From September 5 to 15, Toronto will host the 49th edition of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), North America’s largest film festival and market. This year, the Embassy of France is setting itself apart with two exclusive events showcasing French cinema.
One of the highlights will be a focus on French digital and immersive creation. An exclusive series of four virtual reality (VR) productions by French studio Atlas V will be presented. These films, unveiled at Cannes Immersive 2024, offer innovative narrative experiences. The works include “Gloomy Eyes” by Fernando Maldonado and Jorge Tereso with Colin Farrell, “Battlescar” by Nico Casavecchia with Rosario Dawson, “Emperor” by Marion Burger and Ilan J. Cohen with Olivia Cooke, and “Missing Pictures: Naomi Kawase” by Clément Deneux. The immersive experience, entitled “Dream Machines: The Expanded Future of Moving Images and Immersive Storytelling”, will be held at OCAD University from September 7 to 10. The event is free and open to the public. Register here: https://www.ocadu.ca/event/dream-machines-vr-film-screening
The French Embassy in Canada, in partnership with the Directors Guild of Canada, Unifrance and OCAD University, is also organizing a masterclass on Sunday, September 8 from 3:30 to 5 pm. This session will bring together Julie Delpy, selected at TIFF 2024 for her film “Les Barbares”, and Louise Archambault, internationally recognized and Canada’s representative at the Oscars and Golden Globes in 2014. This will be a unique opportunity for these directors to share their experiences.
Once again, the French presence at TIFF will be particularly striking. Over fifty French films and co-productions will be screened, supported by a delegation of artists such as Jacques Audiard and Julie Delpy, thanks to Unifrance. Among the films in competition are Julie Delpy’s “Les Barbares” in the Gala section, Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” in the Special Presentations section, and Koya Kamura’s “Hiver à Sokcho” in the Platforme section.
Cannes award-winning films also continue their run at TIFF, including David Cronenberg’s French-Canadian co-production “Les Linceuls”, “Emilia Perez” (Prix du Jury and Prix d’interprétation féminine), and Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” (Prix du scénario). The festival will also feature Jean-Luc Godard’s short film “Scénarios” as part of Wavelengths 3: Exposé(s), which brings together works by Jean-Luc Godard and John Smith.
Finally, French artists Camille Dalmais and Clément Ducol will receive the prestigious TIFF Variety Artisan Award for their outstanding work, notably on the “Emilia Perez” soundtrack.
For further information: https://www.unifrance.org/actualites/16967/tout-le-cinema-francais-au-49e-festival-de-toronto For all the latest festival news: https://www.tiff.net
