught by the Tides,’ ‘Dahomey’ and
The Toronto International Film Festival has long been the launching pad for many a young director’s career. And while its name stresses “International,” one of TIFF’s missions is to celebrate emerging Canadian talent. It’s one of ours too.
Among this year’s pack, these six stand out: R.T. Thorne, Ryan Cooper, Eva Thomas, Amar Wala, Arianna Martinez and Kaniehtiio Horn.
Imagine if “All About Eve” or “Sunset Boulevard” were set in the near future and fading Hollywood stars Margo Channing and Norma Desmond were desperately cloning themselves to fend off aging and irrelevance.
No imagining is necessary with “The Substance,” the Midnight Madness program opener at TIFF 2024. This body-swap shocker is sure to be one of the most talked-about films at the festival, as it was at its Cannes premiere last spring when it won that fest’s screenplay award.
French writer-director Coralie Fargeat, previously at TIFF with the 2017 rape-payback thriller “Revenge,” salutes and then exceeds David Cronenberg’s body horror gross-outs with her transformative second feature.
- Peter Howell
The finery and the frenzy. The volleys of flattery.
That time of year — and what a year it is looking like. With a party ecosystem firmly back in play for the Toronto International Film Festival, it is stacked. It ranges from the fabulous tried-and-true, like the annual Chanel dinner (co-hosted with Variety in celebration of female filmmakers) to British bandwagons like the Great Tea, co-hosted by BAFTA, to an intriguing new Road to the Golden Globes party, co-hosted with Robb Report (and happening at the Four Seasons!! Yorkville is back!).
From Tilda to Jude, Tucci to Kidman, the boldface brigade is on.
- Shinan Govani
Mike Downie’s labour of love was also his toughest assignment.
As the director and producer of the superb four-hour-plus documentary “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal” that premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, Downie has done an admirable job of chronicling the history and cementing the legacy of the extraordinary rock band. Since forming in Kingston, Ont., in 1984, the group has sold more than 12 million albums in Canada, another three million in the rest of the world, and filled bars, theatres, arenas and stadiums coast to coast as a must-see live act for the majority of their existence.
It’s an even more impressive feat considering that, along with telling the story of the band, Mike also had to relive the cancer diagnosis and Oct. 17, 2017 passing of his younger brother, singer Gord Downie.
“It wasn’t uncommon for me to have a good cry,” admitted Mike.
An interview with the multidisciplinary artist Sook-Yin Lee and the cartoonist Chester Brown must begin with a few definitions, since the Toronto duo defy easy categorization.
Lee’s sexually charged new movie, “Paying for It,” which she directed and co-wrote and which is world premiering Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, is based on Brown’s bestselling 2011 graphic novel of the same name.
The abundantly bewhiskered Brown is the best friend of the raven-haired Lee, who’s also an actor, musician, broadcaster and former MuchMusic VJ.
Sook-Yin Lee’s movie explores her unconventional relationship with artist Chester Brown with intimacy and humour, writes Peter Howell.
- Peter Howell
The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival boasts the fest’s best lineup in years as it returns to the relative normalcy of life without a pandemic or Hollywood strikes to contend with.
The selections are so strong for the show, which runs Thursday to Sept. 15, the task of assembling a top 10 list is harder than ever. Please forgive me for overlooking any masterpieces.
The whiff of fall. The whisk of discovery.
The time of the year when premieres and parties take over, and the city becomes a kind of dialysis for celebrity-dom. Who’s up? Who’s down? Who is pivoting and who’s just entering the cradle of fame? With another Toronto International Film Festival on the horizon, I take a look at the personalities, the dish and the talking points expected to cast a spell. An A to Z of film fest buzz.
There’s a distinct Canadian flavour to our 24th annual “Chasing the Buzz” poll of movie experts headed to the Toronto International Film Festival (running today through Sept. 15).
Two of the top three flicks making antennae twitch are by Canuck directors: R.T. Thorne’s postapocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” and Karen Chapman’s family grief drama “Village Keeper.”
A U.S. film by a TIFF veteran is also exciting the hive: Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch,” starring Amy Adams in the possibly horrific tale of an overworked mom who may be turning into a dog.
Our 33 panellists each named the TIFF-bound movie that most excites them, with a brief explanation. They also each named a wild-card film, no explanation given, to expand the selection and your minds. Let the buzzing begin.
For 10 days in September, Toronto’s raccoons gracefully surrender the city to a class of mammals that, refreshingly, don’t have a taste for garbage. While these rare species can be easily confused by King Street bystanders during TIFF, when you know what to look for, they’re as different as Andrew Garfield and regular Garfield. Before foraging into the festival fray, educate yourself about some of the common types of species you might be lucky enough to spot.
- Ryan Porter Special to the Star
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