Despite the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Fall film festivals like Venice, TIFF, and NYFF forge ahead with their lineups. And today, TIFF announced the star-studded roster for its Gala and Special Presentation lineups for the 48th edition of the festival. There’s some considerable star power here, too: Dakota Johnson, Jenna Ortega, Mads Mikkelsen, and Awkwafina are just some of the actors with films debuting in these sections. Plus, there are plenty of world and North American premieres for the likes of directors such as Aki Kurasmäki, Brian Helgeland, and Wim Wenders.
READ MORE: TIFF 2023: New Films From Taika Waititi, Craig Gillespie, Anna Kendrick, Viggo Mortensen
So what the biggest films premiering in TIFF’s centrepiece program? Brian Helgeland’s “Finestkind” may take the prize there. The latest from the “LA Confidential” director features Ben Foster, Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones, and Toby Wallace about two brothers in Boston who fall into organized crime, with a young woman getting caught in the middle of it all. But 20th Century Studio‘s “Quiz Lady” also has its world premiere at TIFF now. That one stars Awkwafina and Sandra Oh as a couple of estranged sisters who must go on a cross-country road trip together to pay off their mother’s gambling debts.
Neither of those sound good? Well, there’s almost the world premiere of Lone Scherfig‘s “The Movie Teller” with Bérénice Bejo. In that film, a young woman and her four siblings in a 1960 Chilean mining town try to scrounge up enough money to go see movies, leading the girl to discover her love of storytelling. There’s also Hur Jin-ho‘s drama “A Normal Family” premiering at TIFF this year. It’s the third world premiere for the South Korean director at TIFF after “April Snow” and “Dangerous Liaisons.” “A Normal Family” follows two wealthy Korean families who meet for dinner to discuss a violent crime their sons committed. Another intriguing South Korean is at TIFF this year, too: Ryoo Seung-wan‘s ‘Smugglers,” in the Special Presentation sidebar. That film follows two women in the 1970s who start a smuggling business together in a small seaside village. “Smugglers” had its world premiere at Locarno earlier this year?
And plenty of other films who had their world premieres are earlier 2023 festivals will be at TIFF, too. Front and center there: Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Wim Wender‘s “Perfect Days,” Victor Erice‘s “Close Your Eyes,” and Agnieszka Holland‘s “Green Border” will all be in Toronto after their Cannes bows. And so will Nikolaj Arcel‘s “The Promised Land” with Mikkelsen after bows for its world premiere at Venice. That film follows the true story of Ludvig Kahlen, a 17th-century Dane who attempted to tame the wild heath of Jutland for wealth and prosperity.
“We are very excited to present the new Centrepiece programme, a cinematic journey that transcends boundaries and embraces the art of human experience,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer in a press statement. “The rebranding of the TIFF programme, formerly Contemporary World Cinema, is a reflection of the Festival’s vision to provide an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
In all, TIFF’s centrepiece programme features 47 films from 45 different countries. Take a look at the full line-up below:
CENTREPIECE PROGRAMME 2023
100 Yards Xu Haofeng, Xu Junfeng | China
International Premiere
About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey/France/Germany/Sweden
North American Premiere
Luminaries
A Happy Day Hisham Zaman | Norway/Denmark
World Premiere
A Ravaging Wind (El Viento Que Arrasa) Paula Hernández | Argentina/Uruguay
World Premiere
A Road to A Village (गाउ आएको बाटो) Nabin Subba | Nepal
World Premiere
Banel & Adama (Banel e Adama) Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France/Senegal/Mali
North American Premiere
Chuck Chuck Baby Janis Pugh | United Kingdom
International Premiere
City of Wind (сэр сэр салхи) Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir | France/Mongolia/Portugal/Netherlands/Qatar/Germany
