The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival has revealed its Centrepiece program lineup, with 43 films from 41 countries. The selections include 18 world premieres plus an array of festival favorites and winners from Cannes (“ The Seed of the Sacred Fig “), Sundance (“ Presence “), and more recently the 2024 Venice Film Festival (“April”). This year’s festival runs Thursday, September 5 through Sunday, September 15.
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Per TIFF, Centrepiece honors “and celebrates global cinematic achievements, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in a dynamic array of contemporary films. The programme is a reflection of TIFF’s commitment to providing an elevated platform for international cinema, acclaimed titles from festivals around the globe, highly anticipated premieres from Canadian and international talents, and the latest work of influential filmmaking luminaries.”
The 2024 Centrepiece selection has been programmed by Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Giovanna Fulvi, Nataleah Hunter-Young, June Kim, Dorota Lech, Jason Ryle, and Norm Wilner.
Per the festival, “Notable world premieres include ‘Front Row,’ from one of the filmmakers selected as a Luminary — TIFF’s spotlight on new work from the world’s most influential art-house directors — Algerian director Merzak Allouache, marking his 19th feature film, a family-friendly comedy about feuding matriarchs battling over the best beachfront spot. ‘Seven Days,’ the latest from Iranian filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi and writer Mohammad Rasoulof (also in the Centrepiece programme with his film ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’), centres on an Iranian human rights activist named Maryam who has spent the last six years in prison and has been granted a rare seven-day medical leave.
“‘Pimpinero: Blood and Oil,’ a gripping thriller set in the early 2010s from acclaimed Colombian filmmaker Andrés Baiz (‘Griselda,’ ‘Narcos’), starring Colombian music icon Juanes, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Speitzer, and Laura Osma, takes place in the treacherous desert bordering Colombia and Venezuela, where gasoline smugglers or pimpineros risk their lives transporting illegal fuel. ‘Under the Volcano,’ a tense and timely second feature from Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur following ‘Bread and Salt,’ which garnered a Special Jury Prize at Venice ’22, tells the story of a Ukrainian family on vacation in the Canary Islands who become refugees overnight when Russia’s ongoing occupation of Ukraine turns into a full-scale invasion.”
These are just a few of the highlights. See the full Centrepiece program below.
A Missing Part Guillaume Senez | Belgium/France World Premiere
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An Unfinished Film Lou Ye | Singapore/Germany North American Premiere
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Anywhere Anytime Milad Tangshir | Italy International Premiere
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April Dea Kulumbegashvili | Italy/France/Georgia North American Premiere
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Beloved Tropic Ana Endara | Panama/Colombia World Premiere
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Bound in Heaven Huo Xin | China World Premiere
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By the Stream Hong Sangsoo | South Korea North American Premiere
Cloud Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan North American Premiere
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Crocodile Tears Tumpal Tampubolon | Indonesia/France/Singapore/Germany World Premiere
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Don’t Cry, Butterfly Dương Diệu Linh | Vietnam/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia North American Premiere Sales Title
Edge of Night Türker Süer | Germany North American Premiere
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Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara Erin Lee Carr | USA World Premiere
Flow Gints Zilbalodis | Latvia/France/Belgium Canadian Premiere
Front Row Merzak Allouache | Algeria/Saudi Arabia/France World Premiere
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Happyend Neo Sora | Japan/USA North American Premiere
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Happy Holidays Scandar Copti | Palestine/Germany/France/Italy/Qatar North American Premiere
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Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Laura Piani | France World Premiere
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Julie Keeps Quiet Leonardo van Dijl | Belgium/Sweden North American Premiere
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Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End Michael Jonathan | New Zealand North American Premiere
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Kill the Jockey Luis Ortega | Argentina/Mexico/Spain/Denmark/USA North American Premiere
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Little Jaffna Lawrence Valin | France North American Premiere
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Los Tortuga Belén Funes | Spain/Chile World Premiere
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Matt and Mara Kazik Radwanski | Canada North American Premiere
Measures for a Funeral Sofia Bohdanowicz | Canada World Premiere
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My Sunshine Hiroshi Okuyama | Japan/France North American Premiere
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Pimpinero: Blood and Oil Andrés Baiz | Colombia World Premiere
Presence Steven Soderbergh | USA International Premiere
Santosh Sandhya Suri | United Kingdom Canadian Premiere
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Seven Days Ali Samadi Ahadi | Germany World Premiere
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Souleymane’s Story Boris Lojkine | France International Premiere
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Sunshine Antoinette Jadaone | Philippines World Premiere
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Sweet Angel Baby Melanie Oates | Canada World Premiere
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The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos Agbajowo Collective: James Tayler, Ogungbamila Temitope, Okechukwu Samuel, Mathew Cerf, Tina Edukpo, Bisola Akinmuyiwa, A.S. Elijah | Nigeria/Germany/South Africa/USA
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The Mother and the Bear Johnny Ma | Canada/Chile World Premiere
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The Mountain Rachel House | New Zealand North American Premiere
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The Seed of the Sacred Fig Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran/France/Germany Canadian Premiere
The Swedish Torpedo Frida Kempff | Sweden World Premiere
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The Village Next to Paradise Mo Harawe | France/Austria/Germany/Somalia North American Premiere
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To a Land Unknown Mahdi Fleifel | United Kingdom/France/Germany/Netherlands/Greece/Qatar /Saudi Arabia/Palestine
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Under the Volcano Damian Kocur | Poland World Premiere
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Universal Language Matthew Rankin | Canada North American Premiere
When the Light Breaks Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland/Netherlands/Croatia/France North American Premiere
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