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Toronto International Film Festival · 2024

Toronto International Film Festival 2024

Centrepiece

Programme

43 films · 11 reviews

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Addition

(Country: Australia; Year: 2024; Director: Marcelle Lunam; Writer: Becca Johnstone, Toni Jordan; Stars: Teresa Palmer, Joe Dempsie, Eamon Farren, Sarah Peirse, Adrienne Pickering, Zahra Newman, Lou Baxter)

Anywhere Anytime

An undocumented migrant in Italy finds himself on the brink after the bike he uses as a delivery rider is stolen.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2024; Director: Milad Tangshir; Writer: Giaime Alonge, Daniele Gaglianone, Milad Tangshir; Stars: Ibrahima Sambou, Moussa Dicko Diango, Max Liotta, Success Edemakhiota)

An Unfinished Film

Hybrid docufiction recalls the days of the Chinese Covid lockdown.

(Year: 2024; Director: Lou Ye)

April

Review preview for April

It’s not unusual to say that something cuts through the silence but in Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April it’s the silence that cuts through us.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
After a newborn dies during delivery, the morals and professionalism of an ob-gyn, Nina, come under scrutiny amid rumors that she performs illegal abortions for those in need.

(Country: Georgia, Italy, France; Year: 2024; Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili; Writer: Dea Kulumbegashvili; Stars: Merab Ninidze, Ia Sukhitashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili)

Full review

Beloved Tropic

A tropical garden provides the setting for the meeting between two lonely souls who accompany one another for a time: that of an upper-class woman with dementia and that of her carer.

(Country: Panama, Colombia; Year: 2024; Director: Ana Endara Mislov; Writer: Ana Endara Mislov, Pilar Moreno; Stars: Paulina García, Juliette Roy, Jenny Navarrete)

Bound In Heaven

This film narrates the poignant tale of a terminally ill man and a woman caught in violence, weaving through their fugitive journey after an unforeseen incident.

(Country: China; Year: 2024; Director: Xin Huo; Writer: Yu Pan; Stars: Ni Ni, You Zhou, Fan Liao)

By The Stream

Tale of loneliness, connection, and creativity that transpires during an annual skit festival at a women’s university.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2024; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Kwon Hae-hyo, Kim Min-hee, Cho Young)

Cloud (Kuraudo)

Review preview for Cloud

Even though we’re essentially talking about a basic shot-reverse shot exchange, framed in creeping wide angles, juxtaposed with close-ups, the feeling is comparable to watching a getaway heist.

Nikola Jovic · 4 out of 5
An online scammer, reselling faulty products at preposterously high rates, is on the run after some of his customers decide to hit back.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2024; Director: Kurosawa Kiyoshi; Writer: Kurosawa Kiyoshi; Stars: Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa, Masataka Kubota)

Full review

Crocodile Tears

A young man and his overbearing mother's lives on their isolated crocodile farm are turned upside down with the appearance of a young woman.

(Country: Indonesia, France, Singapore, Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Tumpal Tampubolon; Writer: Tumpal Tampubolon; Stars: Marissa Anita, Yusuf Mahardika, Zulfa Maharani)

Don't Cry, Butterfly

Surreal portrait of a middle-aged woman who finds out her husband is cheating on her.

(Country: Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines; Year: 2024; Director: Duong Dieu Linh; Writer: Duong Dieu Linh; Stars: Nguyen Nam Linh, Bui Thac Phong, Le Vu Long, Le Tu Oanh)

Edge Of Night

Two brothers travel together as one takes the other to be handed over to a military court trial.

(Country: Turkey, Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Türker Süer; Writer: Türker Süer; Stars: Eda Akalin, Baran Akbulut, Hasan Arik, Mert Aygül, Deniz Benol, Hüseyin Canburdurluoglu, Hasan Gaffar Dalgali, Mehmet Dindar, Zeki Eker, Poyraz Aras Etik, Yilmaz Gökgöz, Sencan Güleryüz, Emir Güven, Berk Hakman, Bülent Haykir)

The Exiles (Los Tortuga)

A taxi driver and her daughter try to reconnect.