North American Premiere
Close Your Eyes (Cerrar Los Ojos) Víctor Erice | Spain/Argentina
North American Premiere
Luminaries
Death of a Whistleblower Ian Gabriel | South Africa
World Premiere
Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet lehdet) Aki Kaurismäki | Finland/Germany
Canadian Premiere
Luminaries
Fitting In Molly McGlynn | Canada
Canadian Premiere
Sloan Science on Film Showcase, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Green Border (Zielona Granica) Agnieszka Holland | Poland/Czech Republic/France/Belgium
North American Premiere
Luminaries
Hey, Viktor! Cody Lightning | Canada
Canadian Premiere
Holiday Edoardo Gabbriellini | Italy
World Premiere
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) Ariane Louis-Seize | Canada
North American Premiere
I Do Not Come To You By Chance Ishaya Bako | Nigeria
World Premiere
In Flames Zarrar Kahn | Canada/Pakistan
North American Premiere
Inshallah a Boy (Inshallah Walad) Amjad Al Rasheed | Jordan/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/Egypt
North American Premiere
Irena’s Vow Louise Archambault | Canada/Poland
World Premiere
Je’vida Katja Gauriloff | Finland
Canadian Premiere
Kanaval Henri Pardo | Canada/Luxembourg
World Premiere
Limbo Ivan Sen | Australia
North American Premiere
Lost Ladies (Laapataa Ladies) Kiran Rao | India
World Premiere
Mountains Monica Sorelle | USA
International Premiere
National Anthem Luke Gilford | USA
International Premiere
Perfect Days Wim Wenders | Japan
Canadian Premiere
Robot Dreams Pablo Berger | Spain/France
North American Premiere
Shadow of Fire Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan
North American Premiere
Shayda Noora Niasari | Australia
Canadian Premiere
Sira Apolline Traoré | Burkina Faso/Senegal/France/Germany
North American Premiere
Snow Leopard (Xue Bao) Pema Tseden | China
North American Premiere
Sweet Dreams Ena Sendijarević | Netherlands/ Sweden/ Indonesia/France
North American Premiere
The Breaking Ice Anthony Chen | China
North American Premiere
The Delinquents Rodrigo Moreno | Argentina/Brazil/Luxembourg/Chile
North American Premiere
The Feeling That the Time for Something Has Passed Joanna Arnow | USA
North American Premiere
The Monk and the Gun Pawo Choyning Dorji | Bhutan/France/USA/Taiwan
International Premiere
The Nature of Love (Simple Comme Sylvain) Monia Chokri | Canada/France
North American Premiere
The Reeds (Son Hasat) Cemil Ağacıkoğlu | Turkey/Bulgaria
World Premiere
The Settlers (Los Colonos) Felipe Gálvez Haberle | Chile/Argentina/France/Denmark/United Kingdom/Taiwan/Sweden/Germany
North American Premiere
The Teachers’ Lounge Ilker Çatak | Germany
North American Premiere
They Shot the Piano Player (Dispararon Al Pianista) Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal | Spain/France
Canadian Premiere
Toll (Pedágio) Carolina Markowicz | Brazil/Portugal
World Premiere
Upon Open Sky (A Cielo Abierto) Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga | Mexico/Spain
North American Premiere
We Grown Now Minhal Baig | USA
World Premiere
Woodland (WALD) Elisabeth Scharang | Austria
World Premiere
Your Mother’s Son (Anak Ka Ng Ina Mo) Jun Robles Lana | Philippines
World Premiere
GALAS
A Normal Family Hur Jin-ho | South Korea
World Premiere
Finestkind Brian Helgeland | USA
World Premiere
Smugglers Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea
North American Premiere
Thank You For Coming Karan Boolani | India
World Premiere
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Daddio Christy Hall | United States
International Premiere
El Sabor de la Navidad Alejandro Lozano | Mexico
World Premiere
Evil Does Not Exist Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Japan
North American Premiere
Quiz Lady Jessica Yu | USA
World Premiere
Ru Charles-Olivier Michaud | Canada
World Premiere
The Movie Teller Lone Scherfig | Spain/France/Chile
World Premiere
The Promised Land Nikolaj Arcel | Denmark/Germany/Sweden
Canadian Premiere
DOCUMENTARY
I am Sirat A collaboration between Deepa Mehta and Sirat Taneja | Canada
World Premiere