Festivals, Films, News, Women Directors

TIFF Announces More Galas and Special Presentations

“150 Milligrams”

The Toronto International Film Festival will host the World Premiere of Emmanuelle Bercot’s “150 Milligrams.” The fest continues to gradually roll out its complete slate, and the French actress-director’s newest film is among the recently announced titles in the fest’s Special Presentations program.

Of 14 additions to the Special Presentations lineup, three are directed by women, or 21 percent: Bercot’s “150 Milligrams,” Robin Swicord’s “Wakefield,” and Miwa Nishikawa’s “The Long Excuse.”

“150 Milligrams” is Bercot’s follow-up to last year’s “Standing Tall,” which premiered to strong reviews at Cannes. Her newest feature, based on a true story, centers on Irène Frachon, a pulmonologist who makes a shocking discovery about a popular drug that’s been marketed for over 30 years.

“Wakefield” stars Bryan Cranston as a man seeking refuge in his garage attic in the midst of a nervous breakdown. Jennifer Garner co-stars. Swicord made her feature directorial debut in 2007 with her adaptation of Karen Joy Fowler’s best-selling novel “The Jane Austen Book Club.” Her screenwriting credits include “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” and “Matilda.”

Japanese writer-director Nishikawa tells the story of a recently widowed man in “The Long Excuse,” an adaptation of her own novel of the same title. The man lost his wife in a bus accident, and makes a rash offer to care for the children of another man who lost his wife in the same tragedy.

Previously announced women-directed films screening as Special Presentations at TIFF include two of Cannes’ biggest hits: Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” and Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann.”

TIFF also added two Galas to their program, but neither is helmed by a woman. Women-directed Galas at the 41st iteration of the fest include Mira Nair’s chess underdog film “Queen of Katwe,” starring Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”), Amma Asante’s interracial romance “A United Kingdom,” Lone Scherfig’s period dramedy “Their Finest,” and Kelly Fremon Craig’s coming-of-age story “The Edge of Seventeen.”


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