Nearly 50 French films or co-productions, both shorts and features, in all sections, will be presented at the 49th edition of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), North America's largest film festival and film market, taking place in the Canadian metropolis from September 5 to 15.
For its 49th edition, TIFF, a major international cinema event, will present the world premieres of several French titles: Meet The Barbarians by Julie Delpy (in her presence, accompanied by Sandrine Kiberlain) presented in the prestigious Gala selection, Une part manquante by Guillaume Senez (in his presence), Jane Austen a gâché ma vie by Laura Piani (both in the Centrepiece section), Hiver à Sokcho by Koya Kamura (in Platform, the festival's only competitive strand) and Else by Thibault Emin in Midnight Madness.
And like every year, TIFF will also be the occasion for the North American premiere of many films discovered at Cannes (Emilia Perez, Misericordia, All We Imagine as Light, Ernest Cole, Lost and Found, The Story of Souleymane) or Venice a few days earlier (Little Jaffna, Youth (Homecoming))
The artistic delegation
For the French films or majority-French co-productions, the filmmakers Lawrence Valin, Laura Piani, Thibault Emin and Raoul Peck will travel to Toronto, and Juliette Binoche will present the minority-French co-production The Return.
Two French filmmakers will be presenting American films: Coralie Fargeat, the recipient of the Best Screenplay award at this year's Cannes Film Festival for The Substance, and Fleur Fortuné for The Assessment, her debut feature, while Reda Kateb will also attend for the Danish film The Quiet Ones.
A large number of French professionals will also be attending the film market, as part of TIFF Industry.
Unifrance at TIFF
This year, Unifrance returns to the Fifth Social Club on the evening of Saturday September 7 for its traditional French Night, an evening bringing together the teams of selected French films, producers, exporters, distributors, and international professionals, and organized in partnership with BNP Paribas.
Unifrance will also be hosting a dinner with French artists to encourage networking with North American professionals and journalists.
Finally, a masterclass with directors Julie Delpy and Louise Archambault will be held on September 8. This masterclass is organised by the Consulate General of France in Toronto, the Directors Guild of Canada and Unifrance, in collaboration with OCAD University.
Unifrance's presence at TIFF is supported by the French Government, CNC, PROCIREP, and BNP Paribas.
All the French films presented at the 49th TIFF
Gala
- Meet The Barbarians by Julie Delpy
- The Shrouds by David Cronenberg
- The Return by Uberto Pasolini (minority-French co-production)
Special Presentations
- Emilia Perez by Jacques Audiard
- Misericordia by Alain Guiraudie
- Dahomey by Mati Diop
- All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia
- Shepherds by Sophie Deraspe (minority-French co-production)
- Bird by Andrea Arnold (minority-French co-production)
- Vermiglio ou La Mariée des montagnes by Maura Delpero (minority-French co-production)
- Je suis encore là by Walter Salles (minority-French co-production)
Discovery
- Little Jaffna by Lawrence Valin
- Horizon by César Augusto Acevedo (minority-French co-production)
- The Quiet Ones by Frederik Louis Hviid (minority-French co-production)
Documentary
- Sudan, Remember Us by Hind Meddeb
- Russians at War by Anastasia Trofimova
- Ernest Cole, Lost and Found by Raoul Peck
- A Sister's Tale by Leila Amini (French co-production share not specified)
Midnight Madness
Wavelengths
- Youth (Homecoming) by Wang Bing
- Youth (Hard Times) by Wang Bing
- Viet and Nam by Minh Quý Trương (French co-production share not specified)
- Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes (minority-French co-production)
- Perfumed with Mint by Muhammed Hamdy (minority-French co-production)
Platform
Centrepiece
- Une part manquante by Guillaume Senez
- Jane Austen a gâché ma vie by Laura Piani
- The Story of Souleymane by Boris Lojkine
- April by Dea Kulumbegashvili (French co-production share not specified)
- Front Row by Merzak Allouache (French co-production share not specified)
- Crocodile Tears by Tumpal Tampubolon (French co-production share not specified)
- Flow by Gints Zilbalodis (minority-French co-production)
- Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti (minority-French co-production)
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof (minority-French co-production)
- My Sunshine by Hiroshi Okuyama (French co-production share not specified)
- Santosh by Sandhya Suri (French co-production share not specified)
- The Village Next to Paradise by Mo Harawe (French co-production share not specified)
- To a Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel (French co-production share not specified)
- When the Light Breaks by Rúnar Rúnarsson (minority-French co-production)
Short films - Short Cuts
- A Son & a Father by Andrés Ramírez Pulido
- Alazar by Beza Hailu Lemma
- Percebes by Alexandra Ramires, Laura Gonçalves
- La Voix des sirènes by Gianluigi Toccafondo
- Marion by Joe Wieland and Finn Constantine
- The Man Who Couldn't Remain Silent by Nebojša Slijepčević
- Aïda Neither by Élisa Gilmour