Louis C.K., Aaron Sorkin films to hit screen
Slate of world premieres at annual festival reaches 48
The Toronto International Film Festival has announced a new slate of galas and special presentations, including world premieres of films by comedian Louis C.K. and veteran writer/producer Aaron Sorkin, as well as a film that looks at one of America’s most enduring political scandals.
C.K.’s film, I Love You Daddy, stars the acerbic comic in a fictional story about a New York-based television producer. The 35 mm black-andwhite film also features Chloe Grace Moretz as the producer’s daughter. Other cast members include It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day, John Malkovich, Rose Byrne, Edie Falco and Helen Hunt.
Sorkin, best known as creator of The West Wing (1999-2006) and screenwriting films such as A Few Good Men (1992) and The Social Network (2010), will premiere his new film, Molly’s Game, about the woman (played by Jessica Chastain) who hosted a high-stakes poker game featuring celebrities and other high flyers. She’s arrested and turns to a lawyer played by Idris Elba in the film, which is Sorkin’s debut as a director.
These films’ addition to the TIFF lineup raises hopes for local movie lovers that the stars themselves will be in attendance, but the fest’s celebrity guest list has not yet been revealed.
Also coming is filmmaker John Curran’s Chappaquiddick, a drama recounting the fatal car crash in 1969 that led to the death of political aide Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara) and nearly ended the political career of now-deceased U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy ( Terminator Genisys’s Jason Clarke). A political scandal from just a few years later, Watergate, brings the festival Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, starring Liam Neeson as the source known as Deep Throat.
This latest announcement — which also includes The Cured, a zombie tale starring Ellen Page — brings the number of world premieres to 48, as well as 10 international premieres and 19 North American premieres.
TIFF has also announced its 2017 Masters Program, featuring 11 films from a diverse slate of veteran and prolific filmmakers.
The festival, which runs from Sept. 7 to 17, has also unveiled a slate of 48 films as part of its Contemporary World Cinema.
For the third year, the festival will also offer a Primetime program featuring a number of episodic series, including five premieres.
Topping the list in the Masters Pro- gram is the world premiere of Rainbow — A Private Affair by brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, who have written and directed more than 20 films together.
Their latest film tells the story of a love triangle during the Second World War.
The Other Side of Hope by Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki is a timely film about a young Syrian refugee searching for his sister. The film earned the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.
Canadian Aboriginal filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin’s latest work, Our People Will Be Healed, will get its world premiere at the festival.
In the Contemporary World Cinema Series, there are numerous world premieres in films from 39 countries, among them: Breath, the directorial debut by Australian actor Simon Baker (from television’s The Mentalist); The Lodgers by Ireland’s Patrick O’Malley; The Royal Hibiscus Hotel by Nigerian filmmaker Ishaya Bako; and Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle by Dutch filmmaker Mike van Diem.
The Primetime lineup includes two episodes from The Deuce, a gritty HBO drama about the rise of the porn industry during the 1970s in Times Square, starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The lineup also includes two episodes from Under Pressure, a Brazilian TV series about a medical team running a guerrilla hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Primetime also offers Dark, the first German production for Netflix about a family dealing with the supernatural.
This announcement brings the number of world premieres to 48, as well as 10 international premieres and 19 North American premieres