August 24, 2010 – The 35th Toronto International Film Festival announces his year’s Visions and Vanguard programmes. Works presented under the Visions banner are films from around the world by filmmakers who push the boundaries and challenge notions of mainstream cinema.
VISIONS PROGRAMME
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu Andrei Ujica, Romania – North American Premiere
Culled from one thousand hours of archival footage and four years in the making, this spellbinding epic montage unfolds as if from the memory of former Romanian ruler Nicolae Ceausescu, after his reign was brought to an abrupt and tumultuous end in December 1989.
Brownian Movement Nanouk Leopold, The Netherlands/Germany/Belgium – World Premiere
Acclaimed Dutch filmmaker Nanouk Leopold explores a young mother’s desires and needs in this langorous and atmospheric film.
The Ditch Wang Bing, France/Belgium – North American Premiere
A political ghost story that gives voice to atrocious memories, The Ditch draws from Wang Bing’s experience as a documentary filmmaker and lays bare a dramatic hidden chapter of China’s communist history. It recounts the harrowing story of life at one of Mao’s camps, at the end of the fifties, where “rightists” were sent to be “re-educated through labour.”
The Four Times Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy/Germany/Switzerland – Canadian Premiere
Inspired by Pythagoras’s belief in four-fold transmigration – by which the soul is passed from human to animal to vegetable to mineral, until completely purified – The Four Times is a genre-defying work of cinematic transcendence that follows the journey of an elderly shepherd through the afterlife.
k.364 A Journey by Train Douglas Gordon, United Kingdom/Germany/France – North American Premiere
Two musicians return to a haunted landscape and play the concerto of their lives.
Moscow 11:19:31 Michael Nyman, United Kingdom – North American Premiere
In this short film, when legendary composer Michael Nyman fails to answer an interview question, music takes over.
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow Sophie Fiennes, U.K./France/The Netherlands – North American Premiere
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow profiles major contemporary artist Anselm Keifer in the style of his work.
Promises Written in Water Vincent Gallo, USA – North American Premiere
Shot in black and white, this fiercely independent film traces the steps a young photographer takes to fulfill the dying wishes of a beautiful young woman, including getting a job in a funeral parlour so he can oversee her cremation.
Summer of Goliath Nicolàs Pereda, Mexico/Canada/Netherlands – North American Premiere
Toronto resident Nicolas Pereda explores the boundaries between fiction and documentary to evoke the atmosphere of the place in his latest feature, Summer of Goliath. It’s a hot summer in the rural Mexican community of Huilotepec and the townspeople are tense and suspicious of one another.
A Useful Life Federico Veiroj, Uruguay – International Premiere
Jorge has been working at the Cinematheque in Montevideo, Uruguay, for 25 years. Its imminent closing forces him to take drastic steps and become the star of his own life. Shot in black and white, A Useful Life is an entertaining homage to a life of film.
Previously announced Visions titles include Trois Temps Apres La Mort D’Anna (Catherine Martin) and Curling (Denis Côté).
VANGUARD PROGRAMME
At Ellen’s Age Pia Marais, Germany – North American Premiere
A German flight attendant falls into increasingly bizarre adventures when she leaves her husband, quits her job and joins a radical group of animal activists.
The Christening Marcin Wrona, Poland – International Premiere
Michal (Wojciech Zielinski) hopes to change his luck and escape his criminal past. But when he’s pursued by a violent gang, he desperately tries to find a way to save his family.
Cold Fish Sion Sono, Japan – North American Premiere
Equal parts black humour and bloody dementia, and based on a true story, this film is a portrait of a Japanese tropical fish dealer responsible for more than 40 murders.
Confessions Tetsuya Nakashima, Japan – Canadian Premiere
Tetsuya Nakashima’s Confessions is one of Japan’s most important films of the year. A stylized mixture of cruelty and compassion, the film spins the dark tale of vengeance of a teacher whose little daughter has been killed by two of her students.
Easy Money Daniel Espinosa, Sweden – North American Premiere
The worlds of a mob enforcer, an escaped convict and an ambitious young business student collide in an explosive and white-knuckled thriller based on the 2006 bestselling Swedish novel by Jens Lapidus.
A Horrible Way to Die Adam Wingard, USA – World Premiere
When a serial killer escapes from prison, he pursues his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.
Kaboom Gregg Araki, USA/France – North American Premiere
Smith’s everyday life in the dorm – hanging out with his arty, sarcastic best friend Stella, hooking up with a beautiful free spirit named London, lusting for his gorgeous but dim surfer roommate Thor – all gets turned upside-down after one fateful, terrifying night.
L.A. Zombie Bruce LaBruce, Germany/USA/France – North American Premiere
Corpse-eating meets poverty politics in this pornographic art film set on the streets of Los Angeles, where an alien zombie brings dead men back to life.
Microphone Ahmad Abdalla, Egypt – World Premiere
A bold example of new North African cinema, Microphone mixes and remixes fiction and cinema verité as it follows an Egyptian expatriate’s return to Alexandria, where he dives into a thriving underground music and arts scene.
Monsters Gareth Edwards, United Kingdom – Canadian Premiere
Six years after a probe carrying alien life samples crashes in Mexico, a photojournalist must escort his boss’ daughter through the “Infected Zone” back to the safety of her home in the U.S.
Our Day Will Come Romain Gavras, France – World Premiere
The highly anticipated debut by French director Romain Gavras (director of M.I.A.’s video Born Free) focuses on two outcast redheads – a bullied teen (Olivier Barthelemy) and a psychologist (Vincent Cassel) – who embark on a hallucinatory journey to Ireland in a quest for freedom.
