#TIFF22 announces 63 Gala and Special Presentation features

Peter Howell
Movie Critic
Sarah Polleyâs sex assault drama âWomen Talking,â Ruben Ăstlundâs Palme dâOr winner âTriangle of Sadness,â and dramatic works by comedy directors Peter Farrelly and Tyler Perry are among dozens of movies announced Thursday for the 47th Toronto International Film Festival.
TIFF unveiled 18 Gala and 45 Special Presentation features for two of the most popular programs at the festival, which this year runs Sept. 8 to 18. (TIFF previously announced nine of the films, including world premieres of Steven Spielbergâs family memoir âThe Fabelmansâ and Sally El Hosainiâs Gala opener âThe Swimmers.â)
Thatâs 63 features to date of an expected 200, down from the 260 in pre-pandemic times of 2019. There will also be about 40 shorts, down from the 70 to 80 of normal times.
And there will be fewer theatres showing the films, including newcomer the Royal Alexandra Theatre. But the film and venue reductions are partly because TIFF is aiming to make itself a more walkable event in Torontoâs downtown core.
Otherwise, itâs full speed ahead for a fest that feels COVID-19 is finally in the rear-view mirror and that it can return to fully in-person screenings, with many celebrities in attendance and without masks or other COVID restrictions â with the caveat that the relentless Omicron variant could change the situation come September. (TIFFâs digital platform remains, but it will show only about 20 films.)
âIâm really optimistic about just where we are in terms of dealing with COVID,â TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in an interview.
âIâm very confident in the lineup ⌠I think weâre got everything we need to put on a great festival.â
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A major âgetâ for TIFF is Sarah Polleyâs âWomen Talking,â one of the expected gems of festival and awards seasons. Filmed in Ontario during TIFF last year, itâs based on a bestselling novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews. Itâs also based on a true story, about Mennonite women in a Bolivian religious colony who unite against the men who are drugging and raping them. Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley star.
âItâs a beautiful film ⌠itâs both faithful to Miriam Toewsâ novel but also departs from it in really interesting ways,â Bailey said.
(The TIFF screening is billed as an international premiere, which likely means that rival festival Telluride will have the world premiere just a few days before TIFFâs showing.)
Steven Spielbergâs world premiere of âThe Fabelmansâ marks the first time the Oscar-winning director has brought a movie he directed to TIFF. This one is a world premiere based on his Arizona boyhood as a budding filmmaker. Starring Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen, itâs Spielbergâs most personal film yet, Bailey said.
âItâs a fascinating story but also a real family story with some heartbreak at the centre of it ⌠This is a film that audiences will fall in love with.â
TIFF will also offer Toronto filmgoers the North American premieres of prize winners from the Cannes Film Festival in May: Ruben Ăstlundâs shipwreck satire âTriangle of Sadness,â which won the Palme dâOr, and Park Chan-wookâs Hitchcockian detective thriller âDecision to Leave,â which took the Best Director prize.
Regular TIFF-goers are in for surprises from Peter Farrelly (âGreen Bookâ) and Tyler Perry (the âMadeaâ franchise), two directors known for their comic movies who have turned to drama for their latest ones, both world premiering at TIFF.
Farrellyâs âThe Greatest Beer Run Everâ stars Zac Efron, Russell Crowe and Bill Murray in the strange-but-mostly-true story of a New Yorker who conspires to bring beer to his army buddies who are fighting in the Vietnam War.
Perryâs âA Jazzmanâs Blues,â a musical drama he wrote, directed and produced, stars Joshua Boone, Solea Pfeiffer and Brent Antonello.
âTheyâre mostly quite serious emotional dramas,â Bailey said of the Farrelly and Perry films. âItâs great to see them work those muscles as well.â
This will be the first film directed by Perry that has premiered at TIFF.
And Bailey notes that this yearâs fest also features a notable reunion of sorts: new movies by veteran Canadian directors Stephen Williams (âChevalierâ) and Clement Virgo (âBrotherâ), who havenât had films premiering at TIFF in the same year since 1995.
Films announced for TIFF â22 to date, arriving from six continents and many of them world, international or North American premieres, are:
Gala Presentations:
âAlice, Darlingâ (Mary Nighy), Canada, U.S.A.
