The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) hasn’t gone entirely digital this year, but the fest has adapted to life in a COVID-19 world. Set to take place September 10-19, the 45th edition of TIFF has been significantly pared down, and will include physical and virtual screenings, drive-ins, and virtual red carpets.
We’ve assembled some highlights from the program, including Chloé Zhao’s highly anticipated awards contender “Nomadland,” Stacey Lee’s tribute to the unsung women of electronic music, “Underplayed,” and two Oscar-winning actresses’ feature directorial debuts, Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” and Halle Berry’s “Bruised.” This list is far from exhaustive: more than 20 features directed or co-directed by women are set to screen.
Be sure to check out our interviews with women directors screening films at the fest, which we’ll begin publishing this week.
Here are some of our most anticipated films of TIFF 2020. Synopses are courtesy of the festival.
“Nomadland” – Written and Directed by Chloé Zhao
What it’s about: Frances McDormand explores the vast landscape of the American West, in Chloé Zhao’s wise and intimate portrayal of life as a modern-day nomad.
Why we’re excited: Chloé Zhao’s last feature, cowboy drama “The Rider,” was one of 2018’s best-reviewed films and named best picture by the National Society of Film Critics. “Nomadland” sees her teaming up with one of the finest actors of her generation. Frances McDormand follows up her Oscar-winning role as a single-minded bulldozer determined to get justice for her murdered daughter in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” by playing a rootless woman blazing her trail via the highways of America’s West. In the aftermath of the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (McDormand) packs her bags and starts living as a modern nomad, working seasonal jobs to pay her way.
Zhao cast a number of nonprofessional actors in “The Rider” as well as her feature debut, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” and has done the same with “Nomadland,” a decision that will no doubt make Fern’s travels — and the community of nomads she meets along the way — feel all the more authentic.
Next up for Zhao is “The Eternals,” a Marvel pic about super-powered individuals fighting to control the universe. We’re excited to check out the filmmaker’s take on a big-budget comic adaptation, but in the meantime we’re glad that “Nomadland,” which is likely to reach a bigger audience than her previous efforts, will offer another chance to see the intimate, atmospheric, and character-driven work Zhao built her career on.
“Underplayed” (Documentary) – Directed by Stacey Lee
What it’s about: Filmed over the summer festival season, Stacey Lee’s uplifting documentary examines gender inequality in the electronic dance music scene.
Why we’re excited: As the filmmakers of “Underplayed” remind us, only five of 2019’s top 100 DJs were women; women hold less than three percent of tech and production roles in the music industry; and among the top 150 clubs, women represent only about six percent of DJs each year. This a massive disparity that Stacey Lee hopes to address in her first feature film.
“Underplayed” spotlights the talents of trailblazing female DJs Alison Wonderland, Sherelle, and REZZ in addition to providing a history of women’s work in EDM. All the while, the doc explores how the music industry can improve representation and inclusion in terms of race and ethnicity as well as gender. As Lee has said, “This film isn’t about the negatives of the issue [of inequality] but more about the solutions.”
“One Night in Miami” – Directed by Regina King
“One Night in Miami”: Amazon
What it’s about: Actor-director Regina King’s feature directorial debut, based on Kemp Powers’ play, is a fictionalized account of a 1964 meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown.
Why we’re excited: We wouldn’t be surprised if Regina King’s feature directorial debut lands her in the awards conversation. Fresh off an Oscar win for “If Beale Street Could Talk” and an Emmy nomination for “Watchmen,” the veteran actress is no stranger to working behind the camera. She’s already collected over a dozen directing credits on the small screen, including episodes of “Insecure,” “This Is Us,” and “Scandal.”
“One Night in Miami” is a fictionalized account of a 1964 meeting between real-life friends and cultural icons Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and Malcolm X. The foursome gather to celebrate Clay’s win over Sonny Liston, a victory that made him the heavyweight champion of the world.
Despite their fame, power, and money, the men remain vulnerable to civil rights abuses in the United States. According to TIFF’s synopsis of the film, the foursome confront questions about whether “successful Black entertainers [should] speak out against racism,” how “Black celebrities [can best] serve the Black community,” and if “money and fame [are] reward enough for humiliation” — questions that remain sources of impassioned debate more than five decades later.
