Halle Berry's directorial debut among movies at trimmed down 45th TIFF
The 45th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival will take place Sept. 10–19, with 50 feature films that represent a full range of star-driven movies, first-rate international cinema, documentaries, five programs of shorts, and Canadian creativity that audiences have come to love and expect.
Over the first five days, TIFF’s full slate will premiere as physical, socially-distanced screenings. Festival-goers also can enjoy drive-ins and outdoor experiences that take them beyond the movie theater.
In today's morning press release, organizers called it a festival tailored to fit the moment, with physical screenings at marquee venues and drive-ins, digital screenings, interactive Q&As with casts and filmmakers, and virtual red carpets.
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Berry plays an MMA fighter in her directorial debut. |
TIFF co-heads Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente said they were "thrilled" to announce that to date, Ammonite, directed by Francis Lee (United Kingdom); Another Round, from director Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark); Bruised, the debut film from Cleveland's own, director Halle Berry(USA); Concrete Cowboys by filmmaker Ricky Staub (USA); Fauna, from director Nicolás Pereda (Mexico/Canada); Good Joe Bell by director Reinaldo Marcus Green (USA); Spring Blossom, the debut film by director Suzanne Lindon (France); and True Mothers by director Naomi Kawase (Japan), will all screen at this year’s festival. More titles will be announced throughout the summer.
In addition, for the first time in its history, TIFF will launch a digital platform, affording new opportunities to connect with audiences beyond Toronto. Over the 10 days, the platform will host digital screenings for all 50 films, as well as numerous talks and events.
In addition, for the first time in its history, TIFF will launch a digital platform, affording new opportunities to connect with audiences beyond Toronto. Over the 10 days, the platform will host digital screenings for all 50 films, as well as numerous talks and events.
“The pandemic has hit TIFF hard, but we’ve responded by going back to our original inspiration — to bring the very best in film to the broadest possible audience,” said Bailey, TIFF's Artistic Director. “Our teams have had to rethink everything and open our minds to new ideas. In countless video calls over the past three months we have rebuilt our Festival for 2020, drawing on our five decades of commitment to strong curation, support for filmmakers and engagement with audiences."
Added Executive Director Vicente: "We could never have anticipated the global seismic changes we would be facing in 2020. We tapped into the original spirit of the festival from when it began in 1976 as our guiding light. The distilled edition of TIFF 2020 reflects a deep love of film, passion for our loyal audiences, commitment to the industry and a whole lot of heart."
Added Executive Director Vicente: "We could never have anticipated the global seismic changes we would be facing in 2020. We tapped into the original spirit of the festival from when it began in 1976 as our guiding light. The distilled edition of TIFF 2020 reflects a deep love of film, passion for our loyal audiences, commitment to the industry and a whole lot of heart."
The 45th annual event will be welcoming 50 celebrated filmmakers and actors --so-called "TIFF Ambassadors" -- invited to help deliver a strong festival for the film industry. They will include: Ava DuVernay, Taika Waititi, Anurag Kashyap, Nicole Kidman, Martin Scorsese, Nadine Labaki, Alfonso Cuarón, Tantoo Cardinal, Riz Ahmed, Rian Johnson, Jason Reitman, Isabelle Huppert, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Priyanka Chopra, Viggo Mortensen, Zhang Ziyi, David Oyelowo, Lulu Wang, Rosamund Pike, Sarah Gadon, and Denis Villeneuve, to name only a few.
Keep following tiff.net for updates.