TIFF highlights for Sept. 11
- Welcome to Day 8 of the Toronto International Film Festival. Brian Cox’s directorial debut Glenrothan gets its world premiere along with Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino’s Las-Vegas-set Easy’s Waltz.
- The world premiere of The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, one of the most controversial screenings in the festival’s half-century history, was greeted with a standing ovation Wednesday afternoon both before and after its sold-out screening. The Globe’s Barry Hertz attended and reported on the protests and inside the theatre, including the film’s postscreening Q&A session.
- For the average TIFF attendee – the movie fanatics who make up this so-called “people’s festival” – the experience can be a sweaty, hungry, thirsty waiting game that is the very antithesis of glamour. Photographer Jon Laytner spent a few days roaming TIFF, capturing a not-so-glamourous day in the life of festival-goers.
- Today at 9:30 a.m. ET, film editor Barry Hertz and writer Johanna Schneller will be answering reader questions about TIFF 50, including who’s expected to take the festival’s top awards, their personal top picks, and more. Submit your questions here.
The TIFF film premieres happening today
Glenrothan
A still from Brian Cox’s directorial debut, Glenrothan.Graeme Hunter PIctures/Supplied
Making its world premiere at TIFF, legendary actor Brian Cox directs and co-stars in the new film Glenrothan, the story of two estranged brothers who reunite to save their family’s whisky distillery in a fictional Scottish village. The tense but big-hearted drama about family and forgiveness also stars Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson. Cox called the movie a “love letter” to Scotland in a recent interview with The Globe’s Brad Wheeler.
Glenrothan screens at TIFF on Sept. 11, 12 and 13.
Easy’s Waltz
Easy’s Waltz filmTIFF/Supplied
Written and directed by True Detective‘s Nic Pizzolatto, Easy’s Waltz combines the nostalgia of previous movies that have used Las Vegas as its backdrop with the Strip’s fading glories. Holding its world premiere at TIFF, the film follows Vince Vaughn as a Vegas crooner who has the talent to make it big, but lacks the luck and the temperament. Enter Al Pacino as a well-respected former star who wants to take his talents to the next level. The cast also include Simon Rex, Kate Mara and Canadians Shania Twain and Cobie Smulders.
Easy’s Waltz screens at TIFF on Sept. 11, 12, 13 and 14.
Adulthood
Adulthood filmTIFF/Supplied
Director Alex Winter’s Adulthood follows a pair of grown-up siblings who make a shocking discovery behind the basement wall of their childhood home, beginning a bizarre, twist-laden campaign to keep the past buried. The neo-noir film stars Kaya Scodelario and Josh Gad.
Adulthood screens at TIFF on Sept. 11, 12 and 13.
Kokuho
Directed by Lee Sang-il, Kokuho is a gripping tale about two young boys that opens in Nagasaki in 1964 and unfolds over five tumultuous decades. The film follows Kikuo and Shunsuke who build both a friendship and rivalry while learning the art of Kamigata kabuki, a distinct style of traditional Japanese theatre originating in the Kamigata region of Japan. The TIFF website calls it “a meditation on inheritance and choice, tradition and reinvention, and the pursuit of artistic greatness – an epic told on an intimate, human scale.“ The film stars Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama.
Kokuho screens at TIFF on Sept. 11 and 12.
Midnight Madness: JUNK WORLD
A scene from the film JUNK WORLD.TIFF/Supplied
Takahide Hori’s JUNK WORLD, which makes its international premiere at TIFF, is set in the same universe as his 2017 stop-motion animated film, Junk Head, and is meant to be the second film in a planned trilogy. The post-apocalyptic science fiction film is set over 1,000 years before the first film and kicks off with a meeting between humans and their emancipated clones, who maintain an uneasy truce after a brutal war centuries earlier. Director Guillermo del Toro has lauded Hori for his “monumental will and imagination” and the TIFF website calls the film “not just a triumph of sci-fi fantasy storytelling, but an awe-inspiring, independent and human-made testament to the creative spirit.”
JUNK WORLD screens at TIFF on Sept. 11, 12 and 14.
Star watch
- Brian Cox, Vince Vaughn and Josh Gad are among the celebrities expected to be in town and walk the red carpet.
- Han So-hee and Jun Jong-seo are set to participate in an “In Conversation With…” session to discuss their latest film, Project Y, their friendship and their respective journeys in the entertainment world (Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m., TIFF Lightbox).
The big parties and other events
People walk along King Street as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns for its 50th edition in Toronto.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
- The celebrations will continue in Toronto’s David Pecaut Square to Sept. 13 for open-air movie screenings and other activities. Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, starring Saoirse Ronan, will have a free outdoor screening Thursday evening on Cinema Park in David Pecaut Square, starting at 10 p.m. ET.
How to get TIFF tickets, and other common questions
People wait in a rush line for tickets on King Street as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns for its 50th edition.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
How do you buy TIFF tickets?
You can buy curated ticket packages, member bundles or individual tickets to film screenings. Tickets went on sale to the general public Aug. 25, but you are still able to purchase individual tickets to screenings throughout the festival. Prices for regular screenings start at $29 and prices for premium screenings start at $43. Browse films and purchase tickets on TIFF’s website.
Where can I see this year’s festival schedule?
The TIFF schedule is available on the festival’s website and can be sorted by venue, type of screening and date.
What are “rush” tickets, and how do they work?
Festival-goers who are unable to secure a ticket online are able to wait in rush lines for screenings. About 15 minutes prior to a screening’s start time, staff will count the amount of empty seats in the cinema and sell rush tickets to those in line on a first-come, first-served basis. The TIFF website recommends arriving no earlier than 60 minutes before the screening to wait in the rush line.
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What are the biggest movies and moments at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival? Submit a question to our experts.
On Thursday, Sept. 11 at 9:30 a.m. ET, film editor Barry Hertz and writer Johanna Schneller will be answering reader questions about TIFF 50, including who’s expected to take the festival’s top awards, their personal top picks, and more. Submit your question now.
