Women move into the centre stage at this year’s TIFF
One-third of offerings from female directors
The Toronto International Film Festival is full of stories of strong women, whether it’s Judi Dench’s second turn as Queen Victoria in Victoria & Abdul; Emma Thompson as a high- court judge in The Children Act; or Jessica Chastain as an Olympic skier turned poker magnate in Molly’s Game.
Chastain is a TIFF twotimer this year, also starring i n Woman Walks Ahead, playing 19 th- century artist and Native rights activist Caroline Weldon. The film is directed by Susanna White ( Nanny McPhee Returns, Our Kind of Traitor), which makes it one of more than 100 features and shorts from female filmmakers at this year’s festival.
Fully one- third of the festival offerings — and half the films in the Platform section, with its $ 25,000 prize — are from women directors.
Here are 10 more we’re looking forward to seeing: Our People Will Be Healed: At 85, Alanis Obomsawin continues to document the issues faced by First Nations people. Her newest film looks at the Cree community of Norway House, 450 kms north of Winnipeg, and of efforts by its citizens to move forward with self- determination and sustainability even as they deal with the legacy of colonialism.
Lady Bird: Greta Gerwig has been an acting force since she emerged from the mumblecore movement of the early oughts. Saorise Ronan’s performances include Oscarnominated turns in Atonement and Brooklyn. The two talents collide in Gerwig’s writing- directing debut, which features Ronan as a precocious high- school senior. Battle of the Sexes: This one is co- directed by the wifeand-husband team of Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton ( Little Miss Sunshine), but that seems an appropriate doubles pairing when you consider that the film dramatizes the famous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell).
Outside In: Lynn Shelton has made some stellar comedydramas, including Your Sister’s Sister and Laggies. Her newest stars Jay Duplass, Kaitlyn Never and Edie Falco in an awkward love triangle, awkward being the mood Shelton captures best.
Novitiate: Writer/director Maggie Betts tackles issues of faith, love and sexuality with this story set in a convent in 1964, when the Catholic Church was undergoing the sea-change known as Vatican II. Melissa Leo is said to be one to watch as the Reverend Mother.
The Rider: Chloé Zhao was born in Beijing, attended high school in London and studied political science in America, which means her take on U.S. horse culture will no doubt bring a mix of insider and outsider attitudes. Real-life wrangler Brady Jandreau stars as a rodeo cowboy forced to consider his options after a serious accident.
Western: Toni Erdmann director Maren Ade helped produce German director Valeska Grisebach’s Eurowestern, in which a group of German workers find culture clashes and other problems when they travel to Bulgaria to work on a water treatment project. (Ade also has a producing credit on the TIFF film A Fantastic Woman, directed by Sebastián Lelio.)
Hikari ( Radiance): Naomi Kawase’s newest was not well received at Cannes, but this critic was swept up in the beautiful tale of the relationship between a photographer ( Masatoshi Nagase) who is losing his sight, and a writer ( Ayame Misaki) who creates audio descriptions to aid blind moviegoers. Professor Marston & the Won
der Women: Luke Evans stars as William Marston, the psychologist and comic-book writer who created Wonder Woman. Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote play his wife and a student who helped inspire the Amazonian crimefighter, in Angela Robinson’s newest film.
Alias Grace: Where to begin? Let’s start by adding “incredible Canadian talent” in front of every name behind this miniseries. Margaret Atwood wrote the book; Sarah Polley adapted it; Mary Harron directs; and Sarah Gadon stars. TIFF will screen two of the six episodes, which will air on CBC Sept. 25, and move to Netflix Nov. 3.