TIFF Announces Gala and Special Presentation Films, 30 Percent Are Directed by Women

New films from Sarah Polley, Catherine Hardwicke, and Alice Winocour will join Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers,” Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy,” Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” and Sanaa Lathan’s “On the Come Up” in Toronto. TIFF has unveiled...

FrankLin

Jul 29, 2022 - 21:01

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Festivals

TIFF Announces Gala and Special Presentation Films, 30 Percent Are Directed by Women

Nikyatu Jusu's "Nanny" will screen: TIFF

New films from Sarah Polley, Catherine Hardwicke, and Alice Winocour will join Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers,” Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy,” Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” and Sanaa Lathan’s “On the Come Up” in Toronto. TIFF has unveiled its Gala Presentation and Special Presentation slates via a press release. Overall, of the 63 films announced, women directed 19, amounting to about 30 percent — a figure that slightly improves upon last year’s but is still somewhat disappointing considering the festival’s recent track record across its lineups.

Seven of the 18 Gala Presentations are helmed by women, or 39 percent. Among them is “Alice, Darling,” a thriller starring Anna Kendrick and Wunmi Mosaku from Mary Nighy. Winocour’s “Paris Memories,” an exploration of trauma’s impact on our recollections, will also screen, as will Hardwicke’s “Prisoner’s Daughter,” which sees a dying ex-con attempting to reconnect with his adult daughter and bond with the grandson he’s never met.

Women directed 12 of the 45 Special Presentation films, or approximately 27 percent. Polley’s star-studded adaptation of the Miriam Toews bestseller “Women Talking” will make its international premiere in the section. Starring Frances McDormand, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, and Jessie Buckley, it’s the story of a group of Mennonite women grappling with their faith in the wake of a series of sexual assaults.

Other Special Presentations include Lila Neugebauer’s “Causeway” and Nikyatu Jusu’s Sundance award-winning “Nanny.” The former, starring Jennifer Lawrence, is a portrait of a soldier struggling to reacclimate to civilian life, and the latter is a horror pic centering on a Senegalese immigrant working as a nanny to a white family while waiting for her son to arrive. Kathlyn Horan’s documentary “The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile,” a tribute to trailblazing country music star Tucker and a chronicle of her collaboration with Carlile, will screen as Special Presentation as well.

TIFF 2022 will take place September 8-18. All of the women-directed Galas and Special Presentations are below. List adapted from TIFF.

GALA PRESENTATIONS

Alice, Darling Mary Nighy | Canada, USA
World Premiere

The Hummingbird Francesca Archibugi | Italy, France
World Premiere

Paris Memories Alice Winocour | France
North American Premiere

Prisoner’s Daughter Catherine Hardwicke | USA
World Premiere

Roost Amy Redford | USA
World Premiere

*Opening Night Film*
The Swimmers Sally El Hosaini | United Kingdom
World Premiere

The Woman King Gina Prince-Bythewood | USA
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

The Blue Caftan Maryam Touzani | Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark
North American Premiere

Catherine Called Birdy Lena Dunham | United Kingdom
World Premiere