With just over a month to go before the festival kicks off, the first part of the TIFF 2015 line-up has officially been announced, cementing its status as one of the most prestigious events on the industry calendar.
The festival will play host to dozens of premieres of various kind, including a slew of world premieres, as well as notable films that have bowed elsewhere on the festival circuit in the past year.
The Special Presentations and Gala Presentations categories have been announced so far. And there’s still plenty more to look forward to, with future TIFF 2015 line-up announcements in the coming weeks.
Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts, has been announced as the festival’s Opening Night Film, screening as part of the Gala Presentations line-up. We had been expecting it to make an appearance during awards season this year, but Fox Searchlight recently set a Spring 2016 release date for the film.
Among the many notable films playing in the Gala category are Stephen Frears’ Lance Armstrong biopic, The Program, starring Ben Foster and Chris O’Dowd; Brian Helgeland’s Legend, starring Tom Hardy as the Kray twins; Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall, starring Jeremy Irvine; Peter Sollett’s Freeheld, starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, expected to be a big player during awards season; Gavin Hood’s drone drama, Eye in the Sky, starring Helen Mirren; and Ridley Scott’s sci-fi blockbuster, The Martian, starring Matt Damon. TIFF isn’t normally all that heavy on the blockbuster front, and The Martian’s appearance here suggests it could emerge as a player on many fronts during the awards season, including above-the-line categories like Best Picture and Best Director, which is rare in the big-budget sci-fi world.
The Special Presentations category also features a lot of films seen as strong contenders for the Oscars. Included among them are Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight, starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams; Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, starring Idris Elba; John Crowley’s Brooklyn, starring Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, and Emory Cohen; Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, starring Brie Larson; Yorgos Lanthimos’ Cannes debutant The Lobster; Scott Cooper’s Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp; Jay Roach’s Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston; Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander; and Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, starring Emily Blunt.
I’m also really looking forward to seeing Jason Bateman’s sophomore feature as a director, The Family Fang. Bad Words was a brilliant debut from the actor-turned-director, and I’ve got high hopes for his return behind the camera.
TIFF 2015 will be held from September 10th to September 20th. Expect more TIFF 2015 line-up announcements soon.
Gala Presentations
Beeba Boys Deepa Mehta, Canada
A ruthless Sikh mobster leads his soldiers into a turf war for control of the Vancouver drugs- and arms-trafficking rackets, in this based-on-fact gangland drama from the great Deepa Mehta (Water, Midnight’s Children).
Hyena Road Paul Gross, Canada
Paul Gross (Passchendaele) directs and co-stars in this taut war drama about Canadian troops in Afghanistan weathering Taliban attacks while struggling to complete construction on a crucial highway link.
The Dressmaker Jocelyn Moorhouse, Australa
Academy Award winner Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, and Judy Davis star in this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Rosalie Ham, about a dressmaker who returns to her tiny Australian hometown from the chic fashion houses of Paris to put her past to rest — and revolutionize the local women’s couture while she’s at it.
Forsaken Jon Cassar, Canada
Kiefer and Donald Sutherland share the screen in this brooding western about an embittered gunslinger who attempts to make amends with his estranged father whilst their community is besieged by ruthless land-grabbers.
Legend Brian Helgeland, United Kingdom
Tom Hardy gives a bravura double performance as Reggie and Ronnie Kray, the identical twin brothers who became the rulers of the London underworld at the height of the swinging ’60s.
The Program Stephen Frears, United Kingdom
Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) directs Ben Foster in this docudrama about disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal and downfall.
Remember Atom Egoyan, Canada
An elderly Holocaust survivor (Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer) sets out to exact vengeance on the former concentration camp guard who murdered his family, in this compelling thriller from master director Atom Egoyan.
Lolo Julie Delpy, France
Julie Delpy (Before Midnight) writes, directs and stars in this satirical comedy about fortysomething workaholic Violette, who finds romance while on a spa vacation — but whose new beau soon has doubts when he discovers Violette’s unusual relationship with her 20-year-old son.
Stonewall Roland Emmerch, USA
Roland Emmerich (Anonymous) directs this docudrama about the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, which became a milestone in the LGBT rights movement in North America.
Demolition Jean-Marc Vallée, USA
Grief-stricken after a family tragedy, a New York investment banker (Jake Gyllenhaal) engages in random acts of destruction, in the highly anticipated new film by Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild).
