TIFF Unveil's Platform Line-up with Riz Ahmed as Jury Head

Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed will lead the Platform jury at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF announced today that the Sound of Metal star would headline the jury for the festival’s prestigious competitive line-up. Ahmed’s Sound of Metal world premiered in TIFF’s 2019 Platform comp. It went on to score six Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor, winning for editing and sound. Ahmed will be at this year’s festival with Encounter, directed by Platform alum Michael Pearce (Beast).

“I am honoured to be named president of the Platform jury at TIFF this year and to be a part of TIFF with Encounter,” said Ahmed in a statement from the festival. “TIFF has always been a festival that showcases bold and daring cinema on a global stage. Its commitment to celebrating small independent films, like Sound of Metal, has had such a significant impact on my career and many others. I’m looking forward to watching all of this year’s selections and working alongside my fellow jury members.”

“It’s a pleasure for TIFF to provide the Platform programme as a stage that celebrates brilliant filmmakers. We’re certain that TIFF audiences will be pleasantly surprised with their unique approach to cinematic expression,” said Joana Vicente and Cameron Bailey, TIFF Co-Heads, via a release. “Sound of Metal had its world premiere at TIFF and was part of Platform’s 2019 lineup. Having Riz Ahmed join as Head of the 2021 Platform competition jury is a huge privilege.”

Platform Line-up

This year’s Platform competition includes some Canadian content with Ivan Grbovic’s Drunken Birds. The competition also features Laurent Cantet, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for The Class, and Montana Story by What Maisie Knew duo Scott McGehee and David Siegel. In a first, the festival welcomes director Kamila Andini back to the competition after her The Seen and the Unseen screened at Platform 2017.

TIFF also announced a few more major titles that should ease concerns that the festival is losing its lustre this year. Among the highlights is Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as the late Princess of Wales in a biopic by Jackie director Pablo Larraín. (Who won the festival’s 2016 competition, adding to today’s highly Platformable news.) Spencer gets its Canadian premiere at TIFF after stops in Venice and, presumably, Telluride. Spencer will screen as a “Special Event,” as will Cannes favourites Memoria and A Hero. World premiering in the Gala line-up is the newly announced The Forgiven, based on the acclaimed novel and starring Ralph Fiennes and TIFF Tribute Award honouree Jessica Chastain.

And, in the news everyone’s been waiting for, TIFF announced that this year’s festival will have four theatrical screenings of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Three will be at Ontario Place’s Cinesphere, while one will be at Cineplex’s Scotiabank. (Which would still serve Dune pretty well, based on the preview I attended.)

TIFF also announced the details of its Alanis Obomsawin retrospective, TIFF Short Cuts line-up, and an anniversary screening of Atanarjuat.

Today’s newly announced TIFF titles are as follows:

Platform

Arthur Rambo Laurent Cantet | France
World Premiere

Drunken Birds (Les oiseaux ivres) Ivan Grbovic | Canada
World Premiere

Earwig Lucile Hadžihalilović | United Kingdom/France/Belgium
World Premiere

Huda’s Salon Hany Abu-Assad | Palestine/Egypt/Netherlands/Qatar
World Premiere

Mlungu Wam (Good Madam) (Mlungu Wam) Jenna Cato Bass | South Africa
World Premiere

Montana Story Scott McGehee, David Siegel | USA
World Premiere

Silent Land (Cicha Ziemia) Aga Woszczyńska | Poland/Italy/Czech Republic
World Premiere

Yuni Kamila Andini | Singapore/France/Indonesia/Australia
World Premiere

TIFF Short Cuts

A Few Miles South Ben Pearce | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Angakusajaujuq – The Shaman’s Apprentice (Angakusajaujuq) Zacharias Kunuk | Canada
North American Premiere

Anxious Body Yoriko Mizushiri | France/Japan
North American Premiere

ASTEL Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France/Senegal
World Premiere

Beity Isabelle Mecattaf | Lebanon/United States of America
International Premiere

Bhai Hamza Bangash | United Kingdom/Canada/Pakistan
World Premiere

Boobs Marie Valade | Canada
North American Premiere

Charlotte Zach Dorn | United States of America
World Premiere

DEFUND Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, Araya Mengesha | Canada
World Premiere

Displaced (Pa Vend) Samir Karahoda | Kosovo
North American Premiere

DUST BATH Seth A Smith | Canada
World Premiere

Egúngún (Masquerade) Olive Nwosu | United Kingdom/Nigeria
World Premiere

Fanmi Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers, Carmine Pierre-Dufour | Canada
World Premiere

Hanging On Alfie Barker | United Kingdom
International Premiere

I Gotta Look Good for the Apocalypse Ayçe Kartal | France
North American Premiere

I Would Never Kiran Deol | United States of America
World Premiere

Little Bird Tim Myles | Canada
World Premiere

Love, Dad (Milý tati) Diana Cam Van Nguyen | Czech Republic/Slovakia
Canadian Premiere

Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics Terril Calder | Canada
World Premiere

Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit (Al motociclista no le cabe la felicidad en el traje) Gabriel Herrera | Mexico
Canadian Premiere

Nuisance Bear Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Canada
World Premiere

Ousmane Jorge Camarotti | Canada
World Premiere

Saturday Night Rosana Matecki | Canada
World Premiere

Shark Nash Edgerton | Australia
World Premiere

Soft Animals Renee Zhan | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

Some Still Search (Algunos Siguen Buscando) Nesaru Tchaas | United States of America
World Premiere

Srikandi Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto | Indonesia/Canada
World Premiere

Successful Thawing of Mr. Moro (Lyckad upptining av herr Moro) Jerry Carlsson | Sweden
International Premiere

Sycorax (Sycorax) Lois Patiño, Matías Piñeiro | Portugal/Spain
North American Premiere

The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be Adeyemi Michael | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

The Infantas (Las Infantas) Andrea Herrera Catalá | Spain
World Premiere

The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night Fawzia Mirza | United States of America/Canada
World Premiere