TIFF Lineup 2022 - Galas & Special Presentations
Sunday, July 31, 2022 at 11:19AM by Nathaniel R
Kelvin Harrison Jr stars in "Chevalier"
The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 8th through 18th this year. Of "the Big Five" festivals (the others being Berlinale, Cannes, Sundance, and Venice) Toronto doesn't have a traditional competition lineup with juries... though their audience award winners tend to get a lot of "Oscar-bound" style press. Like those other festivals they having very exciting lineups for cinephiles. If the titles showing at Venice (which happens just before it) and TIFF are as enticing as they sound, 2022 is going to explode in cinematic quality. What follows is a list of their Galas and Special Presentations though it's worth noting that TIFF usually has hundreds of movies so this is only the two most high profile programs that they've announced.
GALA PRESENTATIONS
These are the high profile films, usually with movie stars, that are getting the full red carpet glitzy treatment. Usually they're either World Premieres or Canadian premieres of major titles that premiered in Europe...
Alice, Darling (Mary Nighy) Anna Kendrick stars in this thriller about a woman in an abusive relationship. This is Nighy's feature directorial debut (yes, she's the daughter of the actor Bill Nighy)
Black Ice (Hubert Davis) - Documentary on the history of racism in hockey
Butcher's Crossing (Gabe Polsy) -Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus) stars in this western as an Ivy League dropout who befriend a buffalo hunter (Nicolas Cage) in the 19th century. Adapted from the novel by John Williams.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Peter Farrelly) - Zac Efron, Bill Murray, Kyle Allen, Jake Picking, and Russell Crowe star in this adaptation of the 1967 true story of a man who brought beer to his childhood buddies in Vietnam during the war. Streaming on Apple TV+ beginning September 30th
The Hummingbird (Francesca Archibugi) - Pierfrancesco Favino stars in this decades spanning drama about a man and his relationships throughout his life. Adapted from the novel by Sandro Veronesi. WORLD PREMIERE
Hunt (Lee Jung-Jae) - The Korean movie star (Deliver Us From Evil, The Face Reader) who has been collecting prizes in the English-language showbiz world for starring in Squid Game makes his directorial debut with a espionage thriller that he also stars in. Premiered at Cannes
A Jazzman's Blues (Tyler Perry) - Joshua Boone (Premature) stars in this mystery drama that spans the 1940s through the 1980s. It's supposedly the first screenplay Tyler Perry ever wrote though it's the 27th film he's directed now.
Kacchey Limbu (Shubham Yogi) A sibling rivalry drama involving cricket.
Moving On (Paul Weitz) - Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin reunite for another comedy post Grace & Frankie as estranged friends who seek revenge on a widower who did them wrong decades earlier. Weitz previously directed Tomlin to one of her greatest performances in Grandma. WORLD PREMIERE
Revoir Paris /Paris Memories (Alice Winocour) - Virginie Efira stars in this drama about a woman dealing with trauma after a terrorist attack. Premiered at Cannes
Prisoner's Daughter (Catherine Hardwicke) - A drama about a convict (Brian Cox) and his daughter (Kate Beckinsale). WORLD PREMIERE
Raymond & Ray (Rodrigo Garcia) - Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor star as half brothers reuniting at their father's funeral. A bit of a change of pace for Garcia who almost always makes movies about women. WORLD PREMIERE
Roost (Amy Redford) - Summer Phoenix stars as a mother whose teen daughter is seduced online by an older man. (This is the second directorial feature from Robert Redford's daughter)
Sidney (Reginald Hudlin) - Documentary about the late great movie star and activist Sidney Poitier. Though Hudlin used to direct narrative comedies lately he's been switching it up with dramas (Marshall) and documentaries (The Black Godfather). This movie will stream on Apple TV+ but no date has been announced.
