Festivals & events
22 August 2018 à 16:11
French films at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018
28 French or majority French productions (18 features, including a series, and 10 shorts) will be presented at the 43th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the biggest film festival in the American continent, whose upcoming edition runs from September 6 through 16. Further proof of the tremendous and unique presence of French cinema on the international scene.
With 28 French films or majority French coproductions (17 features and a series, and 10 short films) in the different sections, TIFF pays tribute to the diversity of talents and the vibrancy of French cinema. Although some directors in the lineup can be considered regulars (Olivier Assayas, Jacques Audiard, Mia Hansen-Løve, Louis Garrel, and Gaspar Noé), others, such as Tom Volf, and the duo Caroline Poggi/Jonathan Vinel, are making their debut.
Fifty French artists will be present at this edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, among whom Olivier Assayas, Mia Hansen-Love, Eva Husson, Jacques Audiard and his actors Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly, Louis Garrel, Laetitia Casta, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Mouret, Golshifteh Farahani, Rithy Panh, Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel, and Sébastien Betbeder. They will also be joined by Thomas Cailley and Garance Marillier for the Ad Vitam series, and by Claire Denis (High Life), (Mélanie Laurent (Galveston), and Léa Seydoux (Kursk) for the non-French or minority French productions.
More than ever, women are central to the game
The presence of a large number of French women filmmakers in the selections is a reminder about the specificity of the French film industry, a pioneer in an international domain where men are still essentially dominant.
This fight for freedom and the rights of women is now more crucial than ever, and it is probably no coincidence that women have a strong presence in the French titles in TIFF this year, both behind and in front of the camera. Whether it is do with the physical commitment of the Girls Of The Sun by Eva Husson, or an existential journey in India for the heroine of Maya by Mia Hansen-Løve, women are central to the French cinema of the 2018 edition. They play an important part in the history of the country (Mademoiselle de Joncquières by Emmanuel Mouret), and could well control the future (Jessica Forever by Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel). In Sibel by Çagla Zencirci & Guillaume Giovanetti, a young mute woman, in the Turkish mountains, tries to make herself heard. When it comes to Tom Volf, in Maria by Callas he brings to life a myth that relates as much to freedom and femininity as to artistic talent. Last, but not least, to pay homage to Claire Denis, a tutelary figure of French arthouse cinema, as well as the selection of her latest film, TIFF has invited her to give a master class and is featuring Chocolat in its TIFF Cinematheque section.
French animation drawn large
It is no accident that an animated film, the highly awaited Minuscule - Mandibles from Far Away, features in the Contemporary World Cinema, because French animation represents one of the great strengths of the country's national cinema. In 2014, the first episode, also made by Hélène Giraud and Thomas Szabo, generated $13 million at the international box office (outside France). We would also like to note that four of the seven French shorts in the official international selection (Short Cuts) are animated films.
A committed and international French lineup
French cinema's strength resides in its ability to open up to other cultures and throw a spotlight on them. Many films linked to France in terms of production reflect this diversity, whether it is do with the life of Thai villagers affected by the sudden arrival of refugees (Manta Ray by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng), or focuses on the traumatism caused by political and racial conflicts in China (Dead Souls by Wang Bing) and Cambodia (Graves Without a Name by Rithy Panh).
In a totally different tone, with The Sisters Brothers, Jacques Audiard revisits the Western genre with a manhunt in the Rocky Mountains.
UniFrance at TIFF / Market
With the French Lounges, operating on September 7 and 9, UniFrance organizes events dedicted to French artists, producers, and sales agents, which encourage networking with foreign media, festival selectors, and distributors present at the festival.
And, in keeping with tradition, UniFrance makes a space available to its members within the Film Market at the Hyatt Hotel. 20 French exporters will be present at the UniFrance stand this year. On Saturday September 8, UniFrance will host its traditional French Night, a gala bringing together the French film teams selected in the festival, along with producers, exporters, journalists, distributors, and international professionals.