(Country: Spain, Chile; Year: 2024; Director: Belén Funes; Writer: Marçal Cebrian, Belén Funes; Stars: Antonia Zegers, Elvira Lara, Lorena Aceituno, Guillem Barbosa, Mamen Camacho, Pedro Castellano, Sara Gómez, Sebastián Haro, Bianca Kovacs, Padi Padilla, Nora Sala-Patau)

Fanatical: The Catfishing Of Tegan And Sara

Review preview for Fanatical: The Catfishing Of Tegan And Sara

This is a powerful example of the phenomenon because it has affected so many different individuals, lending itself to a deeper analysis than is often possible.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
The story of how indie rock star Tegan's identity was stolen and weaponised in a complex catfishing scheme.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Erin Lee Carr; Stars: Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, Erin Lee Carr, Jenny Eliscu)

Full review

Flow (Straume)

Review preview for Flow

Cat’s viewpoint predominates, and Zilbalodis has an acute understanding of how the world looks from its point of view, of what catches its attention and how its body follows instinctively.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
An animated adventure about a group of animals who must work together to survive a catastrophe in a post-human world.

(Country: Latvia, Belgium, France; Year: 2024; Director: Gints Zilbalodis; Writer: Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens)

Full review See: Gints Zilbalodis on Latvia’s Oscar submission Flow, Hayao Miyazaki and fairy tales

Front Row

Two feuding matriarchs behave badly at the beach

(Country: Algeria, France, Saudi Arabia; Year: 2024; Director: Merzak Allouache; Stars: Nabil Asli, Bouchra Roy, Fatiha Ouared)

Happyend

Review preview for Happyend

A thoughtful, shrewd examination of the impact of rapidly developing technologies.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Best friends Yuta and Kou are on the brink of graduating from high school in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake casts a shadow over daily life.

(Country: Japan, US; Year: 2024; Director: Neo Sora; Writer: Neo Sora; Stars: Makiko Watanabe, Ayumu Nakajima, Shirô Sano, Yukito Hidaka, Hayato Kurihara, Shina Peng, Kilala Inori, Arazi, Yûta Hayashi, Pushim)

Full review

Happy Holidays

Four interconnected characters share their unique realities, highlighting the complexities between genders, generations, and cultures.

(Country: Germany, France, Italy, Qatar, Palestine; Year: 2024; Director: Scandar Copti; Writer: Scandar Copti; Stars: Manar Shehab, Wafaa Aoun, Merav Mamorsky, Toufic Danial, Raed Burbara, Neomi Memorsky, Shani Dahari, Sophie Awaad, Imad Hourani, Rana Matar, Michal Dasberg, Juhaina Habib Kandalaft, Issam Hadad, Amal Harb, Riyad Houssari)

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

An aspiring author looking to get more out of life takes up a writing residency and finds herself in the sort of romantic entanglements that could come from the pages of a Jane Austen novel.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Laura Piani; Writer: Laura Piani; Stars: Charlie Anson, Liz Crowther, Annabelle Lengronne, Pablo Pauly, Camille Rutherford)

Julie Keeps Quiet (Julie zwijgt)

Review preview for Julie Keeps Quiet

The director shows how it’s not just Julie’s tennis skills that have been groomed by the coach but large aspects of her life.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
As the star player at an elite tennis academy, Julie’s life revolves around the game she loves. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club's players are encouraged to speak up. But Julie decides to keep quiet…

(Country: Belgium, Sweden; Year: 2024; Director: Leonardo van Dijl; Writer: Ruth Becquart, Leonardo van Dijl; Stars: Tessa Van den Broeck, Grace Biot, Alyssa Lorette, Ruth Becquart, Koen De Bouw, Pierre Gervais, Claire Bodson, Laurent Caron)

Full review See: Leonardo van Dijl on the importance of silence Belgian Oscar nominee Julie Keeps Quiet

Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End

A teenage boy born of two cultures must navigate a brutal war between the Māori and colonial British forces.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2024; Director: Mike Jonathan; Writer: Tim Worrall; Stars: Cliff Curtis, Jason Flemyng, Temuera Morrison, Miriama Smith, Jack Barry, Ria Paki, Paku Fernandez, Matariki Whatarau, Te Rawhitiroa Bosch, Te Wakaunua Te Kurapa, Matia Mitai, Tuwhanauroa Rangihau, Naatana Mika, Kataraina Howden-Borell, Hinerangi Harawira-Nicholas)

Kill The Jockey (El Jockey)

A jockey embarks on a new identity after an accident but a mobster is on his tail.

