TIFF 2024
Kicking off festival season proper with the Toronto International Film Festival. 2024’s lineup is not only star-studded but overflowing with new talent that is here to blow you away. Here is a list of 8 films we’ll be getting in line for.
TIFF 2024 will be held from September 05, 2024 to September 15, 2024 in Toronto, Canada.
Location: Toronto
Closing film: The Deb by Rebel Wilson
Opening film: Nutcrackers by David Gordon Green
For ticket information, click here!
PAYING FOR IT
Sook-Yin LeeWORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2024 | 85m | English
In the late 90s, Chester and Sonny are a long-term, committed, romantic couple. When Sonny wants to redefine their relationship, Chester, a shy and introverted cartoonist, starts sleeping with sex workers and discovers a new kind of intimacy in the process.
https://tiff.net/events/paying-for-it
THE MOTHER AND THE BEAR
Johnny MaWORLD PREMIERE
Canada, Chile | 2024 | 100m | English, KoreanWhen her grown daughter Sumi has a bad fall in Winnipeg, anxious widow Sara (Kim Ho-jung) travels from Korea to be with her — and discovers she doesn’t really know Sumi at all.
https://tiff.net/events/the-mother-and-the-bear
ICK
Joseph KahnWORLD PREMIERE
United States of America | 2024 | 92m | EnglishIn Joseph Kahn’s breakneck sci-fi/horror satire, a high school science teacher (Brandon Routh) does battle with a parasitic alien entity, as well as the apathy of the small town it has been gradually absorbing.
SHOOK
Amar Wala
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2024 | 113m | English, HindiStruggling writer Ashish is thrown for several loops when he falls for barista Claire and learns his estranged father has just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, in Amar Wala’s first dramatic feature. Read More : If you are looking for news regarding replica watches visit londondaily.news
SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON
Reema Kagti
WORLD PREMIERE
India | 2024 | 127m | HindiHelmed by Reema Kagti (Talaash: The Answer Lies Within) in her latest collaboration with producer Zoya Akhtar (Gully Boy), this uplifting story chronicles the life of Nasir Shaikh, whose no-budget, community-sourced movies turned his hometown into an unlikely dream factory.
VIKTOR
Olivier Sarbil
WORLD PREMIERE
Ukraine, United States of America | 2024 | 89m | Ukrainian, RussianFusing rigorous reportage with innovative cinematic subjectivity, this bold documentary from veteran war photographer Olivier Sarbil is a uniquely intimate portrait of a Deaf person’s experience of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
THE SWEDISH TORPEDO
Frida Kempff
WORLD PREMIERE
Sweden | 2024 | 120m | Swedish, Danish, EnglishThis beautifully textured period drama from director Frida Kempff tells the story of Sally Bauer, a Swedish mother who pursues her dream of swimming the English Channel before the Second World War envelops Europe.
THE LAST REPUBLICAN
Steve Pink
WORLD PREMIERE
United States of America | 2024 | 90m | EnglishA fan of Hot Tub Time Machine, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger invites the left-wing Hollywood director Steve Pink to follow his efforts to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6 insurrection.
HERETIC
Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
WORLD PREMIERE
United States of America | 2024 | 110m | English
For more information on TIFF 2024, click here!
You can find out previous TIFF coverage here 🙂
THE BECOMERS
THE BECOMERS is bold, eschewing any societal norms. Have you ever seen an alien sex scene? Because you’re about to, and it is gooey. Russell Marl voices their backstory with a particular tone that perfectly encapsulates the film’s feel. Fritz Myers’ score is jarring and yet works perfectly. Myers also creates unique Alien vocalizations. The editing is delightful.
Isabel Alamin gives Francesca a tentative fear. She’s incredibly compelling. Molly Plunk and Mike Lopez‘s turns as couple Carol and Gordon. Their trust in Clark’s vision is evident. Plunk and Gordon embody the seemingly wacky premise and capture the sincerest longings within the slapstick comedy.
CLOSE TO YOU
CLOSE TO YOU
CLOSE TO YOU
I’m not just saying all these nice things because the film happens to feature two of my favorite genre people (and internet friends), Emily Bennett and Toby Poser. Wisner and Temple earn each moment.
Emily plays Ruth with a fearful innocence and tenacity. Bennett has that inarguable “it” factor in transforming for each new role. From 
In filmmaker Mary Dauterman‘s Popcorn Frights film, BOOGER, Anna spirals following the sudden death of her roommate. Holding tight to Izzy’s phone and their adopted stray cat. When Booger bites her and escapes out the window, Anna’s grief journey is derailed by unusual symptoms from her injury. 
It’s always a bold choice to bring harm to a child. It is even more audacious to have a child witness something eternally scarring. Filmmaker Richard J. Bosner does both in just over six minutes. HollyShorts 2024 film DEVOTEE takes fear back in time when the threat of cults was all the rage. Not the watered-down wackiness of politics, but honest-to-good, off-the-rails, die-for-your-cause cult.
