French cinema at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019

22 AUGUST 2019

34 French or majority French films (26 features and 8 shorts, as well as a series) will be presented at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival, the largest film festival on the American continent, whose latest edition will take place from September 5 through 15. An excellent year for French cinema on this preminent stage of world cinema.

With 34 French or majority French coproduction titles (26 features, 8 shorts), as well as a series presented in its various sections, TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) pays homage, even more than during previous editions, to the diversity of talents and vast range of French cinema. Although some directors present in the selection are TIFF veterans (Olivier Assayas, Alice Winocour, Albert Serra), others will be attending for the first time, notably Ladj Ly, Mati Diop, and Justine Triet.

Thirty French artists (or people linked to French films) have already confirmed their presence, including: Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Assayas, Ladj Ly, Nicolas Bedos, Céline Sciamma, Justine Triet, Alice Winocour, Noémie Merlant, Rebecca Zlotowski, Adèle Haenel, Mati Diop, Éric Baudelaire, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmèche, Doria Tillier, Ira Sachs, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Atiq Rahimi, Albert Serra, Barbara Sukowa...

The new generation of French women filmmakers boasts a strong presence

This 2019 of TIFF brings together five of the most important French women filmmakers on the international scene, recalling once again the specificity of our industry, a pioneer on the international film stage which remains very male dominated. Hence, Céline Sciamma, Justine Triet, Alice Winocour, Rebecca Zlotowski, and Mati Diop will gather together under the titular shadow of Agnès Varda, without forgetting Manele Labidi, Rubaiyat Hossain, and Hind Meddeb, as well as the five women short filmmakers (out of 8 shorts presented).
With a view to attaining gender parity, TIFF is especially attentive to ensuring that women's voices are heard during the festival's 10 days, notably via the Share Her Journey program created last year and intended to run for five years.

A politically engaged and international French line-up

The power of French cinema also lies in its ability to be open to other cultures and to put them in the spotlight. Many films linked to France in terms of production reflect this diversity, whether they are about working conditions in the textile industry in Bangladesh (Made in Bangladesh by Rubaiyat Hossain) or about political antagonisms in the Rwanda of 1974 (Our Lady of the Nile by Atiq Rahimi).
In an entirely different register, the Italian Filippo Meneghetti recounts, in Two of Us, the love story between two retired women and whose hidden life is revealed little by little.

UniFrance at TIFF / Film Market

As is the case every year, UniFrance provides its members with a dedicated stand within the Film Market at the Hyatt Hotel. 21 French exporters will be present this year at the UniFrance stand.

Exporters present:

On Saturday, September 7, UniFrance will organize its traditional French Night, an event bringing together the crews and talents of the French films selected, along with international producers, exporters, distributors, and film industry professionals.

Last but not least, with the French Lounges, which will take place on September 6 and 8, UniFrance organizes events dedicated to artists, producers, and sales agents, aimed at encouraging networking with the media, festival programmers, and foreign distributors attending TIFF.