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 year91裸聊视频檚 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, 91裸聊视频淧aying For It91裸聊视频�
Lee says she 91裸聊视频渞eally loved91裸聊视频� her ex-boyfriend Chester Brown91裸聊视频檚 2011 comic strip memoir 91裸聊视频淧aying For It,91裸聊视频� 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: 91裸聊视频淲e loved each other and the idea of breaking up was inconceivable. So, as I began to look for love and connection through dating 91裸聊视频� the culturally approved way of doing that 91裸聊视频� 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.91裸聊视频�
On recreating Y2K-era Toronto: 91裸聊视频淵ou don91裸聊视频檛 know what you91裸聊视频檝e got till it91裸聊视频檚 gone. All of the cities are changing. They91裸聊视频檙e gentrifying. I knew that I wanted to have a grungier, rawer feel of Toronto. I didn91裸聊视频檛 want to show a touristy Toronto that was all dazzled up. I also didn91裸聊视频檛 have very much money. So, I was like, 91裸聊视频榃e91裸聊视频檙e going to shoot it in the house where the real events occurred.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Thursday; hits theatres in early 2025.
ARSHILE EGOYAN, director, 91裸聊视频淏efore They Joined Us91裸聊视频�
For his second short film, Atom Egoyan91裸聊视频檚 son chose to share his mother Arsin茅e Khanjian91裸聊视频檚 journey of immigrating to Canada from war-torn Lebanon in the 1970s. The 30-year-old only learned the specifics of the 91裸聊视频淓xotica91裸聊视频� actress91裸聊视频� story a few years ago. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 this insane sequence of events she experienced that I couldn91裸聊视频檛 believe she never talked about before,91裸聊视频� he says.
On what made his mom91裸聊视频檚 story so compelling: 91裸聊视频淪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.91裸聊视频�
On whether his dad gave him any notes: 91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 a fantastic father. He91裸聊视频檚 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 there91裸聊视频檚 something I want to ask him, he really gives me room to be on my own journey. That being said, he91裸聊视频檚 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.91裸聊视频�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Sept. 11.
MIKE DOWNIE, director, 91裸聊视频淭he Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal91裸聊视频�
Several decades of documentary filmmaking and a side gig directing the Hip91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淧oets91裸聊视频� music video ably equip Downie for this four-hour dive into one of Canada91裸聊视频檚 most beloved bands. He also happens to have unrivalled access to the band as the brother of late frontman Gord Downie.
On telling the Hip91裸聊视频檚 story: 91裸聊视频淎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.91裸聊视频�
On the target audience: 91裸聊视频淲e were thinking of people on the other side of the world that were thinking, 91裸聊视频業 don91裸聊视频檛 know much about Canada, and I don91裸聊视频檛 know anything about this band. What, if I start right here?91裸聊视频� We wanted people like that to be drawn into the story.91裸聊视频�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Thursday, begins streaming on Prime Video on Sept. 20.
ALI WEINSTEIN, director, 91裸聊视频淵our Tomorrow91裸聊视频�
After she 91裸聊视频渞ediscovered91裸聊视频� Ontario Place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Weinstein says she became obsessed with researching its history and architecture. In 2021, when Premier Doug Ford91裸聊视频檚 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: 91裸聊视频淚 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. That91裸聊视频檚 what kept me going over nearly 100 days of shooting.91裸聊视频�
On why it91裸聊视频檚 a universal tale: 91裸聊视频淲hile it91裸聊视频檚 a very local story in its particulars, I think the themes will resonate across the world. I91裸聊视频檓 hopeful that audiences see (the film) because it91裸聊视频檚 such a timely topic. I was excited to get it out quickly while the conversation is still going on about what should happen there.91裸聊视频�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Sept. 12; hits theatres in late 2024.
ARIANNA MARTINEZ, director, 91裸聊视频淒o I Know You From Somewhere?91裸聊视频�
A couple91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频渢he alternative reality of a missed connection.91裸聊视频�
On drawing from their lives: 91裸聊视频淎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 we91裸聊视频檝e all asked ourselves: What would my life look like if I91裸聊视频檇 made a different choice?91裸聊视频�
On cinematic inspirations: 91裸聊视频淲e love Korean cinema 91裸聊视频� (writer-directors) Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho 91裸聊视频� just how much fun those films are. They91裸聊视频檙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.91裸聊视频�
On filming in New Brunswick: 91裸聊视频淢ost of our cast and crew was made up of New Brunswickers. People that we91裸聊视频檝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.91裸聊视频�
Release dates: Premieres at TIFF on Friday, screens at Atlantic International Film Festival on Sept. 14.
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91裸聊视频� Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Alex Nino Gheciu and David Friend, The Canadian Press