Freeheld Peter Sollett, USA
Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Steve Carell and Michael Shannon star in this true story about terminally ill New Jersey police officer Laurel Hester, whose 2005 legal battle to pass on her pension benefits to her domestic partner became a flashpoint for LGBT activism.
The Man Who Knew Infinity Matthew Brown, United Kingdom
Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) and Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons star in this inspirational biopic about Srinivasa Ramanujan, the early-20th century Indian mathematician whose groundbreaking theories revolutionized the field.
Eye in the Sky Gavin Hood, United Kingdom
Academy Award winner Helen Mirren stars alongside Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Iain Glen in this timely thriller about a terrorist-targeting drone mission that becomes a flashpoint when a civilian girl enters the kill zone.
Septembers of Shiraz Wayne Blair, USA
Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek star in this adaptation of the critically acclaimed debut novel by Iranian American author Dalia Sofer, about a secular Jewish family caught up in the maelstrom of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
The Martian Ridley Scott, USA
Stranded on Mars, a NASA astronaut (Matt Damon) struggles to survive on the arid planet while his ground crew races to mount a rescue mission, in this interplanetary epic from director Ridley Scott.
Special Presentations
Sunset Song Terence Davies, United Kingdom / Luxembourg
Celebrated director Terence Davies (The House of Mirth, The Long Day Closes) returns with this adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s classic novel about a farming family struggling to eke out a living in northeast Scotland.
Spotlight Tom McCarthy, USA
Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton star in this true story about a team of Boston Globe reporters who uncovered a massive scandal of child abuse and cover-ups within the local Catholic Church.
Louder Than Bombs Joachim Trier, Norway / France / Denmark
An aging schoolteacher (Gabriel Byrne) grappling with the recent death of his photojournalist wife (Isabelle Huppert) attempts to reconcile with his two very different sons (Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid), in the first English-language feature by acclaimed Norwegian director Joachim Trier (Reprise).
Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, USA
Charlie Kaufman, the celebrated screenwriter of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation and director of Synecdoche, New York, ventures into the world of stop-motion animation with this fable about a motivational speaker seeking to transcend his monotonous existence.
Beasts of No Nation Cary Fukunaga, Ghana / USA
After his parents are killed, a young African boy is forced to become a child soldier in a rebel army led by a brutal commandant (Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), in this adaptation of the acclaimed book by Nigerian-American author Uzodinma Iweala.
The Club Pablo Larrain, Chile
Shipped off to a seaside monastery for various venial transgressions, four Catholic priests have their cozy exile disturbed by charges of molestation, in this incendiary, blackly humorous drama from Chilean auteur Pablo Larraín (Tony Manero, No).
Desierto Jonás Cuarón, Mexico
Jonás Cuarón directs Gael García Bernal in this thriller about a group of would-be immigrants whose dream of entering the US becomes a nightmare when a deranged vigilante begins stalking them through the Sonoran Desert.
Brooklyn John Crowley, United Kingdom / Ireland / Canada
In the early 1950s, a young Irish woman (Saoirse Ronan) crosses the Atlantic to begin a new life in America, in this exquisitely crafted adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Colm Tóibín.
Room Lenny Abrahamson, Ireland / Canada
Escaping from the captivity in which they have been held for half a decade, a young woman and her five-year-old son struggle to adjust to the strange, terrfiying and wondrous world outside their one-room prison.
The Lobster Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland / United Kingdom / Greece / France / Netherlands
Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and John C. Reilly star in the deliciously bizarre new film from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, ALPS), about a curious hotel where the residents are charged with finding a new mate within 45 days — under penalty of being transformed into animals should they fail.
Maggie’s Plan Rebecca Miller, USA
Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) stars in the new film from gifted writer-director Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity), about a young woman whose determination to have a child involves her in a love triangle with an unhappy academic (Ethan Hawke) and his eccentric critical-theorist wife (Julianne Moore).
I Smile Back Adam Salky, USA
Sarah Silverman gives an astonishing performance as a drug-addicted, self-destructive New Jersey housewife whose life begins to come apart at the seams, in this blistering adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Amy Koppelman.
Victoria Sebastian Schipper, Germany
A beautiful young Spanish nightclubber in Berlin becomes wheelwoman for a quartet of bank robbers, in this stunning heist thriller shot in a single extended take.
Summertime Catherine Corsini, France
In 1971 France, a young girl from a rural family moves to Paris and begins a life-changing affair with a feminist activist.
