A longer version of the following post originally appeared in three parts on Sean's blog, Sean Kelly on Movies.
Midnight Madness Highlights
This will be a big year for TIFF's Midnight Madness programme, since it will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. As such, it is becoming quite likely that I will take this into consideration when putting together my schedule this year and will see more midnight screenings than I have seen in the past (I'm lamenting the lack of sleep already). Only nine of the ten films have been announced, so it will be fun to guess over the coming weeks what that tenth film will be.
TIFF13 Highlights
All Cheerleaders Die - Lucky McKee, Chris Sivertson, USA (Opening Night Film)
Over the last few years, the opening Midnight Madness film has always been a fun crowd-pleasing affair and this horror-comedy looks to be in that same vein.
Almost Human - Joe Begos, U.S.A.
This films looks to be a mix of an alien abduction film with a slasher.
The Green Inferno - Eli Roth, U.S.A.
After a bit of hiatus from directing, Eli Roth returns with a gruesome homage to the Italian cannibal films of the 1970s.
Oculus - Mike Flanagan, U.S.A.
Killer mirror. 'Nuff said.
Rigor Mortis - Juno Mak, Hong Kong
This vampire film looks to be one of the gorier films of this year's line-up.
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Jigoku de Naze Warui) - Sion Sono, Japan
This Japanese action films looks to be one of the highlights of this year's Midnight Madness line-up.
Docs Highlights
As I've stated plenty I times, I have a growing appreciation for documentaries and this year's lineup features many familiar documentary filmmakers making their return to the festival. I am quite looking forward to seeing what these films have to offer.
TIFF13: TIFF Doc Highlights
At Berkeley - Frederick Wiseman, U.S.A.
Observational cinema master Frederick Wiseman is back with this film about the University of California at Berkeley.
Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story - Barry Avrich, Canada
Barry Avrich's latest doc covers the subject of Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione.
A Story of Children and Film - Mark Cousins, United Kingdom
Mark Cousin's follows up his epic 15 hour documentary The Story of Film: An Odyssey with this new examination of children in the cinema.
The Unknown Known - Errol Morris, U.S.A.
Like his Oscar-winning film The Fog of War, Errol Morris' latest film The Unknown Known focuses on a single in-depth interview. In this case, the subject is Donald Rumsfeld, one of the key architects of the Iraq War.
When Jews Were Funny - Alan Zweig, Canada
This film questions why many comedians are Jewish, leading into an examination of Jewish identity.
Canadian Highlights
This past week's batch of TIFF announcements focused on the Canadian content that will play at this year's festival. One interesting fact to note about these Canadian films is that a few of them feature well-known international stars in the lead roles, which definitely blurs the line somewhat about what makes a film truly Canadian.
TIFF13: Canadian Film Highlights
The Animal Project - Ingrid Veninger, Canada (Contemporary World Cinema)
A story about a father, a son, and six characters dressed in furry suits. I'm sold.
Asphalt Watches - Seth Scriver and Shayne Ehman, Canada (Vanguard)
This adult-oriented animated feature looks completely messed up. That is why it interests me.
Empire of Dirt - Peter Stebbings, Canada (Contemporary World Cinema)
I'm a fan of Peter Stebbings' previous film Defendor, so I'm interested in checking out his follow-up, which focuses on three generations of First Nations women dealing with the demons of their past.
Enemy - Denis Villeneuve, Canada/Spain (Special Presentations)
Denis Villenueve (Incendies) will be doing double duty at this year's festival, since this announcement follows the previous announcement of Prisoners. Enemy sees Jake Gyllenhaal playing a University professor, who encounters his exact double. That's all the information I need to be interested in this thriller.
The F Word - Michael Dowse, Canada/Ireland (Special Presentations)
After finding success two years ago with Goon, Michael Dowse returns with this new romantic comedy starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan. While it looked it was going to be the "Year of Cumberbatch" a few weeks ago, it now looks like it will also be the "Year of Radcliffe," since the former Harry Potter also has three films playing at the festival this year, with the other two being the Allen Ginsberg film Kill Your Darlings and the horror film Horns.
The Husband - Bruce McDonald, Canada (Special Presentations)
Bruce McDonald is Canadian film royalty, so at this point, all I need to know is that he directed a new film. Anyways, The Husband is a black comedy about an ad-agency employee with rage issues.
Tom At The Farm (Tom à la ferme) Xavier Dolan, Canada/France (Special Presentations)
Xavier Dolan found great success last year with Laurence Anyways, which ended up winning Best Canadian Feature at the festival. Let's see if he can make lightning strike twice with his follow-up, which follows a copy-writer who travels to the country for a funeral.
There should be one more batch of film announcements this week, before the full festival schedule is released on August 20.