(Country: Argentina, Spain, United States, Mexico, Denmark; Year: 2024; Director: Luis Ortega; Writer: Fabian Casas, Luis Ortega, Rodolfo Palacios; Stars: Úrsula Corberó, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Mariana Di Girólamo, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Roly Serrano, Luis Ziembrowski, Daniel Fanego, Roberto Carnaghi, Osmar Núñez, Adriana Aguirre)

The Legend Of The Vagabond Queen Of Lagos

A woman striving for a better life for herself and her son finds herself fighting for their home.

(Country: Nigeria, South Africa; Year: 2024; Director: Bisola Akinmuyiwa, Elijah Atinkpo, Mathew Cerf, Tina Edukpo, Temitope Ogungbamila, Samuel Okechukwu, James Tayler; Stars: Temiloluwa Ami-Williams, Adebowale Adedayo, Gerard Avlessi, Kachi Okechukwu, Teniola Aladese)

Matt And Mara

Mara, a young professor, is struggling with marital problems when she suddenly meets Matt, a man from her past, who wanders onto her university campus.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Kazik Radwanski; Writer: Kazik Radwanski; Stars: Matt Johnson, Simon Reynolds, Deragh Campbell, Georgia Tannis, Jim Phu, Alejandra Zapico, Cristina Paoletta, Kinshuk Dhingra, Linda Theresa Young, Jack Nguyen)

Measures For A Funeral

Biopic of Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Sofia Bohdanowicz; Stars: Kieran Adams, Julia Beyer, Deragh Campbell, Eileen Davies, María Dueñas, Eve Duranceau, Heidi Galvez, Priscilla Galvez, Maxim Gaudette, Grace Glowicki, Melanie Scheiner, Anni Spadafora, Rosa-Johan Uddoh, Marianne Vargas, Fan Wu)

A Missing Part

Drama charts a father's desperate quest to reunite with his daughter.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2024; Director: Guillaume Senez; Writer: Jean Denizot, Guillaume Senez; Stars: Romain Duris, Judith Chemla, Yumi Narita)

The Mother And The Bear

When a mother flies from Seoul to be at her sick daughter's bedside she sparks trouble when she meddles with the younger woman's dating app.

(Country: Canada, Chile; Year: 2024; Director: Johnny Ma; Writer: Johnny Ma; Stars: Kim Ho-jung, Lee Won-jae, Jonathan Kim, Amara Pedroso, Kalyn Bomback, Susan Hanson, Samantha Kendrick, Leere Park)

The Mountain

A young girl determined to climb a mountain in the belief it can heal her meets two other young misfits on the adventure.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2024; Director: Rachel House)

My First Film

Autofiction about a director's attempt to make her first film

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Zia Anger; Writer: Zia Anger)

My Sunshine (Boku No Ohisama)

Drama centring on two kids with opposing personalities who become a figure-skating pair.

(Year: 2024; Director: Hiroshi Okuyama)

Pimpinero: Blood And Oil

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2024; Director: Andrés Baiz; Writer: Maria Camila Arias, Andrés Baiz; Stars: David Noreña, Emilia Ceballos, Luis Eduardo Durán Galindo, Junior González, Alberto Guerra, Juanes, Yull Núñez, Laura Osma, Norberto Rivera, Judith Segura, Alejandro Speitzer, Hillary Vergara)

Presence

Review preview for Presence

A film that is so focused on the presence we can’t see it forgets to fully flesh out the lives that we can.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Steven Soderbergh; Writer: David Koepp; Stars: Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Chris Sullivan, West Mulholland, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday)

Full review

Santosh

Review preview for Santosh

Writer/director Sandhya Suri - who has a documentary background - is keen to show that everyone plays their part in the prejudices and corruption of the legal system.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Newly widowed Santosh inherits her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Sandhya Suri; Writer: Sandhya Suri; Stars: Shahana Goswami, Sanjay Bishnoi)

Full review See: Interview with Sandhya Suri about Santosh

The Seed Of The Sacred Fig

Review preview for The Seed Of The Sacred Fig

Grittily compelling

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble.

(Country: France, Germany, Iran; Year: 2024; Director: Mohammad Rasoulof; Writer: Mohammad Rasoulof; Stars: Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Setareh Maleki, Mahsa Rostami, Niousha Akhshi, Reza Akhlaghirad, Shiva Ordooie, Amineh Mazrouie Arani, Mohammad Kamal Alavi, Parisa Mohyedini, Barat Azimi)

Full review

Seven Days (Haft Rooz)

When imprisoned human rights activist Maryam is granted a rare medical leave, she has the chance to escape Iran but at the expense of her battle for equality and democracy.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Ali Samadi Ahadi; Writer: Ali Samadi Ahadi)

Souleymane's Story (L'Histoire de Souleymane, The Story of Souleymane)

Review preview for Souleymane's Story

There is a feeling of being in a constant movement, with cars and buildings whizzing by as Souleymane is rushing through the city, either riding his bike, or running from one type of public transport to the next.

