As #APAToronto Returns, Asian Cinema Reaches a High Point
Mismatched sisters Anne (Awkwafina) and Jenny (Sandra Oh) find themselves in a pickle that they can only dig their way out of by becoming game show champions in QUIZ LADY, Academy Award-winning director Jessica Yu's return narrative feature to Toronto '23. (Photo: Courtesy Toronto International Film Festival Group)
As the awards season descends upon us (admittedly, considerably delayed due to twin major labor strikes by the Writers guild of America and SAG-AFTRA), one would think that the pickings for great cinema might likewise slow to a crawl as we slowly near the end of the calendar year. Judging by the surprisingly stellar crop of works making their World and North American premiere screenings at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, it is reasonable to determine that major new works are instead coming our way real soon. With that, here is a list of works (by directors, producers, screenwriters, and/or a combination thereof) that will premiere starting September 7 through 17 in The City By The Lake.
AğACIKOğLU, Cemil - THE REEDS (SON HASAT) (Centrepieces)
AL RASHEED, Amjad - INSHALLAH A BOY (Inshallah Walad) (Centrepieces)
AMER, Karim - DEFIANT (TIFF Docs)
BAIG, Minhal - WE GROW NOW (Centrepieces)
BHAT, Nikhil Nagesh - KILL (Midnight Madness)
BHANUTEJA, Wregas - ANDRAGOGY (Discovery)
BOOLANI, Karan - THANK YOU FOR COMING (Galas)
BYUN Seung-min (Co-Director) - BARGAIN (Primetime Programme)
CALVENTO, Sonny - PRIMETIME MOTHER (Short Cuts)
CEYLAN, Nuri Bilge - ABOUT DRY GRASSES (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) (Centrepieces)
CHEN, Anthony - THE BREAKING ICE (Centrepieces)
CHEN, Daniel (Co-Director) - BAD BOY (Primetime Programme)
CHEN Kaige - FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE (Classics)
CHIANG, James Michael - XIE XIE, OLLIE (Short Cuts)
CHIKA-URA Kei - DEAR ABSENCE (Platform)
CHINN, Jimmy (Co-Director) - NYAD (Galas)
DASH, Subarna (Co-Director) - THIS IS TMI (Short Cuts)
DELARAM, Farhad - ACHILLES (Discovery)
DHANDWAR, Tarsem Singh - DEAR JASSI (Platform)
DORJI, Pawo Choyning - THE MONK AND THE GUN (Centrepieces)
GUPTA, Vidushi (Co-Director) - THIS IS TMI (Short Cuts)
HAMAGUCHI, Ryûsuke - EVIL DOES NOT EXIST (Special Presentations)
HONG Khaou (Co-Director) - ALICE & JACK (Primetime Programme)
HUR Jin-ho - A NORMAL FAMILY (Galas)
JEON Woo-sung (Co-Director) - BARGAIN (Primetime Programme)
KAUL, Shambhavi - SLOW SHIFT (Wavelengths)
KHAN, Zarrar - IN FLAMES (Centrepieces)
KIM Taeyang - MIMANG (Discovery)
KORE-EDA Hirokazu - MONSTER (Special Presentations)
LANA, Jun Robles - YOUR MOTHER'S SON (ANAK KA NG INA MO) (Centrepieces)
LIU, Simon - LET'S TALK (Wavelengths)
LUM, Kasey - BLOOM (Short Cuts)
MEHTA, Deepa (Collaborator) - I AM SIRAT (Documentary)
MIRZA, Fawzia - THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS (Discovery)
MIYAZAKI, Hayao - THE BOY AND THE HERON (Galas)
MOMIN, Anubha - AFTERCARE (Short Cuts)
NIASARI, Noora - SHAYDA (Centrepieces)
NING Hao - THE MOVIE EMPEROR (Galas)
NISHIKAWA Tomonari - LIGHT, NOISE, SMOKE, AND LIGHT, NOISE, SMOKE (Wavelengths)
PATWARDHAN, Anand - THE WORLD IS FAMILY (TIFF Docs)
PHạM Thiên n - INSIDE THE YELLOW COCOON SHELL (Wavelengths)
PUREV-OCHIR, Lkhagvadulam - CITY OF WING (сэр сэр салхи) (Centrepieces)
RAO, Kiran - LOST LADIES (LAAPATAA LADIES) (Centerpieces)
REVEREZA, Miko - NOWHERE NEAR (Wavelengths)
RYOO Seung-wan - SMUGGLERS (Galas)
SAMADI, Farnoosh - TITANIC, SUITABLE VERSION FOR IRANIAN FAMILIES (Short Cuts)
SEN, Ivan - LIMBO (Centrepieces)
SHEU, Erica - it follows it passes on (Wavelengths)
SOLONDZ, Joshua Gen - WE DON'T TALK LIKE WE USED TO (Wavelengths)
SOMALKAR, Jayant Digambar - A MATCH (STHAL) (Discovery)
SUBBA, Nabin - A ROAD TO A VILLAGE (गाउ आएको बाटो) (Centrepiece)
SUH, Caroline (Co-Director) - SORRY/NOT SORRY (TIFF Docs)
TAFAKORY, Maryam - MAST-DEL (Wavelengths)
TAMAHORI, Lee - THE CONVERT (Special Presentations)
TANEJA, Sirat (Collaborator) - I AM SIRAT (Documentary)
TELENGUT, Alisi - BAIGAL NUUR - LAKE BAIKAL (Short Cuts)
THÚY, Kim (Producer) - RU (Special Presentations)
TREHAN, Honey - PUNJAB ’95 (Galas)
TSEDEN, Pema - SNOW LEOPARD (XUE BAO) (Centrepieces)
TSUKAMOTO Shinya - SHADOW OF FIRE (Centrepieces)
UM Tae-Hwa - CONCRETE UTOPIA (Galas)
VASARHELYI, Elizabeth Chai (Co-Director) - NYAD (Galas)
WAITITI, Taika - NEXT GOAL WINS (Galas)
WANG Bing - YOUTH (SPRING) (Wavelengths)
WANG, Lulu - EXPATS (Primetime Programme)
WIDJAJANTO, Andrea Nirmala - SAWO MATANG (Short Cuts)
XU Haofeng (Co-Director) - 100 YARDS (Centrepieces)
XU Junfeng (Co-Director) - 100 YARDS (Centrepieces)
YU, Jason - SLEEP (Midnight Madness)
YU, Jessica - QUIZ LADY (Special Presentations)
ZHAN, Renee - SHÉ (SNAKE) (Short Cuts)