Claire Denis, Nicole Holofcener, and Amma Asante are heading to the Great White North. The directors’ latest films are making their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September. TIFF just announced its first batch of programming, the Galas and Special Presentations, which are the fest’s most high-profile slates.
Of seventeen films in the Galas section, five are helmed by women, amounting to about 29 percent. Among the titles screening are “High Life,” a sci-fi pic about criminals sent to space that marks Denis’ English-language debut, and “The Land of Steady Habits,” Holofcener’s portrait of a newly retired man who leaves his wife only to regret the comforts of his old life. Women-centric films in the slate include “Widows,” a heist thriller led by Viola Davis, and “The Hate U Give,” an adaptation of Angie Thomas’ best-selling, Black Lives Matter-inspired novel about a police shooting starring “Everything, Everything’s” Amandla Stenberg.
Thirty films are included in the Special Presentations lineup, and eight of them are women-directed, or 27 percent. Stenberg toplines Asante’s “Where Hands Touch,” a romance about a black German teen who falls for a member of the Hitler Youth. The program also includes Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, a biopic of celebrity biographer and forger Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) penned by Holofcener, and Stella Meghie’s “The Weekend,” a pic that sees “SNL” alumna Sasheer Zamata playing a comedian on a weekend getaway with her ex and his new girlfriend. Patricia Rozema’s “Mouthpiece” has been named the Special Presentations opening film. The drama follows a writer dealing with the sudden loss of her mother.
In last year’s initial announcement, 36 percent of the Gala lineup was women-directed, and 27 percent of the Special Presentations were helmed by women. Expect more films to be added to this year’s programs in the coming weeks, as well as announcements about other sections of the fest.
All of the women-directed films announced so far are listed below. TIFF runs from September 6-16.
GALAS
“Galveston” – Mélanie Laurent, USA
“High Life” – Claire Denis, Germany/France/Poland/United Kingdom
“The Kindergarten Teacher” – Sara Colangelo, USA
“The Land of Steady Habits” – Nicole Holofcener, USA
“What They Had” – Elizabeth Chomko, USA
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” – Marielle Heller, USA
“Capernaum” – Nadine Labaki, Lebanon
“Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil)” – Eva Husson, France
“Manto” – Nandita Das, India
“Maya” – Mia Hansen-Løve, France
“Mouthpiece” – Patricia Rozema, Canada (Special presentations opening film)
“The Weekend” – Stella Meghie, USA
“Where Hands Touch” – Amma Asante, United Kingdom
