TIFF Adds International Titles To Masters And Contemporary World Cinema
Toronto – Thirteen titles have been added to the Masters and Contemporary World Cinema lineups for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, running September 4 - 13. Two films join the five Masters titles announced to date. Eleven films join six Contemporary World Cinema titles announced to date. Ticket packages for TIFF08 are now available for purchase by Visa† cardholders. Ticket packages will be available for purchase by cash, debit or Visa as of 10 a.m. on Monday, July 14, 2008. Purchase online at tiff08.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or in person at the Festival Box Office at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (main floor, north entrance). Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
MASTERS
Everlasting Moments Jan Troell, Denmark/Sweden
World Premiere
From Academy Award™-nominated Swedish filmmaker Jan Troell (The Emigrants; As White as in Snow, TIFF 2001) comes a true story from early 20th-century Sweden. In a time of social change and poverty, the young working-class woman Maria wins a camera in a lottery. The camera enables Maria to see the world through new eyes, but it also becomes a threat to her somewhat alcoholic womanizing husband, as it brings the charming photographer Pedersen into her life.
Tokyo Sonata Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan/The Netherlands/Hong Kong
North American Premiere
Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner at Cannes 2008, Tokyo Sonata from filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Bright Future, TIFF 2003) is a portrait of a struggling Japanese family: a father who abruptly loses his job and conceals it from his family; the eldest son who hardly ever returns home from college; the youngest son who furtively takes piano lessons without telling his parents; and the mother, who knows deep down that her role is to keep the family together, but cannot find the will to do so. Somehow a single, unforeseeable rift has developed within the family, spreading quickly and quietly, and threatening to break them apart.
CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
Fear Me Not Kristian Levring, Denmark
World Premiere
Desperate to change his life, 42-year-old Michael signs up to take part in clinical trials for a new anti-depressant. But when the tests are abandoned due to the discovery of serious side effects, Michael decides to continue the experiment on his own. Intoxicated by a new sense of self control, Michael feels an urge to take control of other people’s lives as well. Slowly, his minor psychological games grow more drastic and frequent, until Michael makes a discovery that forces him to view his actions in a terrifying new light.
El Greco Iannis Smaragdis, Greece/Spain/Hungary
World Premiere
From acclaimed Greek director Iannis Smaragdis (Cavafy, TIFF 1996) comes the epic tale of an uncompromising artist and fighter for freedom, known to the world as El Greco. In the 16th-century, El Greco’s search for liberty and love takes him across Europe. Never backing down from the establishments of his day, he is led on a quest to confront his greatest adversary: the Holy Inquisition. El Greco’s story is one of unusual heroism, betrayal, love and the power of one man to battle barbarity and ignorance.
The Narrows François A. Velle, USA
World Premiere
Brooklyn-born Mike (Kevin Zegers) lives with his dad Vinny (Vincent D’Onofrio), a sanitation worker with low-level ties to local mob boss Tony (Titus Welliver). A talented photographer, Mike secretly applies to college, taking a job from Tony in order to pay his tuition. Torn between two worlds that threaten to collide, Mike learns the far-reaching consequences of his personal choices.
Pandora’s Box Yesim Ustaoglu, Turkey/France/Belgium/Germany
World Premiere
When three fortysomething siblings in Istanbul receive a call that their aging mother has disappeared from her home along the Eastern Black Sea Coast of Turkey, they put aside their problems and set out to find her. As the siblings come together, the tension between them quickly become apparent, and they are forced to reflect upon their own shortcomings and ignorance of each other’s lives.
My Mother, My Bride and I Hans Steinbichler, Germany/Romania
International Premiere
Of course it’s crazy: going to Bucharest to meet prospective wives chosen from a catalogue. But it’s alright with Erwin, who knows little of life and even less of women. Up to now, the only woman in his life has been his mother. Erwin is a mama’s boy, and mama isn’t into sharing. This becomes distressingly clear to Irina, the shy young woman Erwin brings back from the city. While Mother sharpens her claws and Irina transforms from meek to manic, Erwin must decide – in just three weeks – if this truly is his idea of “happily ever after.”
White Night Wedding Baltasar Kormakur, Iceland
International Premiere
Jon, a middle-aged professor, is about to embark on marriage number two. His bride-to-be? A former student half his age. Not everyone thinks that this “blessed union” is a good idea, among them the parents of his future wife. As the guests flock to the island where the marriage is to be held, the groom begins to get cold feet.
33 Scenes from Life Malgosia Szumowska, Germany/Poland
North American Premiere
Julia is a beloved daughter and wife, and a successful photographer. But the pieces of her happy life begin to fall apart all around her, beginning with the death of the family dog. When Julia’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, her husband, a famous composer, is of no help, spending most of his time abroad, while her father seems to need help even more than she does. Sickness and death from a close perspective are much more absurd, nonsensical and ridiculous than Julia expected.
The Country Teacher Bohdan Sláma, Czech Republic/Germany/France
North American Premiere
When a gifted young teacher takes a job at a grammar school in the country, he quickly forms a strong bond with Marie, a local farm owner. But their friendship is challenged by the arrival of the teacher’s jealous ex-lover from the city, who, upon discovering that the teacher is harbouring a secret affection for Marie’s 17-year-old son, plots to expose him. From the director of Something Like Happiness (TIFF 2005).
Delta Kornél Mundruczó, Hungary/Germany
North American Premiere
Having been away since childhood, a young man returns to the wild, isolated landscape of the Danube Delta. Introduced to the sister he never knew he had, he and his newfound sibling build a house on stilts in the middle of the river, far away from everyone else. But when they invite the villagers over to share a meal together, it becomes apparent that the coarse locals do not accept their “unnatural” relationship.
Knitting Yin Lichuan, China
North American Premiere
Daping hates Haili, who strode out of nowhere into her apartment, her life, and her blossoming relationship with Chen Jin. Though Daping tries to be a kind and honest person, Haili bullies her mercilessly. Then Chen Jin disappears, leaving Daping pregnant and alone. Having experienced many hardships in her life, Haili might be just the person to help Daping during these troubled times.
Teza Haile Gerima, Germany/Ethiopia/France
North American Premiere
Upon graduating from a university in Germany, Anberber returns to his native Ethiopia during the war of the 1990s. Hoping to put his newly acquired knowledge to good use and eager to strengthen and rebuild his homeland, which has become impoverished under the military junta, Anberber both inspires hope and faces disillusionment, feeling estranged from his own people.
The Masters programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of BMO Nesbitt Burns. The Contemporary World Cinema programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Sun Life Financial.
Bell Lightbox
Construction of Bell Lightbox, soon to be one of the world’s leading innovative cultural institutions – a truly global “home for film” – began on February 1, 2007. A five-storey podium building located on Reitman Square in the heart of Toronto’s downtown entertainment district, Bell Lightbox is designed by world-renowned Toronto-based architectural firm KPMB. The building includes five cinemas, two galleries, three learning studios, and an enhanced film reference library and archive. Visit belllightbox.ca for more information.
The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario each have contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family – acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, Visa, Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The TIFFG Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million, three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million.
Our organization is a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.
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For information contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or email proffice@tiffg.ca.