“Beans” – Directed by Tracey Deer; Written by Tracey Deer and Meredith Vuchnich
“Beans”: TIFF
What it’s about: Based on true events, Tracey Deer’s debut feature chronicles the 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government forces in 1990 in Quebec.
Why we’re excited: Inspired by her own experiences, Tracey Deer’s “Beans” is a coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of the 1990 Oka Crisis, a standoff between Quebec’s Kanehsatà:ke and Kahnawá:ke communities and the Sûreté du Québec, the RCMP, and the Canadian Armed Forces. “Once the Oka Crisis hit, the reality [hit] that my difference made life dangerous outside of the safety of my home and my community,” Deer explained. “That was a very rude awakening. It was shattering, really, to the innocence I had up until that point.”
“Beans'” titular character (Kiawenti:io Tarbell), a 12-year-old Mohawk girl, is undergoing a transformation. Like many adolescents, she’s slowly beginning to figure out her own political and ideological leanings. She’s also grappling with her race and how it — and she — fits into a racist world. “Beans” promises to be a timely drama exploring Indigenous identity in Canada and the intersection of violence, activism, and childhood.
“Bruised” – Directed by Halle Berry; Written by Michelle Rosenfarb
“Bruised”: TIFF
What it’s about: Halle Berry’s directorial debut follows a former MMA fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and restart her athletic career.
Why we’re excited: “I love seeing a woman, and a woman of color, get to save the day,” Halle Berry has said. “Men save the day all the time in movies and it’s nice to see a woman do what I know women can do.” With “Bruised,” Berry will get the chance to save her personal and professional life. She plays Jackie, a woman determined to make amends with the child she abandoned and claim the MMA title she walked away from.
As calls for greater representation of BIPOC in Hollywood get louder, we’re hopeful that Berry, who made history as the first Black woman to win an Oscar for a leading role, will start being offered more projects that are worthy of her immense talent. “Monster’s Ball” was released in 2001, and, with the exception of a few titles, the “X-Men” franchise and a small screen adaptation of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” among them, most of her projects have gone under the radar since. She deserves better, and an ass-kicking performance in “Bruised” — which also marks her directing debut — will further prove it.
“Inconvenient Indian” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Michelle Latimer
“Inconvenient Indian”: TIFF
What it’s about: Michelle Latimer’s affecting adaptation of Thomas King’s award-winning book explores the cultural colonization of Indigenous peoples in North America.
Why we’re excited: As institutions around the world, especially in the U.S. and North America, acknowledge and reckon with their histories of white supremacy, Michelle Latimer’s new doc feels especially prescient: it’s the examination of the colonization of North America’s Indigenous peoples.
Not only does the filmmaker delve into the past, she investigates the gaslighting, dishonesty, and shirking of responsibility that directly connect it to the present. As “The Inconvenient Indian” argues, the fact that the nations of North America haven’t fully acknowledged their history of colonization just makes it easier — perhaps even inevitable — for leaders to continue claiming Indigenous land and resources as their own.
Using various elements including voiceover, archival footage, interviews, and art, Latimer celebrates Indigenous cultures and traditions, while reiterating that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
“Ammonite”
“Ammonite”: See-Saw Films
What it’s about: Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan star in this raw love story between a solitary paleontologist and a wealthy, grieving wife in 19th-century Dorset.
Why we’re excited: Two of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors are teaming up for an LGBTQ love story — of course we’re in. “Ammonite’s” new trailer is giving us “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” vibes, another lesbian romance that unfolds on the coast. Céline Sciamma’s drama about an artist and the reluctant bride she’s hired to paint a portrait of earned universal praise out of TIFF last year, and we’re confident about “Ammonite’s” chances of following suit.
Winslet and Ronan have a combined 11 Oscar nods between them, and a stellar track record of playing complicated and unforgettable characters in titles as varied as “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Little Women,” “Titanic,” and “Lady Bird.”
