Graves Without A Name (France/Cambodia, 115 min.) Dir. Rithy Panh Programme: TIFF Docs (Canadian Premiere) Rithy Panh’s cinematic excavation of the Cambodian genocide is well into its third decade, and at least its fifth aesthetic approach. 2003’s S21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine was the first of Panh’s films to reach a wide audience: its staging of
The Image Book (Switzerland/France, 84 min.) Dir. Jean-Luc Godard Programme: Masters (North American Premiere) Godard has never been in doubt of his own genius, but at some point he left the rest of us behind. There are differences of opinion as to when that happened: Was it after Weekend (1967)? Was it in his “return to narrative”
Sharkwater Extinction (Canada, 88 min.) Dir. Rob Stewart Programme: Special Events (World Premiere) There won’t be a dry eye in the house when the credits roll on Sharkwater Extinction. This final film by adventurous eco hero Rob Stewart is a fitting call to action. Stewart, who died in a diving accident in January 2017 while researching
Jawad Rhalib's powerful documentary When Arabs Danced is a joyous celebration of women and the impact of positive representation.
Maria by Callas (France, 113 min.) Dir. Tom Volf Programme: TIFF Docs (North American Premiere) Every good diva deserves a doc portrait. Maria Callas receives a meticulously curated and assembled appreciation in this archival tapestry by director, photographer, and actor Tom Volf. Maria by Callas is an impressively assembled first feature and an obvious labour of love from a
Diamantino (Portugal/France/Brazil, 97 min.) Dir. Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt Programme: Midnight Madness (North American Premiere) Abrantes and Schmidt are part of a New York avant-garde film scene comprised mostly of Cooper Union grads that includes sometime collaborators Alexander Carver, Benjamin Crotty and James N. Kienitz Wilkins. They’re all in their 30s now and their
TIFF’s team of doc programmers led by Thom Powers more than matches the top offerings from Hot Docs, providing hit material for a public that responds not just at the festival but throughout the year.
"This film tries to project the future, but in doing so, it looks at the past," says Igor Drljača on his documentary The Stone Speakers, which offers an unconventional of Bosnian tourist sites.
Did concerns over taxes and French-language production at Netflix prove to be Mélanie Joly’s undoing as heritage minister?
Jamie Miller’s Prince’s Tale, Sophy Romvari’s duo Norman Norman and Pumpkin Movie, and Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Veslemøy’s Song highlight some of the newer voices in Canadian documentary. The films are loosely connected by themes of mortality, history, legacy, and memory, but they share a greater connection in illustrating the originality of vision that can arise when a new generation of talent steps