Noah’s TIFF 2010 picks

Since the 30 films already picked by Will and Shelagh only represent about 10% of what’s shaping up to be another great program at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, it wasn’t hard for me to find 10 more that I think are worth checking out. The lineups have been crazy and of course advance tickets for most of the popular titles have long sold out, but you can always try rush lines the day of the screening, or try your luck on Craigslist.

Fubar II


Michael Dowse, Canada

I’m surprised that I am the first to mention this long awaited Canadian sequel which I have on good authority does not disappoint. This movie kicks off Midnight Madness tonight, giving people time to shotgun a few pilsners before reuniting with Terry, Dean and Tron—Word has it that the right bar to party after Fubar tonight is Wrong Bar.

See the trailer here.
More info here.

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See the rest of Noah’s TIFF 2010 Picks after the jump.

The Illusionist

Sylvain Chomet, UK

Anybody who saw 2003’s Triplettes of Belleville knows that it achieved a style rarely seen these days. Sylvain Chomet follows that up with another hand drawn creation, the story of which is based on an unproduced Jacques Tati script. This one is not to be missed.

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See the trailer here.
More info here.

Real to Reel

This program always has an excellent selection of non-fiction films. These four look more than promising.

Boxing Gym

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Frederick Wiseman, USA

Frederick Wiseman, the man who has directed nearly forty feature documentaries over the last 50 years does not seem to be slowing down. He’s let us be a fly on the wall in High School, Juvenile Court, Basic Training and now takes us into Boxing Gym. Perhaps inspired by his subject, Wiseman trimmed down this feature to about half his usual running length of three hours.

See the trailer here.
More info here.

Tabloid

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Errol Morris, USA

I can only describe the write-up for this film in the festival program as ‘titillating.’  You don’t have to have seen Errol Morris’s films to know that he is one of the most respected documentary filmmakers working today.

More info here.

How to Start Your Own Country

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Jody Shapiro, Canada

Here we have a Canadian-made documentary that examines several communities around the world who identify themselves as sovereign nations, even if those around them usually do not. 90% of a good documentary is finding the right subject, and this one already has my interest.

More info here.

Armadillo

Janus Metz, Denmark

A controversial war doc from Denmark that did very well at Cannes certainly sounds worth a gander to me. This is one of those titles that you may not see distributed in North America for a long time to come, if ever.

See the trailer here.
More info here.

Peep World

Barry Blaustein, USA

This is likely the only film in the ‘Gala’ series that I’ll be seeing. To be honest, I know very little about it, but seeing Michael C. Hall, Rainn Wilson, Sarah Silverman and Steven Tobolowsky play members of a dysfunctional family is definitely worth a shot.

More info here.

Easy Money (Snabba Cash)

Daniel Espinosa, Sweden

I’m not sure why I have a good feeling about this one. Maybe it’s because I like the crime genre or because it seems like there’s a lot of good stuff coming out of Sweden these days. The title in its native tongue is printed as ‘Snabba Cash’ which I think could be adopted into Canadian slang (meaning ‘easy money’) if this movie ever gets big here. “I think I’m going to join a medical testing group. They basically pay you to sign a waiver and swallow some pills, it’s total snabba cash.”

See the trailer here.
More info here.

Lapland Odyssey

Dome Karukoski, Finland

Described as the “not-too-distant cousin of Fubar and Harold and Kumar,” I feel as though this Finnish/English/Swedish/Russian co-production may be another of those ‘see it while you can’ festival opportunities. I’m quite curious to see what antics these young slackers living in Finland’s far North can get up to.

See the trailer here.
More info here.

Short Cuts Canada

Living History directed by Isaac Cravit

The obvious stepping stone for any young Canadian filmmaker hoping to get into the business is getting a short film into TIFF.  As an aspiring filmmaker myself, I look forward to seeing where the bar has been set. I’ve actually never attended one of their short programs before, so I can only imagine the excitement and nerves that must be buzzing about with so many people exhibiting their work in such a high profile event for the first time.

More info here.



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