Toronto International Film Festival 2020 announces its list of 50 selected feature films

This year's planning for a 45th Festival, said Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head of TIFF, began much like our previous editions but along the way it led to rethinking about everything due to COVID-19 pandemic and added,

"This year’s lineup reflects that tumult. The names you already know are doing brand new things this year, and there’s a whole crop of exciting new names to discover. We’re thankful to every filmmaker and company that joined us on this adventure, and we can’t wait to share these brilliant films with our audiences.” 

TIFF 2020 is a special edition and is a symbol possibility when collaboration, ingenuity, and passion take centre stage, said Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head of TIFF and added,

“It’s also a time for us to celebrate and affirm some of the founding values of TIFF, including the power film has to propel us forward as a society and present a diversity of voices. I’m proud and excited to share these films with audiences.”   

The programs in which TIFF's selection of 50 films are included are Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery, Gala Presentations, Masters, Midnight Madness, Primetime, Special Presentations, TIFF Docs; TIFF Next Wave, and Wavelengths.

'Contemporary World Cinema' featuring compelling stories and global perspectives include the following films:

Bandar Band, directed by Manijeh Hekmat and filmed in Iran and Germany;
New Order (Nuevo orden) directed by Michel Franco and filmed in Mexico;
Night of the Kings (La Nuit des Rois), directed by Philippe Lacôte and filmed in Côte d’Ivoire, France, Canada, and Senegal;
Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time (Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre) directed by Lili Horvát and filmed in Hungary
Quo Vadis, Aïda? directed by Jasmila Žbani? and filmed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, The Netherlands, Austria, Romania, France, Germany, Poland, and Turkey
Under the Open Sky (Subarashiki Sekai) directed by Miwa Nishikawa and filmed in Japan

'Discovery' in which directors watch the future of world cinema includes the following films:

180 Degree Rule directed by Farnoosh Samadi and filmed in Iran;
Beans directed by Tracey Deer and filmed in Canada
Beginning (Dasatskisi) directed by Dea Kulumbegashvili and filmed in Georgia and France
Gaza mon amour directed by Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser and filmed in Palestine, France, Germany, Portugal, and Qatar
Limbo directed by Ben Sharrock and filmed in United Kingdom
Memory House (Casa de Antiguidades) directed by João Paulo Miranda Maria and filmed in Brazil and France
Shiva Baby directed by Emma Seligman and filmed in USA and Canada
Spring Blossom directed by Suzanne Lindon and filmed in France
The Best is Yet to Come (Bu Zhi Bu Xiu) directed by Wang Jing and filmed in China
Wildfire directed by Cathy Brady and filmed in United Kingdom and Ireland

'Gala Presentations' highlights movie stars and major audience interest and includes the following films:

Ammonite directed by Francis Lee and filmed in United Kingdom
Bruised directed by Halle Berry and filmed in USA
Concrete Cowboy directed by Ricky Staub and filmed in USA
David Byrne's American Utopia directed by Spike Lee and filmed in USA
Good Joe Bell directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and filmed in USA
I Care A Lot directed by  J Blakeson, filmed in United Kingdom
Nomadland directed by Chloé Zhao, filmed in USA
One Night in Miami directed by Regina King, filmed in USA
Pieces of a Woman directed by Kornél Mundruczó, filmed in USA, Canada, and Hungary

The film included in 'Masters', which features the latest from the world’s most influential art-house filmmakers is:

Notturno directed by Gianfranco Rosi, filmed in Italy, France, and Germany

'Midnight Madness' featuring the wild side: midnight screenings of the best in action, horror, shock and fantasy cinema, includes the following:

Get the Hell Out (Tao Chu Li Fa Yuan) directed by I-Fan Wang, produced in Taiwan
Shadow In The Cloud directed by Roseanne Liang, produced in USA and New Zealand
Violation directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, produced in Canada

'Primetime' devoting to serial storytelling, and television in its artistic renaissance includes the following selected films:

A Suitable Boy directed by Mira Nair, produced in the United Kingdom. ( It is the Closing Night Presentation)
The Third Day directed by Felix Barrett and Dennis Kelly, produced in United Kingdom
Trickster directed by Michelle Latimer filmed in Canada

'Special Presentations' featuring high-profile premieres and the world’s leading filmmakers, include the following films

Another Round (Druk) directed by Thomas Vinterberg, produced in Denmark
Falling directed by Viggo Mortensen, produced in Canada and United Kingdom
Penguin Bloom directed by Glendyn Ivin, produced in Australia
Summer of 85 (Été 85) directed by François Ozon, produced in France
The Disciple directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, produced in India
The Father directed by Florian Zeller, produced in United Kingdom and France
True Mothers (Asa Ga Kuru) directed in Naomi Kawase, produced in Japan

'TIFF Docs' highlights candid and unscripted, and the best non-fiction cinema from around the world and the films included in it are:

76 Days directed by Hao Wu, Anonymous, Weixi Chen filmed in USA
City Hall directed by Frederick Wiseman and filmed in USA
Enemies of the State directed by Sonia Kennebeck and filmed in USA
Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds directed by Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer and filmed in United Kingdom and USA
MLK/FBI directed by Sam Pollard and filmed in USA
No Ordinary Man directed by Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt, filmed in Canada
The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel directed by Joel Bakan and  Jennifer Abbott, and filmed in  Canada

'TIFF Next Wave' features the next generation of movie lovers, and selections approved by our youth-driven TIFF Next Wave Committee. Films included are:

Inconvenient Indian directed by Michelle Latimer and filmed in Canada
Lift Like a Girl (Ash Ya Captain) directed by Mayye Zayed and filmed in Egypt, Germany and Denmark

'Wavelength' represents daring, visionary, and autonomous voices including film art in the cinema and beyond. Films include are:

Fauna directed by Nicolás Pereda, and filmed in Mexico and Canada
The Inheritance directed by Ephraim Asili and filmed in USA

The 45th Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run September 10–19, 2020.

The health and well-being of both Festival filmgoers and the residents of the entire community being its number-one priority, TIFF continues to work closely with the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, and public health officials on the safe execution of TIFF.

In addition, TIFF  partners with Medcan, with its team of over 90 physicians and specialists,  a global health care leader providing medical expertise, consultation, and health inspiration to achieve its mission of helping people “Live Well for Life” and “Safe at Work System” helping organizations navigate the pandemic.

With its mission to transform the way people see the world through film, TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization ,and an international leader in film culture.

Besides its annual festival in September, TIFF's other project includes TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, learning and entertainment facilities; and national distribution program Film Circuit generating an annual economic impact of $189 million CAD.

Generous supporters of  TIFF Bell Lightbox are 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.

TIFF is supported generously by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC, L’Oréal Paris, and Visa, and Major Supporters the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, and the City of Toronto.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

(Image Credit: TIFF Twitter handle)