Toronto also filled out its Contemporary World Cinema section with new world premieres for films by Fira Khoury, Emir Baigazin and Claudia Sainte-Luce.




The Toronto Film Festival has announced new titles for its TIFF Docs and Contemporary World Cinema sections.

The TIFF Docs section will open with the previously announced Sacha Jenkins’ Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues, and there’s a North American premiere for Laura Poitras’ opioid epidemic doc All the Beauty and the Bloodshed from Participant.

The festival will also feature newly-added world bows for Cine-Guerrilas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels, by director Mila Rurajlic; Documentary Now!, by Alex Buono, Rhys Thomas and Micah Gardner; Sam Soko and Lauren DeFilippo’s Free Money, about a Kenyan village being given a universal basic income by an American organization; The Grab, from Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite; and Stephanie Johnes’ Maya and the Wave.


Other documentary first looks headed to Toronto include Mark Fletcher’s Patrick and the Whale; Sinead O’Shea’s Pray for our Sinners; Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot, by William Kentridge; Vinay Shukia’s While We Watched; and there’s an international premiere for Werner Herzog’s Theatre of Thought, a film about neurotechnology and artificial intelligence.

Elsewhere on the TIFF schedule, the Contemporary World Cinema sidebar has added world premieres for Matt Smukler’s Wildflower, which stars Jean Smart and Kiernan Shipka; Firas Khoury’s coming of age tale Alam; Christophe Honore’s Winter Boy, featuring Juliette Binoche in a film about a 17-year-old high school student trying to come to grips with the new challenges posed by death and life; and Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai’s pandemic-era drama The Hotel.

Other world bows booked into the CWC sidebar includes Kazakhstan director Emir Baigazin’s Life; Love and Mathematics, from Mexican helmer Claudia Sainte-Luce; Klaus Haro’s English-language debut My Sailor, My Love; Donald Shebib’s romance murder mystery Nightalk; Ulrich Seidl’s Sparta, a companion film to the Austrian director’s last film, Rimini; Cuban director Carlos Lechuga’s family drama Vicenta B; and Nandita Das’ social satire Zwigato.

Toronto earlier announced that the Working Title and Netflix drama The Swimmers, director Sally El Hosaini’s drama about real-life sisters on an inspiring odyssey as refugees from war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, will open TIFF on Sept. 8 at Roy Thomson Hall.

The Toronto Film Festival is set to run from Sept. 8 to 18.

Read on for the full TIFF Docs and CWC lineups.

TIFF Docs

752 Is Not A Number Babak Payami | Canada
World Premiere

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Laura Poitras | USA North American Premiere

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On Madison Thomas | Canada
World Premiere

Casa Susanna Sébastien Lifshitz | France, USA North American Premiere

Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudovic Reels Mila Turajlic | Serbia, France, Croatia, Montenegro World Premiere

The Colour of Ink Brian D. Johnson | Canada
World Premiere

Documentary Now! Alex Buono, Rhys Thomas, Micah Gardner | USA World Premiere

Ever Deadly Tanya Tagaq, Chelsea McMullan | Canada
World Premiere

Free Money Sam Soko, Lauren DeFilippo | Kenya, USA World Premiere

Mariupolis 2 Mantas Kvedaravičius | Lithuania, France, Germany North American Premiere

The Grab Gabriela Cowperthwaite | USA World Premiere

In Her Hands Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen | USA, Afghanistan World Premiere

Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues Sacha Jenkins | USA World Premiere

Maya and the Wave Stephanie Johnes | USA World Premiere

Miúcha, The Voice of Bossa Nova Daniel Zarvos, Liliane Mutti | Brazil, France Canadian Premiere

My Imaginary Country (Mi País Imaginario) Patricio Guzmán | Chile, France North American Premiere

Patrick and the Whale Mark Fletcher | Austria World Premiere

Pray for our Sinners Sinéad O’Shea | Ireland World Premiere

Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot William Kentridge | South Africa, USA World Premiere

