32nd Toronto International Film Festival

From September 6 to 15 the TIFF will be screening 349 films from 55 countries!!! Wow! This is absolutely crazy with way too many movies for 10 days, as an average they’ll be screening almost 35 films a day. On the positive side, this is a marvelous opportunity to be able to see movies from allover the world and if you don’t want to sleep for a few days you may be able to see some remarkable movies.

There are many movies that were in the 2007 Cannes, Locarno, Venice or Berlinale, but there are some world premieres. So this time I wont list all the movies and I am just posting extracts from yesterday’s official press releases and some links that you could explore to learn more.

Toronto - Organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival today announced final programming details, including the complete lineup of films and programmes for its 32nd edition running September 6 - 15, 2007. At this year's Festival, 349 films from 55 countries will screen, including 275 feature and mid-length films, 85 per cent of which are world, international or North American premieres, and 71 of which are feature directorial debuts. Highlights from today's announcement include Mavericks presentations from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn Carter, Bill Maher and Larry Charles, and Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Don Cheadle; Alain Corneau's LE DEUXIÈME SOUFFLE as a Gala Presentation; the first independent films from Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) in ten years as part of Masters; cineastes' favourite Dialogues, featuring legendary actor Max von Sydow marking the passing of Ingmar Bergman with a presentation of Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING; Michael Moore's film CAPTAIN MIKE ACROSS AMERICA, the documentary MAN FROM PLAINS from Academy Award™ winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), IN BLOOM by Vadim Perelman (HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG), JUNO by Jason Reitman (THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) and THE VISITOR by Thomas McCarthy (THE STATION AGENT) as Special Presentations; and Julian Schnabel's documentary LOU REED'S BERLIN as part of Real to Reel..

Four enlightening Mavericks presentations will feature appearances by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Bill Maher, Larry Charles, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Don Cheadle, Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan and more. Eight presentations in Dialogues: Talking with Pictures will feature Max von Sydow, Bell Festival Centre architect Bruce Kuwabara, Ken Loach, Arthur Dong and Nancy Kwan, Peter Bogdanovich, Ellen Burstyn, Sidney Lumet, and Lord Richard Attenborough showcasing films that have inspired them or have marked a significant period in their careers.

Thirteen titles have been added to Special Presentations for a complete programme of 50 films.

The 32nd Toronto International Film Festival is proud to announce a Special Event at which Hollywood great Peter Bogdanovich (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) will be presented with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) Award for his contribution to film preservation. He has chosen to screen Jean Renoir's historic gem LA GRANDE ILLUSION (1937) as an example of the importance of film restoration.

Toronto - Six titles round out the Gala Presentations lineup for the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. The complete Gala Presentations lineup for this year's Festival will feature 20 titles.

CLEANER Renny Harlin, USA
CLOSING THE RING Richard Attenborough, UK/CANADA
LE DEUXIÈME SOUFFLE Alain Corneau, FRANCE
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB Robin Swicord, USA
SLEUTH Kenneth Branagh, USA
THE WALKER Paul Schrader, USA/UK

Toronto - The Toronto International Film Festival finalizes its Special Presentations and Masters lineups with titles from an impressive range of filmmaking talent. Two thematically related films by filmmaker Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB, SMOKE, BLUE IN THE FACE) have been added to Masters, showcasing new work from the world's greatest filmmakers. 20 titles in total will screen as part of Masters in 2007.. These films join previous announced titles as a part of Special Presentations, showcasing major films, major stars and major filmmakers. 50 titles in total will screen as Special Presentations during this year's Festival.

Special Presentations
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD Sidney Lumet, USA
BILL Melisa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann, USA
CAPTAIN MIKE ACROSS AMERICA Michael Moore, USA Special Presentation
DEATH DEFYING ACTS Gillian Armstrong, UK/Australia
IN BLOOM Vadim Perelman, USA
JUNO Jason Reitman, USA
MARRIED LIFE Ira Sachs, USA
MAN FROM PLAINS Jonathan Demme, USA Special Presentation
RAILS & TIES Alison Eastwood, USA
REDACTED Brian De Palma, USA
THE TAKE Brad Furman, USA
THE VISITOR Thomas McCarthy, USA
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? Anand Tucker, Ireland/UK

If you want to see the complete list of films in the festival, press here and you’ll see the complete list with the name, director and programme in which the movie will be shown. If you want to read summaries and/or reviews about each movie go here . And if these links do not satisfy you, then you have another here where you will find an interesting sort by option that can show you how many films from your country will be shown.

As some of the movies are world premieres, I am listing the 20 movies in the Masters programme.

Alexandra, Alexander Sokurov, Russia
Les Amours d’Astrée et de Céladon, Eric Rohmer, France,Italy and Spain
Beyond the Years (Taek Chun-nyun-hack), Im Kwon, South Korea
Chaos (Heyda Fawda), Youssef Chahine, Youssef Khaled, Egypt
Christopher Columbus, The Enigma, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal and France
Disengagement (Désengagement), Amos Gitai, Germany, Italy, Israel and France
Fados, Carlos Saura, Portugal
Le Fille Coupée en Deux, Claude Chabrol, France
Four Women (Nallu Pennungal), Adoor Gopalakrishnan, India (Malayalam) – with Nandita Das!!
Glory to the Filmmaker! (Kantoku Banzai!), Takeshi Kitano, Japan
It’s a Free World…, Ken Loach, UK, Italy, Germany and Spain
The Man from London, Béla Tarr, Hungary, Germany, France and UK
Ne Touchez Pas La Hache, Jacques Rivette, France and Italy
One Hundred Nails (Centochiodi), Ermanno Olmi, Italy
The Past (El Pasado), Hector Babenco, Argentina
The Princess of Nebraska, Wayne Wang, USA
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, Wayne Wang, USA
Ulzhan, Volker Schlondörff, Kazakhstan, Germay and France
Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge, Hou Hsiao-hsien, France
The Voyeurs (Ami, Yasin Arr Amar Madhubala), Buddhadeb Dasgupta, India (Bengali)

I suggest you take a look at the Vanguard section with some movies that seem mindblowers. This is the description of this section: Vanguard spotlights bold filmmakers that run ahead of the pack. This programme is dedicated to irreverent, stylistically playful films that challenge the boundaries of social discourse. Aimed toward adventurous audiences who delight in movies that push the envelopes of technology, culture, and sexuality, these edgy films have a distinct, youthful feel. Interested? If yes, press here.

Another interesting section is Visions. This is the section description: It spotlights work that challenges our notion of mainstream cinema and explores new territory. Featuring unusual approaches to storytelling, experimental filmmaking techniques and new technologies, Visions is an exciting programme featuring the work of brazen newcomers and veteran filmmakers alike, pushing the boundaries of contemporary cinema. These are my kind of movies and if is yours, check the movies here.

If you are into avant-garde cinema then check the Wavelengths section here.

Well, once a long time ago, I was able to attend this festival but today seems so well organized and with movies to satisfy every cinephiles and non-cinephiles taste.

Lastly, Caramel will be shown in the Gala Programme, so if you’re in Toronto on September 14, do not miss the 9:30pm screen of this fabulous movie.