The 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (September 10–20) will introduce a new program. Platform will showcase “artistically ambitious” works at the festival, and the winner of the category will be awarded $25,000 by a three-person jury comprised this year of Claire Denis, Agnieszka Holland and Jia Zhang-ke.
Unfortunately, only three of the 12 films in the inaugural lineup are helmed by women: “Looking For Grace” by Sue Brooks, “Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)” by Eva Husson and “Sky” by Fabienne Berthaud.
“Looking For Grace” follows a couple who embark on a road trip across West Australia under less-than-ideal circumstances. Two parents are searching for their runaway daughter, who has taken her dad’s safe with her. The film will be making its North American debut at TIFF after premiering in Venice.
“Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story),” Husson’s feature debut, explores the burgeoning sex lives of a group of teens in Biarritz, a picturesque seaside town in France. (We shan’t be forgetting this evocative title anytime soon.)
Like “Looking for Grace,” “Sky” chronicles a road trip that’s embarked upon out of necessity. A young woman (Diane Kruger) fleeing the scene of a crime heads on a solo road trip to California and Nevada. Lena Dunham co-stars.
Brooks and Husson each penned the scripts for their respective films. Berthaud co-wrote “Sky.”
“We created this new programme as a way to sharpen our focus on artistically ambitious cinema in our 40th year and we are thrilled to be able to put the spotlight on these 12 brilliant filmmakers this September,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “They are major creative forces: the next generation of masters whose personal vision will captivate audiences, industry members and media from around the world.”
[via TIFF and The Hollywood Reporter]
