Tragically Hip, Tanya Talaga docuseries to premiere at TIFF

TIFF revealed the selections for its Primetime and Short Cuts programmes, with several Canadian shorts making their world bows.

Prime Video’s documentary series on the Tragically Hip and Tanya Talaga’s upcoming CBC docuseries will make their world premieres as part of the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Primetime lineup.

The Festival rounded out its programming announcements for the week with the unveiling of its Primetime and Short Cuts selections, with a number of Canadian projects among them.

The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal (pictured) is directed and produced by Mike Downie via his Kingston, Ont. banner Courage Films. Jake Gold serves as executive producer.

The docuseries includes personal and archival footage of the famed Canadian band, including previously unseen footage and unreleased songs. It was first announced as a Prime Video Canadian original series in 2022.

The Tragically Hip was fronted by the late singer and lyricist Gord Downie until his death in 2017, which was preceded by a cross-Canada tour in 2016. The tour was depicted in the 2017 documentary Long Time Running (Banger Films), which also debuted at TIFF.

Also premiering in the Primetime programme is The Knowing (Makwa Creative), a four-part docuseries co-directed and produced by Talaga, based on her book of the same name. Courtney Montour also directed the series.

The Knowing shows Talaga searching for records of her family matriarch and her discovery of ties to Canada’s residential school system. It was first announced as part of CBC’s 2024-25 broadcast season during the upfronts in June.

There are more than a dozen Canadian short films making their world premiere in the Short Cuts programme.

Among the highlights are Fantas from Halima Elkhatabi, who is also debuting the NFB documentary Living Together in TIFF’s Docs programme; Mercenaire from CSA-nominated Richelieu filmmaker Pier-Philippe Chevigny; Julian and the Wind from Toronto actor Connor Jessup; and Before They Joined Us, from Arshile Khanjian Egoyan, the son of director Atom Egoyan.

Other Canadian shorts making their world premiere include welima’q from shalan joudry; Alexander Farah’s One Day This Kid; Serve the Country from Fabián Velasco and Miloš Mitrović; Amanda Strong’s Inkwo for When the Starving Return; and Alicia K. Harris’s On a Sunday at Eleven.

Rounding out the debut Canadian shorts are Rachel Samson’s Out for Ice Cream; Ian Bawa’s The Best; Solemates from James Rathbone and Mike Feswick; Omolola Ajao’s After Sunday; Catherine Boivin Anotc ota ickwaparin akosiin; and Helen Lee’s Canada/South Korea short Tenderness.

The jury for the 2024 Short Cuts programme are filmmaker Luis De Filippis (Something You Said Last Night), CBC development manager Micah Kernan and TVO documentary programmer Shane Smith.

TIFF runs from Sept. 5 to 15.

Image courtesy of Prime Video