For No Good Reason Mavericks Director: Charlie Paul Best known for his hallucinatory drawings that somehow managed to visualize the unique madness inside the mind of Hunter S. Thompson, Ralph Steadman has for years remained somewhat of a mystery. His artwork is iconic, yet the man behind the inkblots tends to stay out of limelight […]
Jodorowsky’s Dune TIFF Docs Director: Frank Pavich Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune is one of those legendary unmade projects. An epic sci-fi adventure developed before Star Wars and directed by one of cinema’s greatest eccentrics that would have promised such bizarre sights as Salvador Dali playing the emperor of the universe and bio-gothic designs from HR Giger […]
Closed Curtain Masters Director: Jafar Panahi If This Is Not a Film lived up to its title by logically examining how the language of filmmaking changes when one, by law, cannot make films anymore, Closed Curtain responds to the director’s harsh sentencing to house arrest emotionally. The camera’s first shot looks out over a series […]
Manakamana Wavelengths Directors: Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez The latest from the Sensory Ethnography Laboratory at Harvard is less sensory and less ethnographic than its recent Leviathan. Rather, this collection of static long takes that ride cable to and from the Nepalese, mountaintop Hindu temple that gives the film its name plays out as a […]
A Field in England Wavelengths Director: Ben Wheatley The field in question of Ben Wheatley’s new film is quintessentially English: all chilled vegetation and smoky mist. In other words, it’s plenty bleak and disquieting without the aid of digital monochrome and arrhythmic editing. But it certainly helps, and A Field in England plays its spare […]
Gabrielle Special Presentation Director: Louise Archambault Quebecois director Louise Archambault tackles the delicate subject matter of a young woman with developmental disabilities trying to secure her independence. Newcomer Gabrielle Marion-Rivard plays the lead who deals with Williams Syndrome in real life. She’s a likable, warm-hearted individual falling in love with Martin, a fellow member of […]
The Invisible Woman Special Presentation Director: Ralph Fiennes Based on Claire Tomalin’s novel, and bursting with beautiful costumes shot in natural light, The Invisible Woman examines the quiet, but newsworthy affair between author Charles Dickens and Ellen “Nelly” Ternan. Assuming a dual role as leading man and director, Ralph Fiennes keeps things very Victorian and […]
The first batch of films for this year's Toronto International Film Festival were announced this morning - including opening night film The Fifth Estate - and here's a look at what cinephiles have to look forward to starting this September the 5th.
