New films from Cronenberg, Maddin set for Toronto film fest

Renowned Canadian directors David Cronenberg, Denys Arcand and Guy Maddin will join up-and-coming filmmakers among the Canadian offerings at this fall's Toronto International Film Festival.

Organizers announced on Tuesday a host of Canadian films set to hit the screen at this year's 32nd annual event, taking place Sept. 6-15.

L'Âge Des Ténèbres (Days of Darkness), Arcand's latest drama, and Cronenberg's London-set, Russian mob thriller Eastern Promises will be featured as gala presentations.

The Toronto-based Cronenberg, who said he is still putting finishing touches on his movie, was on-hand for Tuesday's announcement.

"I don't feel that I've actually made a movie until it's been shown at the Toronto film festival," Cronenberg told the crowd of industry reps, actors, filmmakers and media.

"We're totally delighted to be able to say that we're gonna have a gala here again …. It feels like I have to do that to come full circle with any movie that we've done."

Actor Viggo Mortensen, star of Eastern Promises as well as Cronenberg's The History of Violence, said he was looking forward to his third time at the festival this September.

"Those of you who buy tickets to go see the screenings of Eastern Promises are in for a pleasant, and in some cases not so pleasant, experience," he added.

Organizers revealed a series of high-profile special presentations, including:

• Maddin's My Winnipeg, a portrait of his hometownthat will feature his live narration.
• Here Is What Is, a documentary following musician and producer Daniel Lanois.
• Roger Spottiswoode's Shake Hands with the Devil, based on the searing Roméo Dallaire book.
• Silk, a 19th-century love story and Francois Girard's first film since 1998's acclaimed The Red Violin.
• Clement Virgo's Poor Boy's Game, a drama exploring race and revenge.

A film adaptation of Margaret Laurence's Canadian novel classic The Stone Angel, starring Ellen Burstyn, joins new films from established directors Bruce Sweeney (American Venus), Carl Bessai (Normal) and Allan Moyle (Weirdsville) among the Canadian titles set for the festival's contemporary world cinema program.

Other film highlights organizers revealed at a lavish, downtown Toronto event Tuesday afternoon include:

• Heavy Metal in Baghdad: Vice magazine co-founder Suroosh Alvi and online broadcast producer Eddy Moretti's search for Acrassicauda, the only heavy metal band in Iraq.
• Award-winning animated short Madame Tutli-Putli and 42 other short films from Canadian directors such as Peter Lynch and David Birnbaum.
• A retrospective of noted Quebec filmmaker Michel Brault.
• Amal: a story about a humble, New Delhi auto-rickshaw driver whose world suddenly turns upside down; developed from the proposal that won the festival's 2005 Telefilm Pitch This! competition.
• Young People F*cking: a fast-paced, adult-oriented comedy about sex that intertwines the stories of several 20-something couples over the course of one night; will open the Canada First! program.

"What made [choosing the Canadian films] particularly challenging this year was the quality of the work," Steve Gravestock, the festival's associate director of Canadian programming told CBC News.

"Every year, we come up with a great slate. I think this may be one of the best slates we have since we introduced Canada First! about four years ago."

In particular, Gravestock praised the "inventiveness" of some of the wide-ranging selections by up-and-coming Canadian filmmakers.

"We're always trying to find different ways to compete, not in the sort of conventional, studio filmmaking process, but in a different kind of way."

While some titles — like Arcand's L'Âge des Ténèbres and Madame Tutli-Putli — may sound familiar to movie fans because they've already screened at other festivals, this doesn't bother festival co-director Noah Cowan.

"We're the only major film festival on the planet which shows films that have premiered elsewhere because we believe this festival is for our audiences," he said.

Though not yet finalized, the Toronto festival's overall lineup is looking like it will include the same number of world, international or North American premieres it usually has, Cowan said.

"Premieres matter to us in terms of how the festival is put together," he said, referring to factors like scheduling consideration and whether industry reps and the media have previously had a chance to see and review a film.

"We just don't think premiere status should overshadow the content of the films we are showing."

Final announcements about this year's festival lineup are expected later this month and in August.