The TIFF 2024 lineup is almost completely in focus, as the festival announced the films in its Midnight Madness section this morning. And there’s a Toronto alum leading the charge there: Coralie Fargeat, whose sophomore feature (and Cannes favorite) “The Substance” will open the 10-feature section this year.
“The Substance” has a ton of buzz coming off its Cannes world premiere in May, in no small part to Fargeat winning that festival’s Best Screenplay award. But Demi Moore was a favorite to win the Best Actress award heading to the ceremony (alas, that went to the “Emilia Pérez” women instead). Moore stars in “The Substance” as an aging star obsessed with maintaining her youthful looks, and in turn her career, by any means necessary (no matter how grotesque). Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid also star in the film, with Hugo Diego Garcia, Phillip Schurer, Joseph Balderrama, and Robin Greer rounding out the main cast. It’ll be Fargeat’s second-straight feature in TIFF’s Midnight Madness program: her directorial debut, 2017′ “Revenge,” also played at the festival. “The Substance” hits US theaters on September 20.
But Fargeat’s breakout film isn’t the only Midnight Madness alum at TIFF this year. Joseph Kahn also returns this Fall with his latest film, “Ick.” Co-written with Sam Laskey and Dan Koontz, “Ick” is a small-town sci-fi thriller about a science teacher who reconnects with his first love and suspects a new student may be his daughter as an alien threat descends on the community. Kahn’s return to TIFF may be more intriguing than Fargeat’s: he won the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award in 2017 for “Bodied.”
And there’s another Midnight Madness alum at TIFF this year, too: Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto with “The Shadow Strays.” Tjahjanto’s second film with Netflix stars Malaysian actor Chew Kin Wah and Arsweny Bening Swara in a film about a young assassin who bonds with a pre-teen after a botched mission in Japan. It’s Tjahjanto’s first time back in Toronto since 2016’s “Headshot,” another action thriller.
Check out the full Midnight Madness lineup below, and find more info on each film in this section here. TIFF 2024 runs from September 5-September 15.
Dead Mail Joe DeBoer, Kyle McConaghy | USA
Canadian Premiere
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Dead Talents Society John Hsu | Taiwan
North American Premiere
Else Thibault Emin | France/Belgium
World Premiere
Sales Title
Escape from the 21st Century Yang LI | China
International Premiere
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Friendship Andrew DeYoung | USA
World Premiere
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Ick Joseph Kahn | USA
World Premiere
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It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This Rachel Kempf, Nick Toti | USA
Canadian Premiere
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The Gesuidouz Kenichi Ugana | Japan
World Premiere
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The Shadow Strays Timo Tjahjanto | Indonesia
World Premiere
OPENING FILM
The Substance Coralie Fargeat | United Kingdom/USA/France
North American Premiere