Toronto ‘17’: Visionary Works Headline TIFF ‘17’s Platform Slate
by Staff
Directors’ cinema, now: TIFF’s three-year-old Platform program returns for 2017 with more original voices and visionary films.
Last year, Platform included celebrated works such as William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth — currently playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox — Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, and Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award Best Picture winner, Moonlight. The 12 films in this year’s programme are another showcase for the artistry of a group of bold, dynamic voices in contemporary cinema.
This year’s lineup presents 12 films from eight countries on five continents. All selected films will compete for the Platform Prize, to be awarded by a jury made up of award-winning filmmakers Chen Kaige, Małgorzata Szumowska, and Wim Wenders.
The program will open with the world premiere of The Death of Stalin, from award-winning director-writer Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, Veep). The historical epic follows the final days leading up to the Soviet dictator’s death. Sweet Country, a period western from acclaimed Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton (The Sapphires), will close the Platform section.
Platform titles are eligible for the Toronto Platform Prize ($25,000 CAD) made possible by Air France.
Chen, Szumowska, and Wenders will select the prize winner, who will be announced at the TIFF Awards Ceremony on September 17, 2017.
Films screening as part of the Platform program include:
Beast | Michael Pearce, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Brad’s Status | Mike White, USA
World Premiere
Custody | Xavier Legrand, France
North American Premiere
Dark River | Clio Barnard, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Platform Opening Film
The Death of Stalin | Armando Iannucci, France/United Kingdom/Belgium
World Premiere
Euphoria | Lisa Langseth, Sweden/Germany
World Premiere
If You Saw His Heart | Joan Chemla, France
World Premiere
Mademoiselle Paradis | Barbara Albert, Austria/Germany
World Premiere
Razzia | Nabil Ayouch, France
World Premiere
The Seen and Unseen | Kamila Andini, Indonesia
World Premiere
Platform Closing Film
Sweet Country | Warwick Thornton, Australia
North American Premiere
What Will People Say (Hva vil folk si) | Iram Haq, Norway/Germany/Sweden
World Premiere
About the Jury
Chen Kaige
Chen Kaige was born in Beijing. After graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982, he made his feature film debut with Yellow Earth (84). In 1993, he won the first Palme D’Or for a Chinese language film at Cannes for his epic Farewell, My Concubine (93). His numerous features include Together (02) and To Each His Own (07), both of which have screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, in addition to Temptress Moon (96), Killing Me Softly (02), The Promise (05), Forever Enthralled (08), Sacrifice (10), and Caught in the Web (12), which also screened with the Festival. In 2015, Chen directed Monk Comes Down the Mountain, a martial arts drama that was a box office powerhouse in China. Legend of the Demon Cat, currently in post-production, marks the most ambitious project by Chen to date. The film tells the famous Japanese tale of Kukai the monk.
Małgorzata Szumowska
Małgorzata Szumowska is a Polish filmmaker from Kraków. Her films include the Silver Leopard–winning 33 Scenes from Life (08); In the Name Of (13), which received the Berlinale Teddy Award; Elles(11); and Body (15), which was the recipient of the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlinale and a European Film Award. She has been nominated twice for the European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year, and has won many other prestigious awards around the world.
Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders was born in Düsseldorf, and studied filmmaking at the Academy of Film and Television in Munich. Seven of his films, including Alice in the Cities (74) and Kings of the Road (76), screened at the inaugural Festival in 1976, and he returned to TIFF with the features Paris, Texas (84), which won the Palme D’Or and the British Film Academy Award; Lisbon Story (94); Land of Plenty (04); Pina(11), which was nominated for an Oscar; Every Thing Will Be Fine(15); and Les Beaux Jours d’Aranjuez (16). His other films include The State of Things (82), which won a Golden Lion; Wings of Desire (87), which won the Director’s Prize at Cannes; Buena Vista Social Club(99), which was also nominated for an Oscar; and Don’t Come Knocking (05). In 2015, Wenders won the Honorary Golden Bear for his lifetime achievements. Submergence (17) is his latest feature.
