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With the festival fully underway with some great films here is a preview of what is in store for Monday and Tuesday.
Lucky
On Monday things get underway at 1:30 pm with the bold, musical, and experimental documentary The Road Forward directed by Marie Clements. Connecting the birth of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s with Indigenous activists of today, it’s a historical perspective and call to action that resonates powerfully. A star-studded cast joins late Harry Dean Stanton in the spiritual comedy drama Lucky which screens at 3:30 pm from John Carrol Lynch. We follow the titular character’s quest for meaning as he has a series of encounters with an assortment of people. It’s a fitting tribute to the legendary actor. The documentary California Typewriter plays at 4 pm and is a must-see for those who love the more traditional way of writing as director Doug Nichol talks with the people who love and reimagine what is possible with the typewriter.
At 5:00 pm the directorial debut of Andy Serkis, Breathe, screens with the true-life story of a man with Polio who refuses to be constrained by the challenges that he faces. Starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy, it promises to be inspirational and moving. There is an encore screening of Shorts Program 2 at 6:15 pm. The 6:30 Gala is Cory Bowles’ drama Black Cop. At 6:45 the biopic Django is playing with the story of the gypsy guitarist told by French director Etienne Comar.
At 7 pm the drama Small Town Crime, starring John Hawkes is playing. Co-directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms, it’s a mystery about an ex-cop who finds the body of a woman and is determined to find her killer. Donna Davies’ timely documentary, High Hopes: The Business of Marijuana plays at 8:45 pm and looks at the world of medical marijuana. At 9 pm Shorts Program 5 plays with some more experimental and beautiful short films from the region collected together.
The Belgian drama Racer and the Jailbird plays at 9:15 pm and it stars Adèle Exarchopoulos and Matthias Schoenaerts (who was also in director Michaël R. Roskam’s films Bullhead, and The Drop) in the stylish crime drama that is Belgium’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. The 9:30 pm gala is the biopic Rebel in the Rye. Things wrap up on Monday with the UK drama God’s Own Country from writer / director Francis Lee.
At 1:30 pm on Tuesday the day of films begins with the documentary A Better Man. Directed by Attiya Khan and Lawrence Jackman with Khan taking a personal and active role in the film as she and her abusive ex-boyfriend meet in a powerful exploration of responsibility and healing. At 3:30 pm the Canadian drama A Worthy Companion screens starring Evan Rachel Wood in the character-driven drama as a woman struggling to find a sense of normalcy in her life. At 4 pm the documentary The Workers Cup looks at labourers building the facilities for the 2022 FIFA Word Cup and the soccer tournament for the workers that they play within.
Kyle Rideout’s comedy Public Schooled plays at 5:45 pm and it stars Judy Greer as the mother of an awkward home-schooled boy who wants to enrol in public school. Sally Potter’s ensemble-based comedy The Party is playing at 6 pm with an amazing cast in a dark story told in black and white. Aram Collier directs the Korean Canadian comedy Stand Up Man playing at 6:15 pm with the story of an aspiring standup comic who moves back to his hometown of Windsor to help with his parents’ restaurant. The 6:30 gala on Tuesday is the From Away Post Secondary Competition highlight some of the best student films from the region. The music documentary Play Your Gender from Stephanie Clattenburg is screening at 6:45 and it looks at women in the music industry and why they are so underrepresented as producers.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
There is an encore screening of Shorts Program 3 at 8:30. At 8:45 the drama In Syria (Insyriated) directed by Philippe Van Leeuw looks at a woman struggling to maintain her family life in an apartment while the war rages outside. The French film C’est la Vie! co-directed Olivier Nakache and Eric Tolédano plays at 9pm. They also directed the crowd-pleasing award winning 2011 film The Intouchables. A range of short comedies fill Shorts Program 6 playing at 9:15 pm. The 9:30 gala is the sports drama Borg vs. McEnroe is playing as the penultimate Gala of the festival. The final film of Tuesday at 9:45 pm is John Cameron Mitchell’s adaptation of the Neil Gaiman story How to Talk to Girls at Parties. Starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning in a story set outside of London in the 1970s, it should have some unexpected surprises and great music as well.
