TIFF 2016 Preview: European Cinema and other Foreign Films
With the Toronto International Film Festival about to start, we take a look at the most anticipated films and the lesser known projects worth checking out at this year's festival.
After Love
'The Artist' star Bérénice Bejo leads this drama about a couple still living together after their separation. In the aftermath of their relationship the couple argues over the division of their assets, especially their fancy apartment. And slowly we find out what caused their love to fade.
City of Tiny Lights
From inmate to detective, 'The Night Of' star Riz Ahmed plays a London copper investigating the disappearance of a hooker named Natasha.
The investigation leads him into a tangled web of lies, betrayals and deep secrets from his own past.
Daguerrotype
Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa ('Tokyo Sonata') makes the bold move of directing a fully French movie.
Sporting an impressive cast (Tahar Rahim, Mathieu Amalric) it follows an older photographer fascinated by daguerreotypes, a 19th century type photo that requires the subjects to stand still for a long time. Some people believed this process gave the subjects eternal afterlife.
Frantz
Director François Ozon's latest tale takes us back to 1919 Germany, right after World War I.
When a young German woman mourning the death of her lover sees a French man laying flowers on his grave, she is drawn to him. But while she welcomes the stories about her deceased fiancé, the German town is less accepting of the young Frenchman.
I, Daniel Blake
Cannes winner 'I, Daniel Blake' follows a 59-year-old carpenter Daniel in Newcastle. After becoming sick he isn't able or allowed to work, but bureaucracy dictates he has to look for work or his benefits will be halted.
When he meets a young mother Katie at the job centre, they form a bond that might help them both in dealing with their precarious situation.
It's Only the End of the World
Director Xavier Dolan brings together Gaspard Ulliel, Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard and Léa Seydoux in his latest Cannes winning drama.
Louis, being absent from his family for 12 years, returns home after getting diagnosed with cancer. Will they accept him back, resent him for his absence or comfort him in his last days?
Julieta
Pedro Almodóvar's latest drama follows a 55-year-old teacher who suddenly breaks up with her husband and starts searching for her estranged daughter.
But first we go back in time, to the train ride that caused the birth of her daughter, the relationship that followed and what ultimately caused the break-up.
Nocturama
'Saint Laurent' director Bertrand Bonello follows a group of young radicals, fed up with life, looking to terrorize Paris.
A controversial time to release a film like this for sure.
Souvenir
Isabelle Huppert is Liliane, a factory worker who once was a well known face on TV.
When a young colleague and boxer Jean confronts her about her past, she denies it. But when they grow closer she has to own up to her past.
The Red Turtle
Studio Ghibli has produced a new film! Not by their usual Japanese directors, but the Dutch Oscar-winning animator Michaël Dudok De Wit, with the animation being done in France.
'The Red Turtle' follows the unlikely adventure of a man stranded on a desert island. Doing everything in his power to leave, there's a big Red Turtle keeping him from going. And the sea animal might have its reasons.
The Unknown Girl
The Belgian Dardenne brothers add a crime element to their always realistic works.
A young doctor investigates the unsolved death of someone that came to her clinic late at night, but then disappeared. The police have very little to go on, but the doctor (Adèle Haenel) doesn't want the girl to be buried without even a name.
Their Finest
Gemma Arterton, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston and Richard E. Grant star in this comedy about a group of filmmakers struggling to create a morale boosting film during World War II.
Things to Come
Fresh of 'Eden' (2014) director Mia Hansen-Løve takes on 'Things to Come' starring Isabelle Huppert as a middle-aged teacher.
When her husband suddenly announces he's leaving her for someone else, she has to reinvent her life. And an outspoken communist student of hers is happy to help.
Toni Erdmann
Cannes darling 'Toni Erdmann' is a comedy about a father pestering his daughter, while he terrorizes her day job as a management consultant. As he hasn't been there for much of her life, it's the only way he knows to reconnect.
