The full program lineup for the 2007 Toronto Film Festival has been released, and, as expected, it’s pretty wonderful. From high-profile obvious hits like No Country For Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (this is the Western’s year, I’m telling you now) to fun presentations like Ellyn Burstyn introducing Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Peter Bogdanovich talking about John Ford’s Bucking Broadway in the Dialogues program, this is quite a year. And while the west has risen again, music is big in the Real To Reel documentary program with films about The Who, Joy Division, Lou Reed and Maria Callas. And Wayne Wang has a pair of low-budget films in the mix, too. Who knew?
The full primary press release is reproduced below, but you can go to the festival’s official website (www.tiff07.ca) for detailed info on all the films. Not everything is up on the site now, but it likely will be by the end of the day.
As has been the case for the last few years, we’ll have extensive coverage of the festival starting on September 5 and running all the way through to the end, on September 15.
The press release:
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. Ticket Passes and Packages now on sale. Gala and Visa Screening Room tickets on sale August 25 at 10 a.m. Tickets on sale Wednesday, September 5 at 7 a.m. For more information, please visit tiff07.ca or call 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM. The Festival’s programme book and Official Film Schedule are available August 28.
Today’s announcements feature six Gala Presentations, including Renny Harlin’s CLEANER, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Eva Mendes and Keke Palmer; Richard Attenborough’s CLOSING THE RING, starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Neve Campbell, Pete Postlethwaite and David Alpay; Alain Corneau’s LE DEUXIÈME SOUFFLE, starring Daniel Auteil, Monica Bellucci, Eric Cantona, Michel Blanc, Jacques Dutronc, and Daniel Duva; Robin Swicord’s THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, starring Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Marc Blucas, Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Kevin Zegers and Lynn Redgrave; Kenneth Branagh’s SLEUTH, starring Michael Caine and Jude Law; and Paul Schrader’s THE WALKER, starring Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin, Willem Defoe, Ned Beatty, Moritz Bleibtreu and Mary Beth Hurt.
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.
For the first time in ten years, Wayne Wang returns to the low-budget filmmaking that made him a leader in the American independent cinema movement with A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS and THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA, two tales about the experience of Chinese immigrants in the United States screening as part of Masters. This year’s Masters will feature a complete line-up of 20 films.
Thirteen titles have been added to Special Presentations for a complete programme of 50 films. Titles announced today include Sidney Lumet’s BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, Melisa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann’s BILL, Michael Moore’s CAPTAIN MIKE ACROSS AMERICA, Gillian Armstrong’s DEATH DEFYING ACTS, Vadim Perelman’s IN BLOOM, Jason Reitman’s JUNO, Ira Sachs’ MARRIED LIFE, Jonathan Demme’s MAN FROM PLAINS, Alison Eastwood’s RAILS & TIES, Brian De Palma’s REDACTED, Brad Furman’s THE TAKE, Thomas McCarthy’s THE VISITOR, and Anand Tucker’s WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?
Eight documentaries join Real to Reel for a complete programme featuring 32 of the world’s finest non-fiction films. Titles announced today include Paul Crowder/Murray Lerner’s AMAZING JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE WHO, Julian Schnabel’s LOU REED’S BERLIN, Ran Tal’s CHILDREN OF THE SUN, Philippe Kholy’s CALLAS ASSOLUTA, Wang Bing’s FENGMING: A CHINESE MEMOIR, Grant Gee’s JOY DIVISION, Olga Konskaya and Andreï Nekrasov’s REBELLION: THE LITVINENKO CASE, and Jia Zhang-ke’s USELESS. A series of conversations with directors and producers exploring the how and why of documentary filmmaking, Doc Talks will be open to the public for the first time this year; previously the series was offered exclusively to the Festival’s industry delegates.
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.
The Festival is a presentation of The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG), a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.
The Masters programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of BMO Nesbitt Burns. The Real to Reel programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Discovery Films.