TIFF 2023 Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

It’s hard to make much sense of what’s unfolding as the first few minutes of Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s “The Monk and the Gun” pass by. However, what is clear is that this immediately comes out of the gate with a slice-of-life feeling in stark contrast to what one might expect from a film with this particular brand of odd title.

High school is challenging, competitive, and traumatic enough as it is. But in “Backspot,” the new feature-length directorial effort and cheerleading drama from filmmaker D.W.

TORONTO – The accomplishments of Nicholas Winton were lost to history for almost forty years. The last time the Brit had spoken about his work rescuing Jewish refugees in Czechoslovakia was when he ran for local council in 1954.

TORONTO – About three years ago, an underdog YouTube and Reddit personality recruited an army of retail investors that sent investment powerbrokers scrambling and changed how Wall Street viewed social media. It’s an inherently funny story because it seemed preposterous at the time (at least to the financial community), but it also occurred during a pivotal moment in global history.

New Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori has dabbled in big-budget Hollywood film-making (“Die Another Day,” “XXX: State of the Union”) as well as more intimately-scaled films exploring his Māori heritage (“Once Were Warriors,” “Mahana”).

BAFTA winner Jodie Comer came out of the gate so damn strong with her breakout turn in “Killing Eve,” and she’s shot up to the A-list ever since. Case in point, her new apocalyptic drama, executive produced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who also co-stars, is one of the most anticipated titles of the recently kicked off Toronto International Film Festival.

TORONTO – We’re not sure writer and director Azazel Jacobs needed a comeback after 2020’s disappointing “French Exit,” but we’re delighted to report he’s delivered another exquisite drama with his latest endeavor, “His Three Daughters.” Debuting at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, ‘Daughters’ follows three siblings as they come to grips with the impending death of their father. And, as in any family, tension abounds.

TORONTO – The biggest surprise in Kristin Scott Thomas’ directorial debut, “North Star,” doesn’t occur in front of the camera. In this case, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham deliver exactly what you’d expect as three sisters reuniting for their mother’s latest marriage in the British countryside.

A woman attempts to sort through her past while also dealing with the traumatic repercussions of surviving a terrorist attack in Elisabeth Scharang’s elliptical film “Woodland,” based on Doris Knect’s 2015 WALD. A non-linear slow burn that’s more interested in unpacking the layers of trauma that Marian (Brigette Hobmeier) is dealing with than outright showing the aftermath of the terrorist attack, Scharang’s film works best when it’s narrowed in on the small farming community she returns to, less so when it skirts around her present-day relationships and the actual shooting that serves as the inciting incident for her trip back.

Top-billed Vicky Krieps dies in the opening frame of Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” with a tear running down her cheek and her co-star/director keeping vigil at her bedside, which might prompt some confusion from the casual viewer; is this a Western zombie movie? It is not, but it’s a picture that takes some time to reveal its methodology and motives; the viewer’s patience is required but rewarded.   Continue reading ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ Review: Writer/Director/Star Viggo Mortensen’s Contemplative Western Is A Dazzling Showcase For Vicky Krieps [TIFF] at The Playlist.

There’s no doubt that, at this very moment, scores of documentary filmmakers, both those new to the game and more wizened veterans of the genre, are kicking around ideas for their next great project, one that will hopefully capture the minds of audiences, open eyes to a subject previously untouched and/or inspire society into making some sort of cultural change. It can be difficult to find that balance, as is the case with any narrative feature.

When it comes to social injustice in 21st-century France, writer and director Ladj Ly has been on the frontlines of history. A child of the Montfermeil housing projects in the Paris suburbs, he captured the rage of the 2005 riots that engulfed the neighborhood in the 2006 docu short “365 jours à Clichy Montfermeil.” His celebrated feature debut, 2019’s “Les Misérables,” chronicles the abusive relationship between the residents of that town and often resentful police officers who live miles from the area.

Anna Kendrick’s “Woman of the Hour” begins at a remote photo shoot in Wyoming circa 1977. The model finds herself talking about how she wound up living there, and as she does, she starts to cry.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is so fraught and thorny most filmmakers these days who are not of Israeli or Palestinian heritage or from somewhere nearby the region generally tend to steer clear of all the loaded burdens and pitfalls. Versatile filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, however, is braver and/or has less compunction about that—for better and perhaps for worse.

