42 short films join the line-up for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF released the Short Cuts selections, which draw from 23 countries. Over half of the titles credit women directors, while 19 of the Short Cuts films are Canadian productions or co-productions.
“We are thrilled to be able to present such a diverse array of incredible new works by emergent and established film talents from all over the world,” said Short Cuts lead programmer Jason Anderson in a statement from the Festival. “We were knocked out by the level of craft and ingenuity in these films, as well as the boldness displayed by so many filmmakers as they explore subjects and themes that couldn’t be timelier or more personal. That’s especially true of the films we’re grateful to present that are by female and female-identifying filmmakers, which comprise nearly 60 percent of this year’s selection.”
Documentaries hitting Short Cuts this year include the NFB production Modern Goose, directed by Karsten Wall. The latest film from the Winnipeg-based director flips the script on nature documentaries by observing Canada Geese and the impact of human activity on their habitat. Also coming from the NFB is the non-fiction animated short Aphasia. Directed by Marielle Dalpé, Aphasia promises an innovative study of the titular neurocognitive condition and features late actor Andrée Lachapelle (And the Birds Rained Down) in the French version and Clare Coulter (Three Pines) in the English version.
Hybrids and International Works
Meanwhile, Miryam Charles brings her latest film home after her hybrid doc This House made TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten last year. Her film All the Days of May should especially intrigue fans of This House as it offers an essayistic portrait of a mother’s grief when her daughter’s death becomes the subject of a film. Another doc hybrid comes in Ryan McKenna’s return to TIFF, I Used to Live There. The film features a photographer who connects with an actress for a photo shoot while losing his eyesight. It stars Dan Gerson and Monika Schneider as variations of themselves.
On the international front, the documentaries in TIFF Short Cuts include The Passing, which is the latest film from directors Ivete Lucas and Patrick Xavier Bresnan (Pahokee). The Passing observes a tumultuous day in the life of Texas veterinarian Dr. Michael Mullen (no relation) as he makes house calls and helps peers deal with loss. Innovations in form come in Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal, a German-Canadian co-production directed by Alisi Telengut. The animated experimental work considers the formation and history of Lake Baikal in Siberia.
On the dramatic front, Short Cuts includes appearances by Academy Award winner Riz Ahmed in DAMMI and Kaniehtiio Horn in Redlights, while filmmakers Jasmin Mozaffari (Firecracks) and Halima Ouardiri (Clebs) brings new films with Motherland and The Skates, respectively.
The full list of films announced for TIFF Short Cuts today is as follows:
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 1
DAMMI
Yann Mounir Demange | France | North American Premiere
La Perra
Carla Melo Gampert | Colombia/France | North American Premiere
Been There
Corina Schwingruber Ilić | Switzerland International Premiere
Primetime Mother
Sonny Calvento | Philippines/Singapore| World Premiere
Meteor
Atefeh Khademolreza | Canada | World Premiere
Nun or Never!
Heta Jäälinoja | Finland | North American Premiere
Gaby’s Hills
Zoé Pelchat | Canada | North American Premiere
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 2
Fár
Gunnur Martinsdóttir Schlüter | Iceland | North American Premiere
The Skates
Halima Ouardiri | Canada | World Premiere
Bloom
Kasey Lum | Canada | World Premiere
Nada de todo esto
Francisco Cantón, Patricio Martínez | Argentina/Spain/USA | North American Premiere
1001 Nights
Rea Rajčić | Croatia | World Premiere
Redlights
Eva Thomas | Canada | World Premiere
Electra
Daria Kashcheeva | Czech Republic/France/Slovakia | North American Premiere
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 3
This is TMI
Subarna Dash, Vidushi Gupta | India | International Premiere
Titanic, Suitable Version for Iranian Families
Farnoosh Samadi | Iran/France | World Premiere
All the Days of May
Miryam Charles | Canada | Canadian Premiere
Bird
Ana Cristina Barragán | Ecuador/Spain | World Premiere
Aftercare
Anubha Momin | Canada | World Premiere
Shé (Snake)
Renee Zhan | United Kingdom| World Premiere
Human Resources
Trinidad Plass Caussade, Titouan Tillier, Isaac Wenzek | France | Canadian Premiere
Making Babies
Eric K. Boulianne | Canada | North American Premiere
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 4
Alberto and the Beast
John Paul Lopez-Ali | USA | World Premiere
Mboa Matanda
Jules Kalla Eyango | Cameroon | World Premiere
Mothers and Monsters
Edith Jorisch | Canada | World Premiere
Express
Ivan D. Ossa | Canada | World Premiere
Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal
Alisi Telengut | Germany/Canada | North American Premiere
The Passing
Ivete Lucas, Patrick Xavier Bresnan | USA | North American Premiere
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 5
WOACA
Mackenzie Davis | United Kingdom | World Premiere
A Bird Called Memory
Leonardo Martinelli | Brazil/United Kingdom | North American Premiere
Sawo Matang
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto | Canada/Indonesia/USA | World Premiere
Aphasia
Marielle Dalpé | Canada | World Premiere
Ever Since, I Have Been Flying
Aylin Gökmen | Switzerland | International Premiere
I Used to Live There
Ryan McKenna | Canada | North American Premiere
This Is Not About Swimming
Marni Van Dyk | Canada | World Premiere
SHORT CUTS PROGRAMME 6
27 Flóra
Anna Buda | France/Hungary | North American Premiere
Xie Xie Ollie
James Michael Chiang | Canada | World Premiere
The Heart
Malia Ann | USA | International Premiere
6 Minutes Per Kilometer
Catherine Boivin | Canada | Toronto Premiere
Modern Goose
Karsten Wall | Canada | World Premiere
Sheephead
Spencer Creigh | USA | International Premiere
Motherland
Jasmin Mozaffari | Canada | World Premiere