Theatre of Thought Werner Herzog | USA International Premiere

To Kill a Tiger Nisha Pahuja | Canada
World Premiere

While We Watched Vinay Shukla | UK World Premiere

Contemporary World Cinema

Aftersun Charlotte Wells | United Kingdom, USA North American Premiere

Alam Firas Khoury | France, Palestine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar World Premiere

Amanda Carolina Cavalli | Italy International Premiere

Ashkal Youssef Chebbi | France, Tunisia, Qatar North American Premiere

Autobiography Makbul Mubarak | Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Germany, Qatar North American Premiere

Beyond the Wall (Shab, Dkheli, Divar) Vahid Jalilvand | Iran North American Premiere

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Pierre Földes | France, Luxembourg, Canada, Netherlands
International Premiere

Bones of Crows Marie Clements | Canada
World Premiere

Coyote (Le Coyote) Katherine Jerkovic | Canada
World Premiere

Domingo and the Mist (Domingo y la Niebla) Ariel Escalante Meza | Costa Rica, Qatar North American Premiere

El agua Elena López Riera | Switzerland, Spain, France North American Premiere

The End of Sex Sean Garrity | Canada
World Premiere

EOJerzy Skolimowski | Poland, Italy North American Premiere

Falcon Lake Charlotte Le Bon | Canada
North American Premiere

Fixation Mercedes Bryce Morgan | Canada, USA, Germany
World Premiere

Godland (Vanskabte Land/Volaða Land) Hlynur Pálmason | Denmark, Iceland, France, Sweden Canadian Premiere

The Happiest Man in the World Teona Strugar Mitevska | North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
North American Premiere

The Hotel Wang Xiaoshuai | Hong Kong World Premiere

La Jauría Andrés Ramírez Pulido | Colombia, France North American Premiere

Life (Жизнь) Emir Baigazin | Kazakhstan World Premiere

Living Oliver Hermanus | United Kingdom Canadian Premiere

Love and Mathematics (Amor y matemáticas) Claudia Sainte-Luce | Mexico World Premiere

Love Life Koji Fukada | Japan, France North American Premiere

Luxembourg, Luxembourg Antonio Lukich | Ukraine North American Premiere

The Maiden Graham Foy | Canada
North American Premiere

Manticore (Mantícora) Carlos Vermut | Spain North American Premiere

Muru Tearepa Kahi | New Zealand International Premiere

My Sailor, My Love Klaus Hӓrӧ | Finland, Ireland World Premiere

Nightalk Donald Shebib | Canada
World Premiere

North of Normal Carly Stone | Canada
World Premiere

The Origin of Evil Sébastien Marnier | France, Canada North American Premiere

Plan 75 Chie Hayakawa | Japan, France, Philippines, Qatar North American Premiere

Return to Dust Li Ruijun | China North American Premiere

R.M.N. Cristian Mungiu | Romania, France North American Premiere

So Much Tenderness Lina Rodriguez | Canada
World Premiere

Sparta Ulrich Seidl | Austria, France, Germany World Premiere

Stellar Darlene Naponse | Canada
World Premiere

Stonewalling Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka | Japan North American Premiere

The Swearing Jar Lindsay MacKay | Canada
World Premiere

The Umbrella Men John Barker | South Africa International Premiere

Under the Fig Trees Erige Sehiri | Tunisia, Switzerland, France, Qatar North American Premiere

Valeria Is Getting Married Michal Vinik | Israel North American Premiere

Victim (OBEŤ) Michal Blaško | Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Germany North American Premiere

Vicenta B. Carlos Lechuga | Cuba, France, USA, Colombia, Norway World Premiere

War Sailor (Krigsseileren) Gunnar Vikene | Norway, Germany, Malta International Premiere

We Are Still Here Beck Cole, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Danielle MacLean, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne | Australia, New Zealand
International Premiere

Wildflower Matt Smukler | USA World Premiere

Winter Boy (Le Lycéen) Christophe Honoré | France World Premiere

The Worst Ones Romane Gueret, Lise Akoka | France North American Premiere

Zwigato Nandita Das | India World Premiere