- The UniFrance "French Films in Toronto" brochure may be downloaded below.
French Cinema at TIFF 2018, section by section
Masters
- Loro by Paolo Sorrentino (minority)
- The Image Book by Jean-Luc Godard (minority)
- The Wild Pear Tree by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (minority)
- Divine Winds by Merzak Allouache (minority)
- Ash Is Purest White by Jia Zhang-Ke (minority)
- Our Time (Was to Defend our Island) by Carlos Reygadas (minority)
Gala
- Everybody Knows by Asghar Farhadi (minority)
- High Life by Claire Denis (minority)
Platform
- Jessica Forever by Jonathan Vinel & Caroline Poggi
- Mademoiselle de Joncquières by Emmanuel Mouret
- Rojo by Benjamin Naishtat (minority)
- Cities of Last Things by Wi Ding Ho (minority)
Special Presentations
- The Sisters Brothers by Jacques Audiard
- Maya by Mia Hansen-Løve
- A Faithful Man by Louis Garrel
- Girls Of The Sun by Eva Husson
- Non-Fiction by Olivier Assayas
- Cold War by Pawel Pawlikowski (minority)
- Dogman by Matteo Garrone (minority)
- Mothers' Instinct by Olivier Masset-Depasse (minority)
- Sunset by László Nemes (minority)
- Manto by Nandita Das (minority)
- Vision by Naomi Kawase (minority)
Discovery
- Manta Ray by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
- The Mercy of the Jungle by Joël Karekezi (minority)
- Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie (minority)
- The Day I Lost my Shadow by Soudade Kaadan (minority)
- Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu (minority)
- Her Job by Nikos Labôt (minority)
- Tel Aviv on Fire by Sameh Zoabi (minority)
- A Woman at War by Benedikt Erlingsson (minority)
- Fig Tree by Alamork Davidian (minority)
Primetime
- Ad Vitam by Thomas Cailley (series)
TIFF Docs
- Graves Without a Name by Rithy Panh
- Maria by Callas by Tom Volf
- Searching for Ingmar Bergman by Margarethe Von Trotta (minority)
TIFF Cinematheque
Contemporary World Cinema
- Ulysses & Mona by Sébastien Betbeder
- Sibel by Çagla Zencirci & Guillaume Giovanetti
- Minuscule - Mandibles from Far Away by Hélène Giraud & Thomas Szabo
- Donbass by Sergei Loznitsa (minority)
- The Realm by Rodrigo Sorogoyen (minority)
- Look at Me by Nejib Belkadhi (minority)
- Asako I & II by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (minority)
- Birds of Passage by Ciro Guerra & Cristina Gallego (minority)
- The Black Book by Valeria Sarmiento (minority)
- The Factory by Yuri Bykov (minority)
- Quién te cantará by Carlos Vermut (minority)
- The Most Beautiful Couple by Sven Taddicken (minority)
- I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians by Radu Jude (minority)
- Florianópolis Dream by Ana Katz (minority)
Short Films - Short Cuts
- The Field by Sandhya Suri
- The Fall by Boris Labbé
- This Magnificent Cake! by Marc James Roels & Emma De Swaef
- Bavure by Donato Sansone
- The Foreign Body by Héctor Silva Nuñez
- Guaxuma by Nara Normande
- A Wedding Day by Elias Belkeddar
Wavelengths
- Dead Souls by Wang Bing
- What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire? by Roberto Minervini (minority)
- Long Day's Journey into Night by Bi Gan (minority)
Short Films - Wavelengths
- Blue by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Île d'Ouessant by David Dudouit
- The Labyrinth by Laura Huertas Millán
Midnight Madness
- Climax by Gaspar Noé
- Diamantino by Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt (minority)
The presence of French cinema at the Toronto International Film Festival receives valuable support from Lacoste, BNP Paribas, l'Alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, Air France, and Laurent-Perrier.