Nikola Jovic · 3 out of 5
Two days in the life of a bike delivery guy who is trying to get asylum.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Boris Lojkine; Writer: Boris Lojkine, Delphine Agut; Stars: Abou Sangare, Nina Meurisse, Alpha Oumar Sow Emmanuel Yovanie, Younoussa Diallo)

Full review

Sunshine

A young gymnast finds out she’s pregnant just before trying out for the national team.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2024; Director: Antoinette Jadaone; Writer: Antoinette Jadaone; Stars: Elijah Canlas, Annika Co, Jennica Garcia)

The Swedish Torpedo

The story of Sally Bauer, a Swedish mother who pursues her dream of swimming the English Channel before the Second World War envelops Europe.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2024; Director: Frida Kempff; Writer: Frida Kempff, Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten; Stars: Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Lisa Carlehed, Gunnel Fred, Josefin Neldén, Emilie Kroyer Koppel, Henning Valin Jakobsen, Seidi Haarla, Hanna Ullerstam, Claes Ljungmark, Ivar Forsling, Cecilia Milocco, Gary Whitaker, Claes Hartelius, Jonathon Sawdon, Magnus Af Sandeberg)

Sweet Angel Baby

A young woman faces relationship problems after her secret social media identity is exposed.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Melanie Oates; Writer: Melanie Oates; Stars: Michaela Kurimsky, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Peter Mooney, Emily Bridger, Patricia Andrews, Colin Furlong, Rhiannon Morgan)

To A Land Unknown

Chatila and Reda are saving to pay for fake passports to get out of Athens. When Reda loses their hard-earned cash to his drug addiction, Chatila hatches an extreme plan, which involves them posing as smugglers and taking hostages.

(Country: Greece, Denmark, United Kingdom, Netherlands; Year: 2024; Director: Mahdi Fleifel; Writer: Fyzal Boulifa, Mahdi Fleifel, Jason McColgan; Stars: Angeliki Papoulia, Mahmood Bakri, Manal Awad, Mohammad Ghassan, Monzer Reyahnah, Aram Sabbah, Mouataz Alshaltouh, Mohammad Alsurafa)

Under The Volcano

A Ukrainian family on holiday in Tenerife find themselves in exile after their homeland is invaded.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2024; Director: Damian Kocur; Writer: Damian Kocur, Marta Konarzewska; Stars: Sofia Berezovska, Roman Lutskyi, Anastasiya Karpenko, Fedir Pugachov, Anthony Rathbone, Alba Victoria Quintana Garcia, Ignacy Perchel, Aron Alejandro Gascon Raga, Clara Ileana Rivera Barreto, Paula Jordi de la Rosa, Brendan Lund, Marlene Fernandez Diaz, Isaac Awuah, Guillermo Marmol Lynch, Marcos Burgio Lloret)

Universal Language

Multilayered film that interweaves a story about a group of people trying to get frozen money out of the ice, a tale of a tour guide and a man who quits his job to visit his mother.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Matthew Rankin; Writer: Ila Firouzabadi, Pirouz Nemati, Matthew Rankin; Stars: Matthew Rankin, Mani Soleymanlou, Danielle Fichaud, Pirouz Nemati, Sobhan Javadi, Saba Vahedyousefi, Rojina Esmaeili)

The Village Next To Paradise

In a windy Somali village, a newly assembled family must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them.

(Country: France, Austria; Year: 2024; Director: Mo Harawe; Writer: Mo Harawe; Stars: Axmen Cali Faarax, Canab Axmed Ibraahin, Ahmed Mohamoud Salleban)

When The Light Breaks

Review preview for When The Light Breaks

Beyond the dark loneliness of grief, is the soft light of a shared mourning.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
From one sunset to another, Una, a young art student encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty.

(Country: Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia, France; Year: 2024; Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Writer: Rúnar Rúnarsson; Stars: Elín Hall, Katla Njálsdóttir, Mikael Kaaber, Ágúst Wigum, Gunnar Hrafn Kristjánsson, Baldur Einarsson)

Full review See: Interview with Elín Hall about When The Light Breaks