TORONTO – We hate to break it to the haters but there are hundreds of thousands of drag queens across the world who have no intention of going back into the closet.  Some make their living on a public stage while others are looking for that perfect moment to step into the spotlight.

TIFF has its share of titles having their world premieres over the next week-plus, but Ladj Ly‘s new film “Les Indésirables” may be one of the most notable internationally. Ly’s follow-up to his previous film “Les Misérables,” which screened at TIFF in 2019 and earned nominations at the César Awards and the Oscars, is another tale of civil unrest in France, told in the director’s signature style.

Anthony Hopkins has played several dynamic real-life people over his nearly six-decade acting career, like President Richard Nixon, Alfred Hitchcock, and writer C.S. Lewis.

No one can predict if Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki’s output has finally come to an end, but there’s a solemn finality to “The Boy and the Heron” that suggests he’d be satisfied if that were the case this time. Its contemplation is that of an artist who’s come full circle and is now probing at the very meaning of his extensive oeuvre through a discerning lens.

TIFF 2023 kicks off today, and this weekend is flush with all sorts of intriguing world premieres. On the comedy front, one such debut is “Quiz Show,” a comedy from director Jessica Yu which hits Hulu later this Fall.

How can one small business stand up to corporations? It might seem an unlikely question for a funeral home, but even that industry faces these issues. Maggie Betts’ “The Burial” looks at what happens when a small funeral home encounters corporate entities determined to corner the market on death care. The film, premiering at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, finds a skilled acting duo in leads, Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx.

A new film by Hayao Miyazaki filmmaker (or anything from animation house Studio Ghibli) is always worth celebrating. And for Miyazaki’s first feature film in a decade, TIFF pulls out all the stops.

As TIFF gears up for its start tomorrow, there are plenty of new titles premiering to anticipate. On the TV series side, none may be more anticipated than Prime Video’s “Expats.” Based on Janice Y.K.

As TIFF gears up for its start tomorrow, there’s plenty of new titles premiering to anticipate. On the TV series side, none may be more anticipated than Prime Video‘s “Expats.” Based on Janice Y.K.

If you don’t know the name of filmmaker Demián Rugna, you should, and you probably will soon enough. Already dubbed a horror master out of Argentina, Rugna specializes in fantasy and horror films.

TIFF 2023 gets underway tomorrow, and that means plenty of world premieres over its ten-day schedule. And there several movies debuting in Toronto to get excited about, like Brian Helgeland‘s “Finestkind,” the GameStop short comedy “Dumb Money,” and the star-studded New England noir “Reptile,” which makes the feature debut for Grant Singer.

Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson might be A-list stars who have appeared in huge Hollywood productions, but that doesn’t mean the actors aren’t willing to take a chance on a bold idea, as in their new film, “Daddio.” As seen in the first-look tease from EW, “Daddio” is one of the most unique films that will debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows the story of a woman who takes a cab home from the airport.

If storytelling has taught us anything, it’s that even if a protagonist doesn’t complete their hero’s journey, there is, at the very least, the attempt of a redemption arc. On a search for redemption is where we find Dimman in Axel Petersén’s most recent film, “Shame on Dry Land.” READ MORE: TIFF 2023 Announces Its Centrepiece Programme, Featuring Brian Helgeland’s ‘Finestkind,’ ‘Quiz Lady,’ ‘The Promised Land’ & More While the Toronto International Festival may be a bit odd this year due to the ongoing SAG and WGA strikes, there are still plenty of films to look forward to, “Shame on Dry Land” being one of them.

Nowadays, major film festivals aren’t just showcases of the best in cinema. Many of them offer strong selections of TV series, as the small screen features some of the very best filmmakers and A-list stars from around the world.

“We all have our stories; they aren’t there to pull us down, they’re there to push us forward.” Often, we push forward by reflecting on our own lives, taking in the world around us, and attempting to understand the human condition. It is clear that Paul Middleditch is an artist that does just that; as the director from New South Wales, Australia, pulls from his youth in his new film “Uproar.” READ MORE: TIFF 2023: Lulu Wang’s ‘Expats,’ Shawn Levy’s ‘All The Light’ & More Lead Primetime Programme Set in New Zealand in the early 1980s, the film follows Josh Waaka, a 17-year-old who is trying to discover who he is.

Nowadays, major film festivals aren’t just showcases of the best in cinema. Many of them offer strong selections of TV series, as the small screen features some of the very best filmmakers and A-list stars from around the world.