Latest update : 30 August 2018 à 16:11 CEST
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Linked to this news article
Linked films (66)
A Faithful Man
(2018)
A Wedding Day
(2018)
A Woman at War
(2017)
Asako I & II
(2018)
Ash Is Purest White
(2018)
Bavure
(2018)
Birds of Passage
(2018)
Blue
(2018)
Chocolat
(1988)
Cities of Last Things
(2018)
Climax
(2018)
Cold War
(2018)
Dead Souls
(2018)
Diamantino
(2017)
Divine Winds
(2018)
Dogman
(2018)
Donbass
(2018)
Everybody Knows
(2018)
Fig Tree
(2018)
Florianópolis Dream
(2018)
Girls Of The Sun
(2017)
Graves Without a Name
(2017)
Guaxuma
(2018)
Her Job
(2017)
High Life
(2018)
I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians
(2018)
Jessica Forever
(2018)
Long Day's Journey into Night
(2018)
Look at Me
(2018 - Post Production)
Loro
(2018)
Mademoiselle de Joncquières
(2017)
Manta Ray
(2018)
Manto
(2018)
Maria by Callas
(2017)
Maya
(2018)
Minuscule - Mandibles from Far Away
(2018)
Mothers' Instinct
(2017)
Non-Fiction
(2018)
Our Time (Was to Defend our Island)
(2018)
Quién te cantará
(2018)
Rafiki
(2018)
Rojo
(2018)
Searching for Ingmar Bergman
(2018)
Sibel
(2018)
Sunset
(2018)
Tel Aviv on Fire
(2017)
The Black Book
(2017)
The Day I Lost my Shadow
(2018 - Upcoming release)
The Factory
(2018)
The Fall
(2018)
The Field
(2017)
The Foreign Body
(2017)
The Image Book
(2016)
The Labyrinth
(2018)
The Mercy of the Jungle
(2018)
The Most Beautiful Couple
(2018 - Upcoming release)
The Passion of Joan of Arc
(1928)
The Realm
(2018)
The Sisters Brothers
(2018)
The Wild Pear Tree
(2017)
This Magnificent Cake!
(2018)
Touch Me Not
(2018)
Ulysses & Mona
(2018)
Vision
(2018)
What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?
(2018)
Île d'Ouessant
(2010)
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Linked individuals (80)
Gabriel Abrantes
Merzak Allouache
Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Olivier Assayas
Jacques Audiard
Nejib Belkadhi
Elias Belkeddar
Sébastien Betbeder
Wang Bing
Yuri Bykov
Thomas Cailley
Laetitia Casta
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nandita Das
Alamork Davidian
Claire Denis
Lily-Rose Depp
Emma De Swaef
Wi Ding Ho
Carl Theodor Dreyer
David Dudouit
Benedikt Erlingsson
Golshifteh Farahani
Asghar Farhadi
Cristina Gallego
Bi Gan
Louis Garrel
Matteo Garrone
Guillaume Giovanetti
Hélène Giraud
Jean-Luc Godard
Ciro Guerra
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Mia Hansen-Løve
Laura Huertas Millán
Eva Husson
Radu Jude
Soudade Kaadan
Wanuri Kahiu
Joël Karekezi
Ana Katz
Naomi Kawase
Boris Labbé
Nikos Labôt
Mélanie Laurent
Sergei Loznitsa
Garance Marillier
Olivier Masset-Depasse
Roberto Minervini
Emmanuel Mouret
Benjamin Naishtat
László Nemes
Gaspar Noé
Nara Normande
Rithy Panh
Pawel Pawlikowski
Joaquin Phoenix
Adina Pintilie
Caroline Poggi
John C. Reilly
Carlos Reygadas
Marc James Roels
Donato Sansone
Valeria Sarmiento
Daniel Schmidt
Léa Seydoux
Héctor Silva Nuñez
Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Paolo Sorrentino
Sandhya Suri
Thomas Szabo
Sven Taddicken
Carlos Vermut
Jonathan Vinel
Tom Volf
Margarethe Von Trotta
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Çagla Zencirci
Jia Zhang-Ke
Sameh Zoabi
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