July 26 , 2005
Toronto Adds Many More Highly-Anticipated
World PremieresToronto – Today, the Toronto International Film Festival® announced nine titles, eight of which will be world premieres, that join the growing list of yet-to-be-seen films expected to attract attention from distributors, exhibitors, and other industry insiders – as well as Toronto's enthusiastic public audiences – at this year's event. The titles are, in alphabetical order: Lorene Machado's BAM BAM AND CELESTE, Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe's BROTHERS OF THE HEAD, Danis Tanoviæ's L'ENFER, David Ayer's HARSH TIMES, Rowan Woods' LITTLE FISH, Joshua Stern's NEVERWAS, Jeff Stanzler's SORRY,HATERS, Terry Gilliam's TIDELAND, and Adam Rapp's WINTER PASSING. Film sales at the Festival are facilitated by the OMDC Sales Office, which fosters relationships between accredited buyers, sales agents, and filmmakers.
These major premieres join previously announced films of interest for attending distributors, including: Deepa Mehta's WATER, Jason Reitman's THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, Michael Cuesta's TWELVE AND HOLDING, Jamie Babbit's THE QUIET, Paul Mayeda Berges' MISTRESS OF SPICES, Antonin Svoboda's YOU BET YOUR LIFE, Wayne Beach's SLOW BURN, and Lee Daniels' SHADOWBOXER. In the coming weeks, additional titles of interest to distributors, media, and the public at large will be announced, including the Festival's Canadian offerings at a press conference on Tuesday, August 2, and more titles at the Festival's launch conference on Tuesday, August 23.
The world premiere of Lorene Machado's BAM BAM AND CELESTE (USA) has been added to Discovery. Written by and starring comedian Margaret Cho, the film tells the story of best friends Bam Bam (Bruce Daniels) and Celeste (Cho), who make their way across Middle America in the hopes of becoming contestants on a reality-TV makeover show.
Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe's mockumentary BROTHERS OF THE HEAD (UK), a world premiere, has been added to Visions. The film tells the story of conjoined twins (played by Luke and Harry Treadaway), plucked from obscurity in the 1970s by a music promoter who grooms them into a seminal link between "classic" rock and punk.
L'ENFER (France/Italy/Belgium/Japan), from Danis Tanoviæ (NO MAN'S LAND), is a world premiere and has been added to Special Presentations. The film chronicles the lives of three sisters, bound forever by an act of violence that they witnessed in their childhood. L'ENFER was written by Krzysztof Piesiewicz, who developed this film as part of a trilogy with the late Krzysztof Kieslowski. The film stars Emmanuelle Béart.
HARSH TIMES (USA), the directorial debut of screenwriter David Ayer (TRAINING DAY), is a world premiere and has also been added to Special Presentations. The film tells the story of two unemployed friends, Jim (Christian Bale), a war veteran, and Mike (Freddy Rodriguez), a computer programmer. When Jim persuades Mike to join him in search of excitement and adventure through the streets of South Central L.A., things take a turn toward disaster and the two unwittingly sow the seeds of their own destruction. The films also stars Eva Longoria.
Rowan Woods' LITTLE FISH (Australia) follows Tracy (Cate Blanchett), a woman struggling to put her troubled past behind her. After being refused two bank loans to open up her own internet café, she begins lying to her loved ones. When Tracy turns to a shady ex-boyfriend (Dustin Nguyen) in order to come up with the money, she soon becomes embroiled in a dangerous drug deal that threatens her life. The film costars Sam Neill and Hugo Weaving. LITTLE FISH is an international premiere and has been added to Special Presentations.
NEVERWAS (USA), the debut of writer/director Joshua Stern, is a world premiere and has been added to Special Presentations. The film follows Zach (Aaron Eckhart), a psychiatrist who returns home to work at the mental institution where his father (Nick Nolte), a famous children's book author, was committed years earlier. The cast also includes Sir Ian McKellen, Brittany Murphy, and Alan Cumming.
Jeff Stanzler's SORRY,HATERS (USA) is a world premiere and has been added to Discovery. The film tells the story of an Arab cab driver (played by filmmaker Abdel Kechiche) who picks up a troubled professional woman (Robin Wright Penn) in New York City. Over the course of a few days, they develop a relationship with unexpected results. This psychological drama is set against the nightmarish anxieties of a post-9/11 America. The cast includes Sandra Oh.
The world premiere of Terry Gilliam's TIDELAND (Canada/UK) has been added to Masters. This adaptation of Mitch Cullin's classic cult novel brings the audience into the fantasy world of Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland), the young narrator, who drifts from the harsh reality of her childhood to escape into the fantasies of her own active imagination. The cast includes Janet McTeer, Brendan Fletcher, Jeff Bridges, and Jennifer Tilly.
Adam Rapp's WINTER PASSING (USA) tells the story of a young woman (Zooey Deschanel) who returns home to visit her father, a reclusive novelist (Ed Harris), after the two have spent seven years apart. Her arrival brings a wind of change into her father's home and into the lives of several of its inhabitants, including Will Ferrell as an eccentric handyman. WINTER PASSING is a world premiere and has been added to Special Presentations.
Distribution companies consistently find in Toronto a robust slate of high-quality films with distribution rights available. Some highlights of films sold at last year's Festival include Kim Ki-duk's 3-IRON, Paul Haggis' CRASH, Oliver Hirschbiegel's DOWNFALL, Lukas Moodysson's A HOLE IN MY HEART, Terry George's HOTEL RWANDA, Pawel Pawlikowski's MY SUMMER OF LOVE, Alejandro Amenábar's THE SEA INSIDE, Bahman Ghobadi's TURTLES CAN FLY, and Sally Potter's YES. The Festival was a launchpad for several of these awards-season favourites, including HOTEL RWANDA, which won its first prize at the Festival with the 2004 AGF People’s Choice Award.
The OMDC Sales Office provides a variety of indispensable services, including a comprehensive list of availability of rights for all Festival films; a list of all accredited buyers and sales agents; a message centre; and two informal meeting spaces. Buyers and sales agents who wish to be accredited through the OMDC Sales Office should contact sales@torfilmfest.ca or visit http://www.tiffg.ca/industry.
Special Presentations are made possible through the generous support of Cineplex Galaxy.
The OMDC Sales Office is made possible through the generous support of the
Ontario Media Development Corporation.