Toronto International Film Festival 2023 Preview
Allow FilmSpeak to break down some of the more notable films coming to TIFF this year, and some of the films the FilmSpeak team will cover.
The fall season is right around the corner, and with the coming fall comes the season of film festivals. The Toronto International Film Festival, is the world’s largest public film festival, and has always prided itself on giving the public access to the buzziest new films from acclaimed auteurs and major actors, as well as emerging talents and voices from all regions of the world. This year, TIFF has lived up to its promise once again, with a vast and diverse lineup that is sure to bring critics and the public alike to emerge themselves in the best that contemporary cinema has to offer.
Given the current SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, many films are attending the festival accompanied only by their directors. It seems that TIFF has pivoted parts of their programming lineup to adapt to this fact, inviting acclaimed directors such as Spike Lee, Pedro Almodóvar, and Barry Jenkins to serve in jury-related roles for the festival’s different award category. Many films being given the spotlight at the festival are directorial efforts by star actors-turned directors, such as Anna Kendrick’s “Woman Of The Hour”, Chris Pine’s “Poolman”, Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt”, and Finn Wolfhard’s “Hell of A Summer”.
The Boy and The Heron (dir: Hayao Miyazaki)
TIFF 2023 is set to start off with a bang, bringing in arguably its biggest film of the festival as its opening night film, which just so happens to be the final from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. The film is based off Miyazaki’s favourite novel from his childhood, titled “How Do You Live?”, and follows a young boy named Mahito, who struggles with adapting to his new life in a new town, following the death of his mother. His life is sent another unexpected change, when a heron approaches him, telling him his mother is still alive. Mahito must embark on a journey that takes him through a mysterious tower to find some answers. From the premise alone, audiences can expect to relish in Miyazaki’s unparalleled ability to evoke emotion and transport them into beautiful new worlds, one last time.
The Holdovers (dir: Alexander Payne)
The Holdovers has all the makings of a TIFF People’s Choice Award Winner. The latest from acclaimed director Alexander Payne follows an unlikely group of friends who bond during a holiday break at a boarding school. The dramedy looks to harken back to the feel-good films from the 80’s, which was certainly the indicative vibe from the film’s vintage-styled trailers. The Holdovers is lead by the incomparable Paul Giamatti, who plays a grumpy school-teacher whose close-minded ways will likely be challenged, with many awards pundits circling Giamatti as one to watch when Oscar season comes around.
Anatomy of A Fall (dir: Justine Triet)
In typical TIFF fashion, the most recent Palme D’Or winning film coming out of the Cannes festival will make its way north to Toronto for the festival, which leads us to Anatomy of a Fall. The reigning Palme D’Or winner is a courtroom thriller hailing from France, which follows Sandra, (Sandra Hüller) a German writer, who is arrested for murder in France, after the mysterious death of her husband, with her blind son as the sole witness of her husband's death, as Sandra tries to prove her innocence during the film’s central trial. The film has been hailed as riveting, and a necessary interrogation of the ideals of legal justice.
Hit Man (dir: Richard Linklater)
Festival favourite Richard Linklater returns with Hit Man, which follows Gary Johnson, (Glen Powell, also co-writer) a part-time college teacher who works with the New Orleans Police Department as a tech consultant, helping to record sting operations. In a turn of events, Gary is forced to go undercover himself, having to pose as a well-known contract killer. The lines are blurred when Gary breaks protocol in order to help a desperate woman (Adria Arjona) escape her abusive boyfriend. The film emerged from the Venice Film Festival as a buzzy surprise hit, with the film’s comedic timing, tonal shifts, and examination of psyche being extensively praised.
Monster (dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda)
The acclaimed Japanese auteur returns to TIFF with his newest film, Monster, the most recent winner of the prestigious Queer Palme award of the Cannes Film Festival. Monster follows a concerned mother (Sakura Ando) whose young son exhibits strange behaviour. Discovering that a teacher of her son’s is responsible, the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and child, with the truth gradually emerging throughout the course of the film. The film has been hailed as one of Kore-eda’s strongest and most empathetic pieces of work, which is no small claim given the stature of his filmography.
Dumb Money (dir: Craig Gillespie)
Adapted from the 2021 novel “The Anti-Social Network”, Dumb Money chronicles the true-story of how an unlikely group of rag-tag investors from a Wall-Street based Reddit community banded together to put the squeeze on hedge funds which had bet on the rapid fall in value of GameStop shares. The absurd true-story is directed by Craig Gillespie, who is no stranger to adapting eventful true stories, having previously directed the likes of I, Tonya, Million-Dollar Arm, and Pam and Tommy. Paul Dano leads the film as a live-streamer who lead the charge of the financial squeeze, with an A-List cast surrounding him, with the likes of Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Seth Rogen, and Vincent D’Onofrio all partaking in the ensemble.
The Zone of Interest (dir: Jonathan Glazer)
Jonathan Glazer’s first feature film in a decade comes in the form of The Zone of Interest, a loosely based off the novel of the same name. The film depicts the life of a Nazi commander and his family within the Auschwitz concentration camps during the Second World War. This is not subject matter to be taken lightly, with Glazer having spent most of his decade-wide hiatus from feature filmmaking on properly researching and planning a way to tell the story in a manner that does not glorify or misconstrue the atrocities at the centre of the film. The Zone of Interest is being hailed as a horrifying yet necessary examination of evil, and has been described as a harrowing cinematic journey.
Seven Veils (dir: Atom Egoyan)
Acclaimed Canadian filmmaker and festival-favourite Atom Egoyan’s latest, Seven Veils will make its premiere at this year’s TIFF Festival. The film follows an earnest theater director (Amanda Seyfried) who has the task of remounting her former mentor's most iconic work, the opera Salome, re-evoking dark memories from her past, allowing her repressed trauma to affect her current state. From the premise alone, the film seems to have Egoyan’s trademark intrigue stamped all over it. The film is one of few North American titles at this year’s festival to have been granted a interrim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, meaning the film has been made under equitable, example-setting conditions, and also means that the film’s star, Amanda Seyfried, can come to the festival to promote the film.
Sly (dir: Thom Zimny)
The festival’s closing night film is a rather apt choice, with it being Sly, a documentary about the legendary Sylvester Stallone, who looks back at his storied career and life. Stallone’s on-screen persona is somewhat synonymus with America. Machismo, muscle, manliness. The documentary, helmed by documentary veteran Thom Zimny, will give audiences a fresh, truthfully introspective look into the everyday life of the American icon, showing us his humble origins and incredible rise to stardom. Stallone himself is expected to be in attendance to celebrate his career and promote this new documentary.
Expats (dir: Lulu Wang)
TIFF’s Primetime Programme highlights the best new works that the television world has to offer, and this year, Expats will headline said programme. Created by The Farewell helmer Lulu Wang, Expats follows an American family lead by Margaret, (Nicole Kidman) and her husband Clarke, (Brian Tee) who are a family of American expatriates living abroad in Hong Kong, amongst a group of several other expatriates from across the globe. The series is said to showcase the beauty and diversity of its Hong Kong setting, while diving deep into the emotional journeys of its characters, reflecting on their relationships to the city, migration, and family.