41 films (13 of which are world premieres), 50 artists and 35 exporters: a record-breaking French presence at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), which will take place September 4 through 14, 2014.
Each year, the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) increasingly shows its affection for French cinema. With 41, 100% French or majority French films in terms of production (36 features and 5 shorts) in the lineup, the 2014 French selection at this major cinema event establishes a record (with a delegation of 50 artists). And if we include the minority productions, 14 extra films need to added.
Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey, respectively CEO and artistic director of the festival, which celebrates its 39th edition this year, tell us that "French cinema continues to be one of the dominant voices in the world of international cinema as their filmmakers are unafraid to deal with a wide variety of subjects in a manner that is both provocative and entertaining."
A not-to-be-missed showcase launching the beginning of the film festival year, the Toronto International Film Festival will also host 13 French film world premieres, in the presence of members of cast and crew. UniFrance Films is thrilled by this exceptional selection bringing together established masters and new talents, accompanied by the huge presence of French exporters who will present their films in the festival's ten screening venues.
Olivier Assayas and Juliette Binoche for Clouds of Sils Maria; François Ozon and Anaïs Demoustier for The New Girlfriend; Pascale Ferran for Bird People; Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Omar Sy, Tahar Rahim, and Charlotte Gainsbourg for Samba; Cédric Jimenez, Jean Dujardin, and Gilles Lellouche for The Connection; Michel Hazanavicius et Bérénice Bejo for The Search; Anne Fontaine and Gemma Arterton for Gemma Bovery; David Oelhoffen, Viggo Mortensen, and Reda Kateb for Far From Men; Mia Hansen-Løve and Félix de Givry for Eden, to mention just a few, have confirmed they'll be attending.
Most will meet international distributors and industry professionals, accompanied by French exporters, on September 6 during an evening event organized by UniFrance Films.
French cinema will also be much in evidence at three other events:
A masterclass with Juliette Binoche organized for September 6 at the Glenn Gould Studio.
A tribute to Pascale Ferran organized at the Alliance Française of Toronto, with a retrospective on September 2 and 4, and a masterclass on September 7.
The TIFF Talent Lab, a professional workshop aimed at young international directors, co-directed by Claire Denis, who will also come to the festival to present a new short film. Joan Chemla is the young French director who will be participating in the TIFF Talent Lab 2014
Jean-Paul Salomé and Isabelle Giordano, president and general director of Unifrance, will be present, accompanied by the UniFrance Film teams responsible for the Canadian and American territories. Responsible for promoting French cinema worldwide, UniFrance offers French film exporters a dedicated zone in the TIFF film market so as to facilitate their meetings with international distributors.
It should be noted that 35 French film companies dealing with world sales will be present this year in Toronto: Agat Films - Ex nihilo, BAC Films, Capricci, Coproduction Office, Doc & Film International, Elle Driver, EuropaCorp, Playtime, Films Transit International, Funny Balloons, Gaumont, Iliade et Films, Indie Sales, Kinology, Le Pacte, Les Films du Losange, Mantarraya Producciones, Memento International, mk2 films, Other Angle Pictures, Pathé Production, Premium Films, Pyramide International, SND, STUDIOCANAL, Takami Productions, Newen Connect a TF1 Group Company, The Bureau, Urban Sales, Velvet Film, Versatile, Wide, Wide, Goodfellas (ex-Wild Bunch International), Zadig Productions.
In 2013, North America represented the leading market (outside Europe) for French film, with 8.44 million admissions and revenues of 50 million euros (USA & English-speaking Canada + Quebec). French films register their highest admission figures in the United States and English-speaking Canada.
The UniFrance Films/Toronto 2014 catalog can be downloaded as a PDF below.
French films or majority French co-productions selected for TIFF 2014.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
3 Hearts by Benoit Jacquot
Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas
Eden by Mia Hansen-Løve
Far From Men by David Oelhoffen
Gemma Bovery by Anne Fontaine
Pasolini by Abel Ferrara
Return to Ithaca by Laurent Cantet
The Gate by Régis Wargnier
The Search by Michel Hazanavicius
GALA
Escobar: Paradise Lost by Andrea di Stefano
The Connection by Cédric Jimenez
Samba by Éric Toledano & Olivier Nakache
The New Girlfriend by François Ozon
CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
High Society by Julie Lopes Curval
Bird People by Pascale Ferran
Breathe by Mélanie Laurent
Don't Breathe by Nino Kirtadze
Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem by Ronit Elkabetz & Shlomi Elkabetz
Girlhood by Céline Sciamma
Li'l Quinquin by Bruno Dumont
Not My Type by Lucas Belvaux
Red Rose by Sepideh Farsi
WAVELENGTHS
Journey to the West by
La Sapienza by Eugène Green
Letters to Max by Éric Baudelaire
Under a Changing Sky by Jean-Claude Rousseau (short film)
MASTERS
Goodbye to Language by Jean-Luc Godard
Murder in Pacot by Raoul Peck
Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako
DISCOVERY
May Allah bless France by Abd al Malik
Run by Philippe Lacôte
The Great Man by Sarah Leonor
TIFF DOCS
National Gallery by Frederick Wiseman
National Diploma by Dieudo Hamadi
Natural Resistance by Jonathan Nossiter
Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait by Ossama Mohammed & Wiam Simav Bedirxan
This Is My Land by Tamara Erde
SHORTS COMPETITION
8 Bullets by Frank Ternier
A Single Body by Sotiris Dounoukos
Aïssa by Clément Tréhin-Lalanne
Voilà l'enchaînement by Claire Denis
