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Toronto International Film Festival · 2023

Toronto International Film Festival 2023

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Programme

26 films · 6 reviews

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Achilles

A young filmmaker who currently works in a hospital takes a mental patient out for a short ride to find out who she really is. Now he has to decide whether to run away with her or take her back to the hospital.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2023; Director: Farhad Delaram; Writer: Farhad Delaram; Stars: Mirsaeed Molavian, Behdokht Valian, Roya Afshar, Neda Aghighi, Firouz Agheli)

After The Fire (Avant Que Les Flammes Ne S'éteignent)

In the aftermath of a crime, the victim's sister fights to obtain a fair trial and justice for her brother.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Mehdi Fikri; Writer: Mehdi Fikri; Stars: Sofiane Zermani, Camélia Jordana, Samir Guesmi, Makita Samba)

Andragogy (Budi Pekerti)

After a viral altercation, a guidance counsellor faces a backlash, endangering her career and family.

(Country: Indonesia, Singapore; Year: 2023; Director: Wregas Bhanuteja; Writer: Wregas Bhanuteja; Stars: Sha Ine Febriyanti, Angga Yunanda, Prilly Latuconsina, Dwi Sasono)

An Endless Sunday (Una Sterminata Domenica)

The entwined lives of three millennials are met with the fleetingness of youth in the heart of Rome.

(Country: Italy, Germany, Ireland; Year: 2023; Director: Alain Parroni; Writer: Alain Parroni, Giulio Pennacchi, Beatrice Puccilli; Stars: Lars Rudolph, Enrico Bassetti, Zackary Delmas, Federica Valentini)

Arthur & Diana

A playful auto-fictional trip from Berlin to Paris.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2023; Director: Sara Summa; Writer: Sara Summa; Stars: Sara Summa, Robin Summa, Livia Antonelli)

Backspot

Riley is given the chance to cheer with the all-star squad, Thunderhawks. With a competition looming, Riley must navigate her crippling anxiety, her relationship with her girlfriend, and her desperate need for approval from her new coach.

(Country: US, Canada; Year: 2023; Director: DW Waterson; Writer: Joanne Sarazen, DW Waterson; Stars: Devery Jacobs, Evan Rachel Wood, Shannyn Sossamon, Wendy Crewson, Olunike Adeliyi)

Frybread Face And Me

It’s 1990. A Native American boy growing up in San Diego plays with dolls and listens to Fleetwood Mac. Everything he thinks he knows about himself and his family is turned upside down when his parents force him to spend the summer at his grandmother’s sheep ranch on the reservation in Arizona. There he meets his cousin, known as Frybread Face, a pudgy 11-year-old vagabond, tough-as-nails tomboy.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Billy Luther; Writer: Billy Luther; Stars: Kier Tallman, Charley Hogan, Martin Sensmeier, Kahara Hodges, Sarah Natani)

Gonzo Girl

A struggling young writer takes a job working as an assistant to a novelist with a wild reputation

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Patricia Arquette; Writer: Jessica Caldwell, Cheryl Della Pietra, Rebecca Thomas; Stars: Patricia Arquette, Willem Dafoe, Sean Penn, Camila Morrone)

Hajjan

A timeless journey across the desert embarked upon by a boy and his camel.

(Country: Saudi Arabia, Egypt; Year: 2023; Director: Abu Bakr Shawky; Writer: Mufarrij Almajfel, Omar Shama, Abu Bakr Shawky; Stars: Saleh Al Khalaqi, Abdulmohsen Alnemr, Alshaima'a Tayeb, Mohamed Hilal, Ibrahim Al-Hasawi)

How To Have Sex

Review preview for How To Have Sex

A fresh spin on territory that has been frequently explored.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Three friends contend with peer pressure in their decision to “do it”.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Molly Manning Walker; Writer: Molly Manning Walker; Stars: Mia McKenna Bruce, Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, Sam Bottomley, Enva Lewis, Laura Ambler)

Full review

I Don't Know Who You Are

Review preview for I Don't Know Who You Are

It’s Clennon’s first ever film role, but you wouldn’t think it. The interiority, the subtlety of his performance is what really sells it.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A gay musician spends his weekend trying to find the money for HIV-preventive treatment after being sexually assaulted by a stranger.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: MH Murray; Writer: Writers Mark Clennon, Victoria Long, MH Murray; Stars: Mark Clennon, Anthony Diaz, Nat Patricia Manuel, Deragh Campbell, Victoria Long)

Full review See: Interview with MH Murray, Mark Clennon and Nat Patricia Manuel about I Don’t Know Who You Are

Mandoob

An overworked delivery app driver in Riyadh tries to branch out into bootlegging, in Ali Kalthami’s dark comedic feature debut set in the rarely seen, ultra-modern world of Saudi nightlife.

(Country: Saudi Arabia; Year: 2023; Director: Ali Kalthami; Stars: Mohammed Aldokhi, Hajar Alshammari, Mohammed Alttowayan, Sarah Taibah)

A Match (Sthal)

In the patriarchal tradition of a deprived society, a young woman yearns to determine her own future.

