The crop of Canadian films debuting at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) represent a generation of domestic filmmakers unafraid to play within genre and narrative structures, says TIFF’s Canadian programmers.

Between a modern take on a 1774 German novella, a prescient post-apocalyptic story out of Canada and a universe-bending saga filmed without the use of CGI, audiences will see a variety of perspectives during this year’s TIFF, which opens today (Sept. 5). And it’s something programmers expect buyers will take notice of as well.

“There’s so much creativity behind a lot of these film ideas,” Kelly Boutsalis, associate programmer, international, Canadian features, tells Playback Daily.

Among the highlights for Boutsalis is José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço’s Young Werther (Wildling Pictures; pictured), which will world premiere as a Special Presentation. The film is based on the 1774 novella The Sorrows of Young Werther, about a young man dealing with unrequited love.

The film takes place in modern day Toronto, starring Douglas Booth and Alison Pill. “It’s this zippy rom-com, it’s bright and funny, and I’m excited by that,” says Boutsalis.

As Norm Wilner, senior international programmer for Canada and industry selects lead, sees it, there’s a “genre fluidity” happening across the lineup, where directors play within different genres to bring audiences something new. “There’s a generation that’s grown up with the language of genre that I find really interesting,” he says.

In the case of Young Werther, Lourenço takes a “stuffy literary classic and then breaks it open to show you that these people actually have hearts and concerns,” says Wilner.

Boutsalis says Young Werther is also part of a robust number of romantic films out of Canada this year, including Platform selection Paying For It (Wildling Pictures, Hawkeye Pictures) from director Sook-Yin Lee. The film is based on the 2011 autobiographical graphic novel from Chester Brown, about his experience as a sex worker after the end of his relationship with Lee.

The personal nature of the film sees Lee “interrogating her own actions as much as Chester Brown is,” according to Wilner.

The programmers also noted the level of experimentation and exploration of perspectives in the Canadian lineup, highlighting debut features from filmmakers such as R.T. Thorne, Kaniehtiio Horn and Arianna Martinez, all premiering in the Discovery section.

Thorne’s 40 Acres (Hungry Eyes Media) is set in a post-apocalyptic world where food is scarce, and a family of Black farmers must protect their land. Wilner says the film is incredibly relevant to the present day and includes a memorable performance from Saskatchewan-born actor Michael Greyeyes.

Horn will make her film debut with Seeds (Carpe Dee Yum Productions), which Wilner describes as “half a buddy comedy and half an Indigenous remake of [1991 horror film] Clearcut.” The film has some direct nods to the ’90s horror, such as the casting of Graham Greene, who plays a similar character to his original starring role.

Wilner also praised the performance of St. John’s actor Caroline Bell in Martinez’s Do I Know You From Somewhere? (Strike Pictures), a stage performer making her film debut. The film follows a couple who become aware that their lives are part of a shifting reality, played by Bell and Ian Ottis Goff.

“People are telling their own stories at a level that maybe they haven’t been afforded before,” says Wilner. “I think the best thing about this is most of these films are going to get theatrical releases too; they’re not just going to disappear, which for Canadian films has often been a problem.”

A number of selected features already have Canadian distribution. Elevation Pictures is distributing Shook, as well as Jason Buxton’s Sharp Corner (Alcina Pictures, Shut Up & Colour Pictures, Kobalt Films, Workhorse Pictures), Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse (Babe Nation Films, Elevation Pictures, Barry Films) and Guy Maddin’s co-directed Rumours (Buffalo Gal Pictures, Maze Pictures, Square Peg Films); levelFILM is handling distribution for Seeds, Young Werther, Village Keeper and the English Canada release of Canada’s Oscar selection Universal Language (Metafilms); while 40 Acres is being distributed by Mongrel Media.

The films also represent an embrace of more Canadian on-screen talent, according to the programmers, who also mentioned stellar domestic casts in Karen Chapman’s Village Keeper (Smallaxx Motion Pictures) and Amar Wala’s Shook (Scarborough Pictures, Film Forge).

“I think we’re in a place where we can compete on an even footing [internationally] with the stories we’re telling and the way that we’re telling them,” says Wilner. “We don’t have a massive studio system, and that’s still true, but I think it no longer sounds like an excuse now. We have genuine talent in front of and behind the camera.”

TIFF runs until Sept. 15.

Image courtesy of Wildling Pictures