David Mackenzie's 'Outlaw King' to open TIFF 2018; 'Green Book,' 'Hold the Dark,' 'Mid90s,' and more join stacked lineup
We can no longer label the Toronto International Film Festival's 2018 lineup as just "impressive." No, that's far too modest of a word at this point. No, the roster of films for the 43rd edition of the popular Canadian festival is straight-up awe-inspiring. It's no wonder the New York Film Festival has no major premieres this year- the programmers at TIFF have taken practically everything.
With a lineup that already includes World Premieres for If Beale Street Could Talk, Halloween, Beautiful Boy, and Widows, as well as major screenings of First Man, Roma, and A Star is Born, it theoretically wouldn't be crazy to assume that TIFF has everything locked and loaded for 2018.
But that's very, very far from the case. This morning, TIFF announced a wave of over 100 titles for the festival, including some major premieres that will have cinephiles jumping up and down in excitement. Check out some of the major titles below!
Gala Presentations
-Outlaw King- dir. David Mackenzie- OPENING NIGHT FILM
-Green Book- dir. Peter Farrelly
-The Lie- dir. Veena Sud
-Jeremiah Terminator Leroy- dir. Justin Kelly- CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Special Presentations
-22 July- dir. Paul Greengrass
-American Woman- dir. Jake Scott
-Baby- dir. Liu Jie
-Boy Erased- dir. Joel Edgerton
-Driven- dir. Nick Hamm
-Duelles- dir. Olivier Masset-Depasse
-A Faithful Man- dir. Louis Garrel
-Gloria Bell- dir. Sebastian Lelio
-Hold the Dark- dir. Jeremy Saulnier
-Kursk- dir. Thomas Vinterberg
-Legend of the Demon Cat- Director's Cut- dir. Chen Kaige
-Mid90s- dir. Jonah Hill
-A Million Little Pieces- dir. Sam Taylor-Johnson
-Never Look Away- dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
-The Quietude- dir. Pablo Trapero
-Skin- dir. Guy Nattiv
-Teen Spirit- dir. Max Minghella
-Tell It To The Bees- dir. Annabel Jankel
-Viper Club- dir. Maryam Keshavarz
-Vision- dir. Naomi Kawase
-Vita & Virginia- dir. Chanya Button
-Wild Rose- dir. Tom Harper
Masters
-3 Faces- dir. Jafar Panahi
-Ash is Purest White- dir. Jia Zhang-ke
-Divine Wind- dir. Merzak Allouache
-Hotel by the River- dir. Hong Sang-soo
-Killing- dir. Shinya Tsukamoto
-Loro- dir. Paolo Sorrentino
-Our Time- dir. Carlos Reygadas
-Peterloo- dir. Mike Leigh
-The Image Book- dir. Jean-Luc Godard
-The Wild Pear Tree- dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
-Transit- dir. Christian Petzold
For a full list of new additions to the TIFF lineup, click here.
Okay, let's break this down. We've been waiting for TIFF to announce their Opening Night Film, and Outlaw King is a huge get for the festival. I heard some speculation that it was going to be Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale in that coveted slot, but David Mackenzie's epic follow-up to Hell or High Water is an equally prestigious (if not more high-profile) premiere for festival director Cameron Bailey and the team of programmers.
The crucial slot for Outlaw King also continues TIFF's warm embrace of Netflix, taking advantage of the rejection of streaming titles at this year's Cannes Film Festival. While TIFF won't be debuting Joel and Ethan Coen's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (the anthology film is making its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival), the festival snagged a number of additional Netflix titles, including Alfonso Cuaron's previously announced Roma, Paul Greengrass' 22 July, and Jeremy Saulnier's Hold the Dark. The latter two titles were unveiled earlier today, and they'll certainly be two of the hottest tickets at the festival. The new Greengrass project will be holding its North American Premiere at TIFF, while Saulnier's follow-up to Green Room will make its World Premiere in Canada before a September 28 Netflix bow.
In terms of other movies set to make their World Premiere at TIFF, Peter Farrelly's Green Book is a welcome surprise. I would have expected the Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali-led period piece to hold off for AFI Fest, but a TIFF berth shows Universal's confidence in its awards prospects. The buzz for Jonah Hill's Mid90s is rather strong at the moment, so I'm not surprised to see it join the lineup as a World Premiere. This could honestly be A24's big player for the season. And while Paolo Sorrentino's Loro has already premiered in Italy (last time I checked), this will be a major showcase for the epic project.
Boy Erased has long been rumored to be TIFF-bound, so I wasn't necessarily surprised to see it in today's lineup. However, I was a little more shocked by the film's label as an International Premiere, which means Joel Edgerton's gay conversion therapy drama is headed for Telluride. Mike Leigh's Peterloo will also make the trip to Colorado, which means the British epic will hit all three major festivals.
In addition to everything else, TIFF assembled a pretty strong Masters lineup this year, highlighted by films from Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Jean-Luc Godard, Carlos Reygadas, and Hong Sang-soo. This is good stuff all around.
So what's missing? Well, I think many fans imagined Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria would make a trip to the Great White North, but the horror remake is surprisingly absent from the lineup. While Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name follow-up is making its World Premiere in Venice, there's currently no word on when it'll head to North America. Perhaps it could be a last minute announcement? Or maybe they're holding off for Fantastic Fest?
Focus Features is taking Boy Erased to TIFF, but it appears the studio is holding off on Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots and Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex. Plus, a number of Venice titles won't be making their way to Canada, including Brady Corbet's Vox Lux, S. Craig Zahler's Dragged Across Concrete, and Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale.
