Amid Hollywood strikes, Canadian event puts independent film world in the spotlight with films by major filmmakers
North America’s biggest film festival opens Thursday in Toronto with the international premiere of what is likely to be the last film by Oscar-winning Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, as two Hollywood strikes drag on.
Organizers of the event, a launching pad for numerous Oscar-winning films, were finalizing a busy schedule of premieres, red carpet galas and prestigious television launches featuring works from dozens of countries when actors in Tinseltown went on strike.
However, Cameron Bailey, the festival’s managing director, says the global reach of the programming and the ability of filmmakers and actors to promote independent cinema, even in the midst of the strikes, demonstrate the “strength of cinema today.” “It’s taken us several weeks to nail down the details of a strike-affected festival, but it turns out we’re going to have a lot of talent on the red carpet,” Bailey told AFP.
“The Boy and the Heron” will probably be Hayao Miyazaki’s last film.
Among those expected to flock to Canada’s largest city during the 10-day festival are Patricia Arquette, Taika Waititi, Anna Kendrick and Ethan Hawke, who have stepped behind the camera to direct their latest films.
French filmmaker Ladj Ly will premiere Les Indesirables, a fresh look at marginalized communities in the Paris suburbs, four years after his Oscar-nominated debut feature Les Miserables.
Also scheduled for international premiere is The Holdovers, from director Alexander Payne (Sideways), an award contender about a teacher (Paul Giamatti) charged with supervising boarding school students who can’t go home for Christmas break.
And pop star Lil Nas X will bring some style to the red carpet for the premiere of his documentary Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, one of many music films scheduled, including the world premiere of In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon. But Thursday night’s first screening is The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki’s first feature film in a decade, and likely the last for the 82-year-old Studio Ghibli stalwart.
The semi-autobiographical film, which opened in Japan in July, follows young Mahito as he goes through the horrors of World War II and the death of his mother. After meeting a talking heron, he enters a colorful fantasy world in search of her. “It’s one of the ones we’re especially excited to have. This is one of the greatest artists in cinema with what may be his last film,” Bailey said. “It’s magnificent.”
Oscars are a barometer
The Toronto festival is one of the major fall festivals, along with Venice and Telluride, where Oscar contenders typically premiere. TIFF’s annual People’s Choice award has become an increasingly accurate barometer of the Oscar race, predicting potential winners like Nomadland and Green Book.
Friday sees the release of Dumb Money, starring Seth Rogen and Paul Dano, about the amateur investors who turned GameStop into a Wall Street phenomenon in 2021. On Saturday, Robert De Niro stars in Tony Goldwyn’s Ezra, about a man (Bobby Cannavale) who moves back in with his father (De Niro) after ruining his career and marriage. Other world premieres include Waititi’s sports comedy Next Goal Wins and Michael Keaton’s Knox Goes Away, starring Al Pacino.
The festival comes at a time when Hollywood actors and screenwriters are on strike in a battle with studios and television networks over wages and other working conditions, meaning union members cannot promote films produced by the companies involved in the dispute. In some cases, exemptions have been offered, while in others, films shown in Toronto are not subject to the strikes because they were produced independently or internationally.
TIFF did not return to full operation until 2022, after two years of online or hybrid events staged in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The festival runs through September 17.