TIFF13: Dowse, McDonald features to bow at TIFF

Troubled psyches, indecent and unorthodox behaviour, familial crossroads and fetishes.

That’s what industry delegates and audiences can expect from this year’s Canadian film lineup at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The lineup reflects an eye towards global story-telling, and features works from the likes of Michael Dowse, Denis Villeneuve, Xavier Dolan, Louise Archambault and indie icon Bruce McDonald.

“The scope of this year’s feature films is as broad as Canada’s filmmaking community and demonstrates the deep versatility of our filmmakers. From clever, biting satire to intimate social commentary, powerful dramas and even a truly magical comedy, the settings and themes vary, but the perspectives are always uniquely Canadian,” said TIFF senior programmer Steve Gravestock in a statement.

Michael Dowse’s Canada-Ireland copro The F Word, and Denis Villeneuve’s Canada-Spain copro Enemy will have their world premieres in the Special Presentations program.

Goon director Dowse’s latest stars Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan and TIFF Rising Star Megan Park, with a script, penned by Elan Mastai, that was Black List-ed in 2008.

Enemy joins Villeneuve’s other feature, Prisoners, in this year’s festival lineup. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal (who also stars in Prisoners) and is based on The Double by José Saramago.

Also receiving world premieres are festival staple Bruce McDonald, with The Husband, and the latest documentary from Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky, Watermark.

Louise Archambault’s Gabrielle, produced by Montreal’s micro_scope, will have its North American premiere following a world bow in Locarno later this month, while Xavier Dolan’s Tom a la ferme will have its North American screening at TIFF after a premiere in Venice.

Screening in the Discovery program are Gia Milani’s All the Wrong Reasons, Jeff Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Chloe Robichaud’s Sarah prefere la course.

And following last year’s industry discussions of Canadian filmmakers increasingly telling global stories, eight Canadian films will screen in the Contemporary World Cinema Program. That includes the world premieres of Catherine Martin’s A Journey, Ingrid Veninger’s The Animal Project, Terry Miles’ Cinemanovels, Bruce Sweeney’s The Dick Knost Show, Peter Stebbings’ Empire of Dirt, and Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s Canada-Ireland copro Stay. The program will also screen North American premieres of Sebastien Pilote’s Le Demantelement, which screened out of competition at Karlovy Vary in July, and Richie Mehta’s Siddharth, which bows at Venice.

The Vanguard lineup will see the world premiere of Asphalt Watches, from Seth Scrivener and Shayne Ehman, and the North American premiere of Bruce LaBruce’s Gerontophilia, which will screen first at Venice.

And in the Masters program, Robert Lepage and Pedro Pires’ Triptych, about the intertwined lives of a schizophrenic bookseller, a singer-actress, and a German neurologist, will have its world premiere.

The Canadian films announced Wednesday join previously announced homegrown features and documentaries receiving gala, documentary and Midnight Madness presentations.

The festival on Wednesday also announced its Short Cuts Canada short film program, which includes a total of 39 shorts from Canadian filmmakers.

New for this year, the films will be available for screening on YouTube 24 hours after their festival premieres.

The full Short Cuts Canada lineup is as follows:

  • A Grand Canal Johnny Ma, 19′ World Premiere
  • A Time is a Terrible Thing to Waste Leslie Supnet, 3′ Toronto Premiere
  • An Extraordinary Person (Une Personne extraordinaire) Monia Chokri, 30′ North American Premiere
  • Anatomy of Assistance Cory Bowles, 13′ World Premiere
  • Beasts in the Real World Sol Friedman, 8′ World Premiere
  • Candy Cassandra Cronenberg, 8′ World Premiere
  • The Chaperone 3D Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone, 11′ World Premiere
  • Cochemare Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis, 12′ North American Premiere
  • CRIME: Joe Loya – The Beirut Bandit Alix Lambert and Sam Chou, 2′ World Premiere
  • Daybreak (Éclat du jour) Ian Lagarde, 11′ World Premiere
  • Der Untermensch Kays Mejri, 9′ World Premiere
  • Drop Chris Goldade, 12′ World Premiere
  • The End of Pinky Claire Blanchet, 8′ World Premiere
  • Firecrackers Jasmin Mozaffari, 15′ World Premiere
  • Foreclosure Wayne Robinson, 13′ World Premiere
  • Gloria Victoria Theodore Ushev, 7′ North American Premiere
  • Impromptu Bruce Alcock, 10′ World Premiere
  • In Guns We Trust Nicolas Lévesque, 12′ North American Premiere
  • Jimbo Ryan Flowers, 25′ World Premiere
  • Lay Over Jordan Hayes, 13′ World Premiere
  • Method Gregory Smith, 8′ World Premiere
  • Noah Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg, 17′ World Premiere
  • Nous Avions Stéphane Moukarzel, 18′ World Premiere
  • Numbers & Friends Alexander Carson, 7′ World Premiere
  • Out Jeremy Lalonde, 9′ World Premiere
  • Paradise Falls Fantavious Fritz, 17′ World Premiere
  • Paradiso Devan Scott, 13′ World Premiere
  • Pilgrims Marie Clements, 8′ World Premiere
  • Portrait as a Random Act of Violence Randall Okita, 4′ Toronto Premiere
  • Relax, I’m From the Future Luke Higginson, 5′ World Premiere
  • Remember Me (Mémorable moi) Jean-Francois Asselin, 15′ Canadian Premiere
  • Roland Trevor Cornish, 11′ World Premiere
  • Sam’s Formalwear Yael Staav, 15′ World Premiere
  • Seasick Eva Cvijanovic, 3′ World Premiere
  • The Sparkling River Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël, 18′ World Premiere
  • Subconscious Password Chris Landreth, 11′ Canadian Premiere
  • We Wanted More Stephen Dunn, 15′ World Premiere
  • Yellowhead Kevan Funk, 19′ World Premiere
  • Young Wonder James Wilkes, 6′ World Premiere