Still, I can't imagine anyone at TIFF will be too sad about this. The festival is overflowing with riches, and I'm very sad that I won't be making the trip. Look for more updates on the fall festivals as they arrive.
Images: Netflix, Amazon
With a lineup that already includes World Premieres for If Beale Street Could Talk, Halloween, Beautiful Boy, and Widows, as well as major screenings of First Man, Roma, and A Star is Born, it theoretically wouldn't be crazy to assume that TIFF has everything locked and loaded for 2018.
But that's very, very far from the case. This morning, TIFF announced a wave of over 100 titles for the festival, including some major premieres that will have cinephiles jumping up and down in excitement. Check out some of the major titles below!
Gala Presentations
-Outlaw King- dir. David Mackenzie- OPENING NIGHT FILM
-Green Book- dir. Peter Farrelly
-The Lie- dir. Veena Sud
-Jeremiah Terminator Leroy- dir. Justin Kelly- CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Special Presentations
-22 July- dir. Paul Greengrass
-American Woman- dir. Jake Scott
-Baby- dir. Liu Jie
-Boy Erased- dir. Joel Edgerton
-Driven- dir. Nick Hamm
-Duelles- dir. Olivier Masset-Depasse
-A Faithful Man- dir. Louis Garrel
-Gloria Bell- dir. Sebastian Lelio
-Hold the Dark- dir. Jeremy Saulnier
-Kursk- dir. Thomas Vinterberg
-Legend of the Demon Cat- Director's Cut- dir. Chen Kaige
-Mid90s- dir. Jonah Hill
-A Million Little Pieces- dir. Sam Taylor-Johnson
-Never Look Away- dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
-The Quietude- dir. Pablo Trapero
-Skin- dir. Guy Nattiv
-Teen Spirit- dir. Max Minghella
-Tell It To The Bees- dir. Annabel Jankel
-Viper Club- dir. Maryam Keshavarz
-Vision- dir. Naomi Kawase
-Vita & Virginia- dir. Chanya Button
-Wild Rose- dir. Tom Harper
Masters
-3 Faces- dir. Jafar Panahi
-Ash is Purest White- dir. Jia Zhang-ke
-Divine Wind- dir. Merzak Allouache
-Hotel by the River- dir. Hong Sang-soo
-Killing- dir. Shinya Tsukamoto
-Loro- dir. Paolo Sorrentino
-Our Time- dir. Carlos Reygadas
-Peterloo- dir. Mike Leigh
-The Image Book- dir. Jean-Luc Godard
-The Wild Pear Tree- dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
-Transit- dir. Christian Petzold
For a full list of new additions to the TIFF lineup, click here.
Okay, let's break this down. We've been waiting for TIFF to announce their Opening Night Film, and Outlaw King is a huge get for the festival. I heard some speculation that it was going to be Drew Goddard's Bad Times at the El Royale in that coveted slot, but David Mackenzie's epic follow-up to Hell or High Water is an equally prestigious (if not more high-profile) premiere for festival director Cameron Bailey and the team of programmers.
The crucial slot for Outlaw King also continues TIFF's warm embrace of Netflix, taking advantage of the rejection of streaming titles at this year's Cannes Film Festival. While TIFF won't be debuting Joel and Ethan Coen's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (the anthology film is making its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival), the festival snagged a number of additional Netflix titles, including Alfonso Cuaron's previously announced Roma, Paul Greengrass' 22 July, and Jeremy Saulnier's Hold the Dark. The latter two titles were unveiled earlier today, and they'll certainly be two of the hottest tickets at the festival. The new Greengrass project will be holding its North American Premiere at TIFF, while Saulnier's follow-up to Green Room will make its World Premiere in Canada before a September 28 Netflix bow.
In terms of other movies set to make their World Premiere at TIFF, Peter Farrelly's Green Book is a welcome surprise. I would have expected the Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali-led period piece to hold off for AFI Fest, but a TIFF berth shows Universal's confidence in its awards prospects. The buzz for Jonah Hill's Mid90s is rather strong at the moment, so I'm not surprised to see it join the lineup as a World Premiere. This could honestly be A24's big player for the season. And while Paolo Sorrentino's Loro has already premiered in Italy (last time I checked), this will be a major showcase for the epic project.
Boy Erased has long been rumored to be TIFF-bound, so I wasn't necessarily surprised to see it in today's lineup. However, I was a little more shocked by the film's label as an International Premiere, which means Joel Edgerton's gay conversion therapy drama is headed for Telluride. Mike Leigh's Peterloo will also make the trip to Colorado, which means the British epic will hit all three major festivals.
In addition to everything else, TIFF assembled a pretty strong Masters lineup this year, highlighted by films from Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Jean-Luc Godard, Carlos Reygadas, and Hong Sang-soo. This is good stuff all around.
So what's missing? Well, I think many fans imagined Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria would make a trip to the Great White North, but the horror remake is surprisingly absent from the lineup. While Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name follow-up is making its World Premiere in Venice, there's currently no word on when it'll head to North America. Perhaps it could be a last minute announcement? Or maybe they're holding off for Fantastic Fest?
Focus Features is taking Boy Erased to TIFF, but it appears the studio is holding off on Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots and Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex. Plus, a number of Venice titles won't be making their way to Canada, including Brady Corbet's Vox Lux, S. Craig Zahler's Dragged Across Concrete, and Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale.
Still, I can't imagine anyone at TIFF will be too sad about this. The festival is overflowing with riches, and I'm very sad that I won't be making the trip. Look for more updates on the fall festivals as they arrive.
Images: Netflix, Amazon
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