TIFF reveals list of films in festival’s Contemporary World Cinema slate

This year’s programme features a powerful lineup that covers disparate regions of the world with a strong presence from Latin America, Scandinavia, and Central Europe. The schedule includes an eclectic mix that showcases the visions of returning filmmakers, as well as Festival first-timers from 43 countries.

Artistic Director of TIFF,  Cameron Bailey, said: "“Each film in Contemporary World Cinema offers a much-needed look at another part of the world through the eyes of a storyteller embedded in that culture."

"Taken together, these four dozen films invite us all to expand and deepen our picture of the world" Bailey added.

The Contemporary World Cinema programme is being bolstered with a series of 23 World Premieres, among them Argentinian filmmaker Diego Lerman’s A Sort of Family, South African Khalo Matabane’s The Number, Iraqi Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji’s The Journey, Finnish Teemu Nikki’s Euthanizer and Australian actor Simon Baker’s directorial debut, Breath.

The programme also highlights an impressive selection of films that have captivated audiences worldwide, including Félicité by Alain Gomis and the animated film The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert.

Films screening as part of the Contemporary World Cinema programme include:

A Ciambra Jonas Carpignano, Italy/France/USA/Germany
International Premiere

A Sort of Family (Una Especie de Familia) Diego Lerman, Argentina/Brazil/France/Poland
World Premiere

Alanis Anahí Berneri, Argentina
World Premiere

Ana, mon amour Călin Peter Netzer, Romania/Germany/France
North American Premiere

Angels Wear White (Jia Nian Hua) Vivian Qu, China/France
North American Premiere

April’s Daughter (Las Hijas de Abril) Michel Franco, Mexico
North American Premiere

Arrhythmia Boris Khlebnikov, Russia/Finland/Germany
North American Premiere

Beyond Words Urszula Antoniak, Netherlands/Poland
World Premiere

Birds Without Names (Kanojo ga Sono Na wo Shiranai Toritachi) Kazuya Shiraishi, Japan
World Premiere

Breath Simon Baker, Australia
World Premiere

Dark is the Night (Madilim ang Gabi) Adolfo Alix Jr., Philippines
World Premiere

Directions (Posoki) Stephan Komandarev, Bulgaria/Germany/Macedonia
North American Premiere

Disappearance (Verdwijnen) Boudewijn Koole, Netherlands/Norway
International Premiere

Euthanizer (Armomurhaaja)Teemu Nikki, Finland
World Premiere

Félicité Alain Gomis, France/Senegal/Belgium/Germany/Lebanon
North American Premiere

Good Favour Rebecca Daly, Ireland/Belgium/Denmark/Netherlands
World Premiere

Hannah Andrea Pallaoro, Italy/Belgium/France
North American Premiere

Insyriated Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium/France/Lebanon
Canadian Premiere

Life and nothing more Antonio Méndez Esparza, Spain/USA
World Premiere

Longing (Gaagua) Savi Gabizon, Israel
North American Premiere

Looking for Oum Kulthum Shirin Neshat, Germany/Austria/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar
North American Premiere

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) Mouly Surya, Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand
North American Premiere

Miami Zaida Bergroth, Finland
International Premiere

Motorrad Vicente Amorim, Brazil
World Premiere

Nina Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia/Czech Republic
North American Premiere

On Body and Soul Ildikó Enyedi, Hungary
North American Premiere

Samui Song (Mai Mee Samui Samrab Ter) Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thailand/Germany/Norway
North American Premiere

Sergio & Sergei (Sergio & Serguéi) Ernesto Daranas Serrano, Spain/Cuba
World Premiere 

The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes) Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert, France
North American Premiere

The Insult (L'Insulte) Ziad Doueiri, France/Lebanon
Canadian Premiere

The Journey (Al Rahal) Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji, Iraq/United Kingdom/France/Qatar/Netherlands
World Premiere

The Lodgers Brian O’Malley, Ireland
World Premiere

The Number Khalo Matabane, South Africa
World Premiere

The Royal Hibiscus Hotel Ishaya Bako, Nigeria
World Premiere

The Summit (La Cordillera) Santiago Mitre, Argentina/Spain/France
North American Premiere

Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle Mike van Diem, Netherlands/Italy/Canada
World Premiere

Under the Tree (Undir Trénu) Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, Iceland/Denmark/Poland/Germany
International Premiere

Veronica (Verónica) Paco Plaza, Spain
International Premiere

Wajib Annemarie Jacir, Palestine/France/Germany/Colombia/Norway/Qatar/United Arab Emirates
North American Premiere

Western Valeska Grisebach, Germany/Bulgaria/Austria
North American Premiere

Previously announced Canadian titles in the Contemporary World Cinema programme include Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches, Adam MacDonald’s Pyewacket, Kyle Rideout’s Public Schooled, Ingrid Veninger’s Porcupine Lake, Mina Shum’s Meditation Park, Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés, Pat Mills’ Don’t Talk to Irene, and Tarique Qayumi’s BLACK KITE.

The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival will run between September 7 and 17, 2017.

TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world, through film.

An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution programme Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $189 million CAD.

TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC.

(Reporting by Suman Das)