A sex-work comedy, a Tragically Hip documentary and a wartime family drama are among the Canadian titles premiering at the 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival.
After Hollywood strikes dampened last year香蕉视频直播檚 event, the festival returns Thursday with 59 homegrown films from established and emerging directors.
The Canadian Press caught up with five directors bound for the movie marathon taking place Sept. 5 to 15.
SOOK-YIN LEE, director, 香蕉视频直播淧aying For It香蕉视频直播�
Lee says she 香蕉视频直播渞eally loved香蕉视频直播� her ex-boyfriend Chester Brown香蕉视频直播檚 2011 comic strip memoir 香蕉视频直播淧aying For It,香蕉视频直播� about his experiences with Toronto sex workers after their real-life breakup. So much so that she adapted it for the big screen, resulting in a dramatized look at how they navigated their complicated relationship in turn-of-the-millennium Toronto.
On turning her breakup into a film: 香蕉视频直播淲e loved each other and the idea of breaking up was inconceivable. So, as I began to look for love and connection through dating 香蕉视频直播� the culturally approved way of doing that 香蕉视频直播� he was going to explore the world of paying for sex. The key to turning it into a movie was to focus on the relationship between Chester and I, as well as our separate pursuits to find love and connection.香蕉视频直播�
On recreating Y2K-era Toronto: 香蕉视频直播淵ou don香蕉视频直播檛 know what you香蕉视频直播檝e got till it香蕉视频直播檚 gone. All of the cities are changing. They香蕉视频直播檙e gentrifying. I knew that I wanted to have a grungier, rawer feel of Toronto. I didn香蕉视频直播檛 want to show a touristy Toronto that was all dazzled up. I also didn香蕉视频直播檛 have very much money. So, I was like, 香蕉视频直播榃e香蕉视频直播檙e going to shoot it in the house where the real events occurred.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Thursday; hits theatres in early 2025.
ARSHILE EGOYAN, director, 香蕉视频直播淏efore They Joined Us香蕉视频直播�
For his second short film, Atom Egoyan香蕉视频直播檚 son chose to share his mother Arsin茅e Khanjian香蕉视频直播檚 journey of immigrating to Canada from war-torn Lebanon in the 1970s. The 30-year-old only learned the specifics of the 香蕉视频直播淓xotica香蕉视频直播� actress香蕉视频直播� story a few years ago. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 this insane sequence of events she experienced that I couldn香蕉视频直播檛 believe she never talked about before,香蕉视频直播� he says.
On what made his mom香蕉视频直播檚 story so compelling: 香蕉视频直播淪he went to live with her aunts, who believed that at the end of that calendar year, Armageddon would come upon them. So, having escaped the horrors of the Lebanese civil war, she entered this psychological space where the world is going to end. It just gets worse. With immigrant stories, we like to think people find new lives and everything works out well, but this is an example where it goes the other way.香蕉视频直播�
On whether his dad gave him any notes: 香蕉视频直播淗e香蕉视频直播檚 a fantastic father. He香蕉视频直播檚 an incredible mentor to me. But I think when it comes time for me to be in my creative space, he knows to remove himself. Unless there香蕉视频直播檚 something I want to ask him, he really gives me room to be on my own journey. That being said, he香蕉视频直播檚 really excited when he sees the work I do, and sharing the film with him and my mother was really special for all three of us.香蕉视频直播�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Sept. 11.
MIKE DOWNIE, director, 香蕉视频直播淭he Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal香蕉视频直播�
Several decades of documentary filmmaking and a side gig directing the Hip香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播淧oets香蕉视频直播� music video ably equip Downie for this four-hour dive into one of Canada香蕉视频直播檚 most beloved bands. He also happens to have unrivalled access to the band as the brother of late frontman Gord Downie.
On telling the Hip香蕉视频直播檚 story: 香蕉视频直播淎s a brother, I wanted to cement his legacy in the minds of Canadians and music fans all over the world. And when I say my brother, I mean the band. For me, my entry is through my brother. (When) I experienced the band all those years, Gord was always the portal.香蕉视频直播�
On the target audience: 香蕉视频直播淲e were thinking of people on the other side of the world that were thinking, 香蕉视频直播業 don香蕉视频直播檛 know much about Canada, and I don香蕉视频直播檛 know anything about this band. What, if I start right here?香蕉视频直播� We wanted people like that to be drawn into the story.香蕉视频直播�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Thursday, begins streaming on Prime Video on Sept. 20.
ALI WEINSTEIN, director, 香蕉视频直播淵our Tomorrow香蕉视频直播�
After she 香蕉视频直播渞ediscovered香蕉视频直播� Ontario Place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Weinstein says she became obsessed with researching its history and architecture. In 2021, when Premier Doug Ford香蕉视频直播檚 government announced plans to redevelop the Toronto waterfront area as a massive spa and indoor waterpark, she began work on a documentary.
On the communities she captured: 香蕉视频直播淚 was seeing people on the beach and bird watchers who knew each other had formed this community down at Ontario Place. I thought, what is so special about this place as it is right now, as a public park, that is attracting so many people? My aim was to document this very unique moment in the life cycle of Ontario Place, after its heyday. That香蕉视频直播檚 what kept me going over nearly 100 days of shooting.香蕉视频直播�
On why it香蕉视频直播檚 a universal tale: 香蕉视频直播淲hile it香蕉视频直播檚 a very local story in its particulars, I think the themes will resonate across the world. I香蕉视频直播檓 hopeful that audiences see (the film) because it香蕉视频直播檚 such a timely topic. I was excited to get it out quickly while the conversation is still going on about what should happen there.香蕉视频直播�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Sept. 12; hits theatres in late 2024.
ARIANNA MARTINEZ, director, 香蕉视频直播淒o I Know You From Somewhere?香蕉视频直播�
A couple香蕉视频直播檚 happy relationship is upended when the small pieces of their universe unexpectedly shift, altering their romantic history and everything around them. The Fredericton-based filmmaker describes the screenplay, co-written with her husband Gordon Mihan, as a story set in 香蕉视频直播渢he alternative reality of a missed connection.香蕉视频直播�
On drawing from their lives: 香蕉视频直播淎t one point in our relationship it was a question of, do we want to make movies or do we want to have a family? (The film is) playing with the idea of something we香蕉视频直播檝e all asked ourselves: What would my life look like if I香蕉视频直播檇 made a different choice?香蕉视频直播�
On cinematic inspirations: 香蕉视频直播淲e love Korean cinema 香蕉视频直播� (writer-directors) Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho 香蕉视频直播� just how much fun those films are. They香蕉视频直播檙e not selective with how they play with genre and can pack so many different genres into one story. We tried our hand at that with our storytelling to give the audience a little taste of everything.香蕉视频直播�
On filming in New Brunswick: 香蕉视频直播淢ost of our cast and crew was made up of New Brunswickers. People that we香蕉视频直播檝e been making short films with for a decade, we finally make this big project together. It feels like a labour of love from the whole community.香蕉视频直播�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Friday, screens at Atlantic International Film Festival on Sept. 14.
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香蕉视频直播� Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Alex Nino Gheciu and David Friend, The Canadian Press