The Son (Florian Zeller) - Premieres at Venice
The Swimmers (Sally El Hosaini) UK. True story of swimming sisters who fled Syria as refugees and eventually made it into the Olympics. This is Sally El Hosaini's sophomore effort following her acclaimed debut ten years ago with My Brother the Devil (2012). OPENING NIGHT FILM / WORLD PREMIERE
What's Love Got To Do With It (Shekhar Kapur) -His first film since Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)! This one is a cross-cultural romantic comedy starring Lily James, Shazad Latif, and Emma Thompson
The Woman King (Gina Prince-Bythewood) Viola Davis leads this true story drama about the all female military regime in the African Kingdom of Dahomey. Lots of rising stars in this one like Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, Sheila Atim, Thuso Mbedu, Jayme Lawson, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and recent Best Actress in a Musical Tony winner Adrienne Warren. WORLD PREMIERE
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
We've never fully grasped how the special Presentations differs from the Gala presentations except that the Gala events get more glitzy treatment. But this section also houses high profile films that are also often headlined by stars that are also a mix of world premieres or canadian premieres if the film hit another festival first.
All Quiet on the Western Front (Edward Berger) Adaptation of the famous novel which was of course also a Best Picture winner in its original film adaptation in. WORLD PREMIERE
Allelujah (Richard Eyre) Dame Judi Dench leads this adaptation of the stage play about a geriatric hospital
The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh) Premieres at Venice
The Blue Caftan (Maryam Touzani)
Blueback (Robert Connelly) Mother/daughter drama with Mia Wasikowska and Radha Mitchell
Broker (Hirokazu Kore-eda) CANNES REVIEW
Bros (Nicholas Stoller) Billy Eichner wrote and stars in this gay romantic comedy with an all LGBTQ cast... even in the straight roles! WORLD PREMIERE
Brother (Clement Virgo) Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre star in this adaptation of the novel by David Chariandy about the sons of Trinidadian immigrants in Canada.
Catherine Called Birdy (Lena Dunham) A medieval comedy about a father (Andrew Scott) trying to get his rebellious daughter (Bella Ramsey) married in the 13th century. WORLD PREMIERE
Causeway (Lila Neugebauer) Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence stars in this drama about a female soldier with a brain injury. The supporting cast is full of crazy talented actors including Emmy and Tony nominee Brian Tyree Henry, Tony nominees Linda Emond, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell, and Samuel H Levine who was impressive in The Inheritance on Broadway.
Chevalier (Stephen Williams) Rising leading man Kelvin Harrison Jr (Waves, Cyrano) stars in this costume drama about the illegitimate son of an enslaved African and a French plantation owner who becomes a celebrated composer in French society. Lucy Boynton (as Marie Antoinette) and Minnie Driver costar. Searchlight pictures will release at some point but there's no date yet.
Corsage (Marie Kreutzer) CANNES REVIEW
Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook) CANNES REVIEW
Devotion (JD Dillard) Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell star in this true story about the first black aviator in the US Navy. Set during the Korean War. Opens November 23rd from Sony Pictures. WORLD PREMIERE
Driving Madeleine (Christian Carion) The 94 year-old singer/actress Line Renaud stars as a woman moving to a nursing home who asks her taxi driver to take her to places that were important in her life.
El Suplente (Diego Lerman) argentina Drama about a substitute teacher who gets mixed up in a problem his student is having with a druglord. Juan Minujin and the great Chilean actor Alfredo Castro star.
Empire of Light (Sam Mendes). Olivia Colman headlines this romantic drama set around an old cinema. Opens December 9th from Searchlight Pictures and we're predicting a Best Actress nomination.
The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg) Premieres at Venice
The Fablemans (Steven Spielberg) Spielberg's auto-fiction memoir of his adolescence. Expected to be a major Oscar contender, it opens November 23rd from Universal Pictures. WORLD PREMIERE
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Rian Johnson) After the surprise smash hit of Knives Out, another comic adventure for detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) with a new all star cast supporting him. Streams on Netflix TBA WORLD PREMIERE
Good Night Oppy (Ryan White) A documentary about the space program and the rover "Opportunity" at Mars
The Good Nurse (Tobias Lindholm) Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne star in this true crime story.