Films with two female leads remain frustratingly rare, and “Ammonite” promises to serve as a showcase for two of our favorite, most reliably excellent stars.
“Lift Like a Girl” (Documentary) – Written and Directed by Mayye Zayed
“Lift Like a Girl”: TIFF
What it’s about: “Lift Like a Girl” is an intimate journey into the inner life of an aspiring athlete.
Why we’re excited: With “Lift Like a Girl,” Mayye Zayed wants to “inspire young girls to fight stereotypes and follow their dreams, no matter what.” The doc follows Zebiba, a young Egyptian weightlifter trained by Captain Ramadan, who previously coached his daughter, two-time Olympic medalist Nahla Rahman.
In a fitting bit a symmetry, Zayed herself felt empowered as a teen by Nahla’s rise to fame. “Back then, I was so inspired by the story of the girl training in the streets of Alexandria becoming a world champion, and she was almost my age,” the filmmaker recalled. “In a way, she was my hero.”
Filmed over four years, at gyms and competitions alike, “Lift Like a Girl” is a tribute to female athleticism and an uplifting portrait of one young woman defying expectations and pursuing her dreams.
“Shadow in the Cloud” – Written and Directed by Roseanne Liang
What it’s about: Chloë Grace Moretz stars as a WWII pilot trying to warn her obstinate male comrades of a sinister stowaway, in a new nightmare at 20,000 feet from Roseanne Liang.
Why we’re excited: We’re always happy to see a woman-directed genre pic at TIFF, where the Midnight Madness program tends to be dominated by men.
Roseanne Liang’s “Shadow in the Cloud” sees Chloë Grace Moretz playing Maude, an aviator who, along with her all-male crew, is assigned to transport a classified piece of cargo. When Maude is “forcibly sequestered” to “a ball turret hanging from the belly of the bomber,” her “dizzying new-found perspective brings to light yet another unexpected passenger — one whose stealthily sinister presence may jeopardize the lives of all aboard,” TIFF teases.
We don’t know what exactly to expect of “Shadow in the Cloud,” and that’s what intrigues us. It sounds like fun — and that’s not a common descriptor for fest titles. The action/horror hybrid’s premise has got us hooked, and we’re keen to see how Liang tells this high octane story set above the clouds.
“True Mothers” – Directed by Naomi Kawase; Written by Naomi Kawase and Izumi Takahashi
“True Mothers”: TIFF
What it’s about: The latest from acclaimed director Naomi Kawase — a candid force in contemporary Japanese cinema — is a touching family story of love and adoption.
Why we’re excited: We’re big fans of Naomi Kawase’s work as well as “Daughter of Mine,” another complex story about adoption, motherhood, and family. Kawase’s latest also sees two mothers on a collision course. Satoko (Hiromi Nagasaku) and her husband raised the baby the teenaged Hikari (Aju Makita) put up for adoption. When Hikari returns, hoping to reconnect with her biological son, the life Satoko built for herself and her family is upended.
Based on Mizuki Tsujimura’s 2015 novel, “True Mothers” is a drama that — while folding in teen romance and thriller elements — unpacks what a mother is, who she should be, and the extraordinary societal pressure she must endure.
“I Am Greta” (Documentary)
What it’s about: Nathan Grossman documents Greta Thunberg’s meteoric one-year rise from high-school climate strike organizer to inspiration for a global movement.
Why we’re excited: The world is on fire — literally and figuratively — but thankfully we have Greta Thunberg. The 17-year-old climate activist gives us hope for the future, and future generations. “I Am Greta” kicks off in August 2018, before Thunberg’s rise to global fame, and follows her for a year, including her attendance at two UN climate summits in September 2019.
Along with its focus on Thunberg’s work and international renown, the doc also depicts the downsides to dedicating oneself to a cause at such a young age. Thunberg’s activism has made her plenty of enemies, and attracted criticism from the likes of Vladimir Putin and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro. The doc also explores how the teenager, who is on the autism spectrum, feels isolated from her classmates and teachers as a result. “I Am Greta,” therefore, seems to be a complete portrait of Thunberg, exploring her life both as an activist and as a young autistic woman.