The Daughter Simon Stone, Australia
A young man returns to his dying hometown and discovers a dark family secret that could tear apart the lives of those he left behind, in this contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck starring Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, stars Paul Schneider, Miranda Otto and Sam Neill.
Black Mass Scott Cooper, USA
Johnny Depp stars as notorious Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger, who spent thirty years as an FBI informant while rising to the top of the Boston underworld, in this adaptation of the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill.
Colonia Florian Gallenberger, Germany / Luxembourg / France
Two young lovers (Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl) find themselves trapped in the murderous crackdown following the 1973 coup against Chilean president Salvador Allende.
Youth Paolo Sorrentino, Italy / France / United Kingdom / Switzerland
Two old friends (Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel) reflect on their past, present, and the beauty and absurdity of the world during a vacation in the Swiss Alps, in the lovely and heart-warming new film from Academy Award winner Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty).
Trumbo Jay Roach, USA
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) stars as the famous screenwriter and Hollywood blacklist victim Dalton Trumbo, in this engrossing biopic co-starring Helen Mirren, Elle Fanning, Diane Lane and John Goodman.
The Danish Girl Tom Hooper, United Kingdom
Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars as Lili Elbe, the 1920s Danish artist who was one of the first recipients of sexual reassignment surgery, in this biopic directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).
Sicario Denis Villeneuve, USA
An idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) joins two shadowy government operatives (Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro) in a high-risk, cross-border string against a Mexican cartel boss, in this gritty drug-war thriller from Quebec’s Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners).
Parched Leena Yadav, India / USA / United Kingdom
In a rural Indian village, four ordinary women begin to throw off the traditions that hold them in servitude, in this inspirational drama from director Leena Yadav.
Dheepan Jacques Audiard, France
Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes, this powerful drama from director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust & Bone) follows a former Tamil Tiger soldier as he flees from the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war to begin a new life in a Parisian suburb.
Mountains May Depart Zhang-ke Jia, China / France / Japan
The new film from Mainland master Jia Zhang-ke (A Touch of Sin) jumps from the recent past to the speculative near-future as it examines how China’s economic boom has affected the bonds of family, tradition, and love.
Son of Saul László Nemes, Hungary
Winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, this powerful and gripping Holocaust drama follows a concentration-camp inmate who goes to desperate lengths to secure a traditional Jewish burial for a young boy.
The Family Fang Jason Bateman, USA
After an unlikely accident, a pair of grown siblings (Nicole Kidman and director-star Jason Bateman) are compelled to move back in with their eccentric parents (Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett), professional practical jokers whose lifetime of public interventions have alienated their children.
The Idol Hany Abu-Assad, United Kingdom / Palestine
Acclaimed Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now, Omar) directs this biopic about Mohammad Assaf, the Gazan wedding singer who became a worldwide sensation after winning the live-singing competition Arab Idol in 2013.
Len and Company Tim Godsall, USA
A legendary, reclusive music producer (Rhys Ifans) has his shut-in routine disturbed by the unexpected arrival of his aspiring musician son (Jack Kilmer) and a troubled bubblegum-pop superstar (Juno Temple).
Families Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France
Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Grand Budapest Hotel) stars in this rollicking and romantic country-house farce from lauded director Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Horseman on the Roof).
Un Plus One Claude Lelouch, France
A successful film composer (Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin, The Artist) falls in love when he travels to India to work on a Bollywood retelling of Romeo and Juliet, in this glorious romantic drama from the great French director Claude Lelouch (A Man and a Woman).
Office Johnnie To, China / Hong Kong
Hong Kong master Johnnie To (Drug War, Mad Detective) directs superstars Chow Yun-Fat and Sylvia Chang in this spectacular movie musical about high-level corporate intrigue.
The Lady in the Van Nicholas Hytner, USA
The legendary Maggie Smith stars in this adaptation of the based-on-fact play by acclaimed author Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George), about a high-born homeless woman fallen on hard times who found temporary shelter parking her van in Bennett’s driveway — for fifteen years.
Guilty Meghna Gulzar, India
Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, The Lunchbox) stars in this dramatization of the notorious “Noida Double Murder Case,” which set off a media frenzy around the world in 2008.
Where to Invade Next Michael Moore, USA
Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore returns with what may be his most provocative and hilarious film yet: Moore tells the Pentagon to “stand down” — he will do the invading for America from now on.
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