(Country: India; Year: 2023; Director: Jayant Digambar Somalkar; Writer: Jayant Digambar Somalkar; Stars: Nandini Chikte, Taranath Khiratkar, Sangita Sonekar, Suyog Dhawas)

Mimang

A man and a woman meet by chance and stroll through Seoul’s changing streets.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2023; Director: Kim Taeyang; Stars: Lee Myungha, Ha Seongguk, Park Bongjun, Baek Seungjin, Jung Suji)

The Queen Of My Dreams

Review preview for The Queen Of My Dreams

Mirza may sometimes over-indulge in sentiment, but there’s a warmth to the film that makes it easy to like, and she handles its more chaotic scenes with flair.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Against the backdrop of a shared obsession with Bollywood fantasy, Mariam, a Pakistani Muslim woman, and her Canadian-born daughter Azra come of age in two different eras.

(Country: Canada, Pakistan; Year: 2023; Director: Fawzia Mirza; Writer: Fawzia Mirza; Stars: Amrit Kaur, Nimra Bucha, Hamza Haq, Charlie Boyle, Trina Corkum)

Full review See: Interview with Fawzia Mirza about The Queen Of My Dreams

Seagrass

A Japanese-Canadian woman grappling with the death of her mother brings her family to a retreat. When her relationship with her husband begins to affect the children's emotional security, the family is forever changed.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: Meredith Hama-Brown; Writer: Meredith Hama-Brown; Stars: Ally Maki, Luke Roberts, Nyha Huang Breitkreuz, Chris Pang, Benjamin Goas, Hannah Bos)

Solitude (Einvera)

An aging farmer moves to the city for the first time and forms a bond with a paper boy.

(Country: Slovakia, Iceland; Year: 2023; Director: Ninna Pálmadóttir; Writer: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Stars: Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir, Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson, Hermann Samúelsson)

La Suprema

In a remote village without electricity, a teenager convinces a whole town to find a way of watching her estranged uncle compete in a world championship boxing match.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2023; Director: Felipe Holguin; Writer: Felipe Holguin, Andres Sierra; Stars: Elizabeth Martínez, Antonio Jimenez, Ana Victoria Rodríguez, Domingo Zabaleta)

Tautuktavuk (What We See)

Review preview for Tautuktavuk

The film is given additional weight by the fact that each woman’s story is based upon the stories of the actors/filmmakers themselves.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Two sisters attempt to rebuild their relationship and overcome past trauma during Covid lockdown.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk; Writer: Norman Cohn, Samuel Cohn-Cousineau, Carol Kunnuk; Stars: Lucy Tulugarjuk, Carol Kunnuk, Benjamin Kunuk, Mark Taqqaugaq)

Full review See: Interview with Lucy Tulugarjuk about Tautuktavuk

The Teacher

Review preview for The Teacher

A Teacher is not the most finely crafted film, but it is a cri de cœur.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A Palestinian schoolteacher struggles to reconcile his risky commitment to political resistance with the chance of a new relationship with volunteer-worker and his emotional support for one of his students.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Farah Nabulsi; Writer: Farah Nabulsi; Stars: Imogen Poots, Stanley Townsend, Saleh Bakri, Paul Herzberg)

Full review

The Tundra Within Me

After living for many years in Oslo, Lena moves back to Sápmi in Northern Norway with her young son to explore Sami gender in an art project. While researching in the wintry tundra, she falls in love with reindeer herder Máhtte - whose mother, the head of the family, disapproves of the relationship.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2023; Director: Sara Margrethe Oskal; Writer: Sara Margrethe Oskal; Stars: Risten Anine Kvernmo Gaup, Nils Ailu Kemi, Anitta Suikkari, Berit Ánne Oskal Kemi)

Valentina Or The Serenity

Young Valentina puts all her efforts in believing that her late father is alive. It is an intimate look into the depths of loss and the curative power of true love.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2023; Director: Ángeles Cruz; Writer: Ángeles Cruz; Stars: Danae Ahuja Aparicio, Myriam Bravo, Alexander Gadiel Mendoza Sánchez)

Widow Clicquot

Review preview for Widow Clicquot

Despite its many grand visual flourishes, this is a film which succeeds because of its attention to detail, especially in the performances.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Thomas Napper; Writer: Erin Dignam, Christopher Monger; Stars: Haley Bennett, Ben Miles, Natasha O'Keeffe, Tom Sturridge, Leo Suter, Sam Riley)

Full review See: Interview with Haley Bennett and Thomas Napper about Widow Clicquot

Wild Woman

A young Cuban woman, turns from dancing like crazy at a house party to rushing against time to find her son and get out of the city when video of the meeting is circulated and seems to be incriminating.

(Country: Cuba; Year: 2023; Director: Alán González; Writer: Alán González; Stars: Lola Amores. Jean Marcos Fraga Piedra, Isora Morales, Grisell Monzón, Yaité Ruiz, Leandro Sen, Afrodreak, Arnaldo Galbán, Yailín Coppola, Leidys Chiv, Andros Perrugorría, Jorge Perrugorría)

Without Air (Total Eclipse)

A high school teacher is charged with endorsing homosexual ideals among her students.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2023; Director: Katalin Moldovai; Writer: Katalin Moldovai, Zita Palóczi; Stars: Ágnes Krasznahorkai, Tunde Skovran, Soma Sándor)

Yellow Bus

After discovering that her daughter was abandoned to perish in the blistering desert heat on a school bus, an Indian woman residing in the Arabian Gulf sets out on a quest for the truth and justice.

(Country: US, UAE, Jordan, India; Year: 2023; Director: Wendy Bednarz; Writer: Wendy Bednarz; Stars: Amit Sial, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Kinda Alloush, Mansoor Al-Fili, Aarushi Laud)