âBlack Iceâ (Hubert Davis), Canada
âThe Greatest Beer Run Everâ (Peter Farrelly), U.S.A.
âButcherâs Crossingâ (Gabe Polsky), U.S.A.
âThe Hummingbirdâ (Francesca Archibugi), Italy, France
âHuntâ (Lee Jung-jae), South Korea
âA Jazzmanâs Bluesâ (Tyler Perry), U.S.A.
âKacchey Limbuâ (Shubham Yogi), India
âMoving Onâ (Paul Weitz), U.S.A.
âParis Memoriesâ (Alice Winocour), France
âPrisonerâs Daughterâ (Catherine Hardwicke), U.S.A.
âRaymond & Rayâ (Rodrigo GarcĂa), U.S.A.
âRoostâ (Amy Redford), U.S.A.
âSidneyâ (Reginald Hudlin), U.S.A.
âThe Sonâ (Florian Zeller), United Kingdom
âThe Swimmersâ (Sally El Hosaini), United Kingdom
âWhatâs Love Got to Do With It?â (Shekhar Kapur), United Kingdom
âThe Woman Kingâ (Gina Prince-Bythewood), U.S.A.
Special Presentations:
âAllelujahâ (Sir Richard Eyre), United Kingdom
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ (Edward Berger), Germany
âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ (Martin McDonagh), United Kingdom, Ireland, U.S.A.
âBluebackâ (Robert Connolly), Australia
âThe Blue Caftanâ (Maryam Touzani), Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark
âBrokerâ (Hirokazu Kore-eda), South Korea
âBrotherâ (Clement Virgo), Canada
âBrosâ (Nicholas Stoller), U.S.A.
âCatherine, Called Birdyâ (Lena Dunham), United Kingdom
âCausewayâ (Lila Neugebauer), U.S.A.
âChevalierâ (Stephen Williams), U.S.A.
âCorsageâ (Marie Kreutzer), Austria, France, Germany
âDecision to Leaveâ (Park Chan-wook), South Korea
âDevotionâ (J.D. Dillard), U.S.A.
âDriving Madeleineâ (Christian Carion), France
âEl Suplenteâ (Diego Lerman), Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, France
âEmpire of Lightâ (Sam Mendes), United Kingdom, U.S.A.
âThe Eternal Daughterâ (Joanna Hogg), United Kingdom
âThe Fabelmansâ (Steven Spielberg), U.S.A.
âGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mysteryâ (Rian Johnson), U.S.A.
âGood Night Oppyâ (Ryan White), U.S.A.
âThe Good Nurseâ (Tobias Lindholm), U.S.A.
âHoly Spiderâ (Ali Abbasi), Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France
âJoylandâ (Saim Sadiq), Pakistan
âThe Kingâs Horsemanâ (Biyi Bandele), Nigeria
âThe Lost Kingâ (Stephen Frears), United Kingdom
âA Man of Reasonâ (Jung Woo-sung), South Korea
âThe Menuâ (Mark Mylod), U.S.A.
âOn the Come Upâ (Sanaa Lathan), U.S.A.
âOne Fine Morningâ (Mia Hansen-Løve), France
âOther Peopleâs Childrenâ (Rebecca Zlotowski), France
âMoonage Daydreamâ (Brett Morgen), U.S.A.
âMy Policemanâ (Michael Grandage), United Kingdom
âNannyâ (Nikyatu Jusu), U.S.A.
âNo Bearsâ (Jafar Panahi), Iran
âThe Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlileâ (Kathlyn Horan), U.S.A.
âSaint Omerâ (Alice Diop), France
âSanctuaryâ (Zachary Wigon), U.S.A.
âStories Not to Be Toldâ (Cesc Gay), Spain
âTriangle of Sadnessâ (Ruben Ăstlund), Sweden, United Kingdom, U.S.A., France, Greece
âWalk Upâ (Hong Sang-soo), South Korea
âWendell & Wildâ (Henry Selick), U.S.A.
âWomen Talkingâ (Sarah Polley), U.S.A.
âThe Whaleâ (Darren Aronofsky), U.S.A.
âThe Wonderâ (SebastiĂĄn Lelio), United Kingdom, Ireland đ
(This column originally ran in the Toronto Star.)
@peterhowellfilm