Holy Spider (Ali Abassi) CANNES REVIEW
Joyland (Saim Sadiq). A Pakistani drama about the youngest son of a patriarchal family falls in love with a trans dancer. Premiered at Cannes and won the Queer Palm.
The King's Horseman (Biyi Bandele) nigeria. A drama set in the 1940s about a king's chief horseman who is set to die in ritual suicide but succumbs to sexual desire instead setting off a chain of events.
The Lost King (Stephen Frears) Sally Hawkins stars as an amateur historian hoping to find the remains of King Richard III. Set to open in the UK on October 8th.
A Man of Reason (Jung Woo-sung) Another Korean movie star making a directorial debut! This one is also a thriller
The Menu (Mark Mylod) a horror comedy about a young couple (Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult) and a chef (Ralph Fiennes) with a surprising menu. Opens November 18th from Searchlight Pictures.
Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen) Documentary on David Bowie
My Policeman (Michael Grandage) A romantic drama in two different time frames. Harry Styles and Linus Roache as the man at different ages and Emma Corrin and Gina McKee as the woman at different ages. Begins streaming on Amazon Prime November 4th WORLD PREMIERE
Nanny (Nikyata Jusu) A horror/thriller about a Senegalese immigrant in New York. Premiered at Sundance
No Bears (Jafar Panahi) Premieres at Venice
On the Come Up (Sanaa Lathan) The actress makes her feature directorial debut with this drama about a teenage girl who dreams of becoming a great rapper.
One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Løve) CANNES REVIEW
Other People's Children (Rebecca Zlotowski) Premieres at Venice
The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile (Kathlyn Horan) Documentary about Tucker returning to the studio with Carlile producing
Saint Omer (Alice Diop) Premieres at Venice
Sanctuary (Zachary Wigon) Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbot star in this thriller about a dominatrix and her wealthy client
Stories Not to be Told (Cesc Gay) A Spanish ensemble comedy following five different stories. Set to open October 22nd in Spain.
Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund) CANNES REVIEW
Walk Up (Hong Sang-soo). You can expect this South Korean drama to show up at New York Film Festival too because they never turn down a Sangsoo film, no matter how many he's made that year.
Wendell & Wild (Henry Selick) Two demon brothers (voiced by Key & Peele) face off against their nemesis Sister Helly (Voiced by Angela Bassett) in this stop-motion adventure from the director of Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. Will stream on Netflix sometime in October. WORLD PREMIERE
The Whale (Darren Aronofsky) Premieres at Venice
Women Talking (Sarah Polley). Polley adapts the novel by Miriam Towes about Mennonite women confiding in one another about sexual assaults from the men in their community. Jessie Buckley, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Ben Wishaw, Frances McDormand, Sheila McCarthy, and Judith Ivey. So it will be a feast of actressing!
The Wonder (Sebastián Lelio) Florence Pugh stars in this psychological thriller from the director of A Fantastic Woman. Due to stream on Netflix but no word yet on when.
WHICH FILMS ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
TIFF, film festivals
Reader Comments (5)
The Fablemans, Decision to Leave, and Broker are the films I'm expecting to love this fall. I'm also looking forward to The Menu because it looks like a great Fiennes performance and Causeway because it seems as though Lawrence may be getting back to her extraordinary Winter's Bone roots.
I haven't heard about Moving On before and as a huge fan of both Tomlin and Fonda (and Tomlin in Grandma) I am excited to see that.
I am really excited for Causeway. I hope Lawrence slays it. Also looking forward to My Policeman.
I assume On the Come Up is an adaptation of Angie Thomas's second novel. And, I always look forward to Darren Aronofsky's films.
Empire of Light 💡 had me at Olivia Colman + seaside town + cinema + Roger Deakins. Suddenly it’s my most anticipated. Chevalier looks good too. Never heard of that either. And of course looking forward to Women Talking, The Son and The Whale.
I am here for Kelvin getting his first Oscar nomination for Chevalier. He is the most exciting actor of his generation. Hopefully the movie will be worthy of his talent.