Filmmaker Luke Genton tells the story of a wannabe influencer living in Paris looking for a hook. Short on cash, she accepts a cleaning job, not knowing the location is an infamous murder castle. Thinking this might be her internet 15 minutes, she brings her nonexistent audience on the job. CHÂTEAU gives Popcorn Frights 2024 the YouTube ghost-hunting treatment. 
Augmented color choices in STRANGE DARLING give the film a devilish and addicting quality. The score is grating and decidedly ominous- A genuine compliment. The lighting is simply delicious. The soundtrack is fire, as the kids say. 
Fitzgerald and Gallner’s chemistry is sick. There is an undeniable electricity between them, and it’s like watching a a sexy car crash happen in real time. The plot is spectacularly unpredictable. Don’t bother guessing from moment to moment, even though Mollner’s script hypes you up to do so. The sheer number of “Oh Shit” moments! Slow clap, sir.
Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy) is outstanding as a woman on the brink. Her physical performance is seeped in anguish. Walsh is such a pro in tackling characters in the emotional trenches. 13 Reasons Why introduced her to a younger, perhaps even broader audience than Grey’s, and she continues to select roles that showcase her dazzling abilities. 
In filmmaker Miguel Llansó‘s Fantasia 2024 film INFINITE SUMMER, Mia wants to enjoy the last few weeks before moving into higher education. When her close friend decides she’d rather hang out with people closer to her age, Mia dabbles a newfangled mindfulness app that goes awry. Too much of a good thing is never really true. 
The pacing is inconsistent. The wildly sophisticated sci-fi scenes do not match the dragging dialogue. While all the storylines are connected, some characters feel superfluous, thus lacking genuine emotional connection. I could not marry the ups and downs. In the end, the film is visually spectacular but narratively messy. I found myself simultaneously lacking focus but entirely entranced by the special effects. Egert Kanep deserves all the credit for intrigue. While the runtime is only an hour and thirty minutes, it feels much longer. INFINITE SUMMER might be a film best viewed a little high.
For all things Fantasia 2024, 
Young lovers Tom and Maria are interrupted by a chainsaw-wielding maniac. After Maria’s kidnapping, aided by the eternally upbeat Jaan, Tom tracks her down only to discover the dark secrets surrounding the killer’s past and present. If Monty Python and Mel Brooks decided to make a slasher film, Estonian filmmaker Sander Maran’s CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING would be their demented little offspring. It is the kind of instant cult classic ripe for Midnight screenings. 
The film perfectly captures the absurdity of most musicals – cheating toward the audience, over-the-top gestures, and breaking into song, often at inexplicable moments. These are facts about the genre. I know. I majored in it at a conservatory in Manhattan. Like Anna and The Apocalypse, Bloodthirsty, Rocky Horror, Little Shop, Sweeney Todd, Repo! The Genetic Opera, CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING enters the fray of outstanding subgenre 
The plot takes from films like Wrong Turn, Texas Chainsaw, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Hands down, one of the most catchy numbers belongs to The Killer, in which he sings about his murderous penchant. Jaan’s song made me guffaw more than once. (Think an even more insane version of “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.”) 
The longer Eric waits to tell his loved ones, the stranger his life gets. An alien threatens to take him back to outer space. He is losing time, and his body parts are falling off. This aspect is particularly upsetting because he is literally missing his mouth. This creative metaphor becomes the backbone of THE MISSING. 
I wasn’t aware that I grew up on Rotoscope films before doing a quick Google search. Some of my most beloved childhood films fall into the genre- The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Secret of NIMH (1982), and Anastasia (1997). First introduced in 1918, I had no idea the process was so old. THE MISSING stylistically mirrors The Spine of the Night rather than Alice In Wonderland. 2D animation illustrates Eric’s childhood memories in a stunning visual contrast that serves a dual purpose. The choice to childishly scribble over Uncle’s face speaks volumes. It is a visually captivating film. 
Montreal-based comedy duo Emelia Hellman and Nancy Webb (Hellgirl Productions) bring their paranoia-fueled short Bangs to Fantasia Festival’s Fantastiques week-ends du cinéma québécois this summer for the film’s Canadian premiere.
DETAINED
Laz Alonzo does a fine job as the hypermasculine group leader, doing his best to keep up with Cornish. Speaking of, Abbie Cornish owns this role. It’s a tour de force. From the moment we see her, it’s already over.
Mucci and Palmer give Cornish the time to work her magic. We know her gears are turning throughout. Watching the dominoes fall is delightful. While I worked out a key plot point relatively early- I watch hundreds of films each year, it never lessened the elaborate twists. I still wondered precisely how we’d get from point A to B. Audiences get a lot to chew on in just over ninety minutes. DETAINED is devilishly satisfying.
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