ZOOM Premieres Tonight!

 Check your frame rate, get your word count in and hurry down to Scotiabank because Zoom premieres tonight!

Zoom promises to be an intriguing exploration of both interlocking narrative and form as a comic book artist tells a story of a filmmaker who tells the story of a novelist who tells the story of a comic book creator.

"What?" "Don't worry just go."

Check out the trailer here:


And then zoom on over to the Scotiabank. (Oh, god, I'm not even sure I'm sorry for that one).

Zoom Screening Times:
Tues, Sept 15, 10:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Wed, Sept 16, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK


EVOLUTION Premieres Tonight!

I like to think that Evolution exists in the same world as Peter Strickland's The Duke of Burgundy. It has the same gorgeous cinematography, a similar focus on the natural world. But where The Duke of Burgundy presented a world of female scholars and scientists, in which the only male voice was that of a mole cricket singing on a recording, in Evolution, there are no adult men. There are only boys. The film takes place on an island populated only by young boys and female care providers performing mysterious experiments on them.

We have a teaser now, and it looks gorgeous.

Perhaps, if we are lucky, there will be a mole cricket here and there.

Meanwhile, on another part of the island, mole crickets and lepidoptery lectures.

EVOLUTION Screening Times:
Mon., Sept. 14, 9:30pm at RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 16, 4:30pm at BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Sun., Sept. 20,  8:30pm at TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

Teaser for EVOLUTION!

We have a teaser for Lucile Hadzihalilovic's Evolution and it looks lovely.

EVOLUTION Screening Times:
Mon., Sept. 14, 9:30pm at RYERSON
Wed., Sept. 16, 4:30pm at BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Sun., Sept. 20,  8:30pm at TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

LACE CRATER First Look: Trailer

Hey, look, everybody, it's the trailer for Lace Crater!

 


(via Entertainment Weekly)

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Tue. Sept 15, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10
Thu. Sept 17, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT First Look: Poster and Trailer

Everyone, the trailer's here!

 Hey, we have the poster and trailer for Mark Sawers' No Men Beyond This Point, a faux documentary imagining a world in which women reproduce without men! Or as it's described at TIFF.net:

No Men Beyond This Point is a wry mockumentary set in a world where men have been taken out of the procreation equation. In this alternate history, the scientific community is at a loss to explain why "virgin births" have been occurring at all, let alone increasing exponentially in number since the 1950s, but they have had to admit it's part of the new natural order — and now that only girls are being born, it seems that men's days on earth are numbered. 

I assume as in Jurassic Park, there will be an explanation involving frog DNA and parthenogenesis. Or maybe there is a plague or war as happens on so many planets inhabited by Space Ladies.

Actually, I have to say after watching the trailer below, all my theories are moot. It looks like much quieter and much funnier than a film involving frog DNA or Space Ladies.

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT Screening Times:
Sep. 16, Wednesday, 9:45 pm SCOTIABANK 3
Sep. 18, Friday, 9:15 am, SCOTIABANK 3
Sep. 19, Saturday, 9:30 pm, SCOTIABANK 10

DER NACHTMAHR First Look: Posters and Trailer

The multitalented German artist/filmmaker AKIZ will screen a beat pumping, strobe lit horror film about a Berlin party girl named Tina (Carolyn Genzkow) at this year's Vanguard programme. Der Nachtmahr, literally, "The Nightmare," follows Tina after she experiences a bad drug trip and finds herself being followed by a strange creature that only she can see.

Below is the poster and trailer for Der Nachtmahr, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Der Nachtmahr can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Facebook page, website and AKIZ' Instagram page.

DER NACHTMAHR screening times:

Thurs. Sept. 17th, 9:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Fri. Sept. 18th, 12:00 PM SCOTIABANK 3
Sun. Sept. 20th, 6:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

THE MISSING GIRL First Look: Poster and Trailer

Making its world premiere at TIFF is A.D. Calvo's dark comedy The Missing Girl. Mort (Robert Longstreet) is the owner of a comic book shop who becomes increasingly worried when one of his employees, Ellen (Alexia Rasmussen), does not show up for work. Mort's distress grows as he begins relating Ellen's disappearance with the case of a missing girl from when he was a teen, an anguish which only grows when he discovers a former classmate Skippy (Eric Ladin) has arrived in town.

Below is the poster and trailer for The Missing Girl, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about The Missing Girl can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's website, Facebook account and director A.D. Calvo's Twitter account.

THE MISSING GIRL screening times:

Sun. Sept. 13th 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 13
Tue. Sept. 15th 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept. 20th 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

DEMON First Look: Poster and Trailer

Vanguard alum Marcin Wrona (The Christening, 2010) is returning to TIFF with the creepy tale of a dybbuk, a malicious spirit found in Jewish mythology, that possesses a man during just before his wedding. Demon is based on the Polish play Adherence by Piotr Rowicki and judging from the poster and trailer will leave you chilled and unsettled.

Below is the poster and the atmospherically creepy trailer for Demon, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

(Source: Fangoria)

Further information about Demon can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Twitter account.

DEMON screening times:

Sun Sep 13 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 13
Tue Sep 15 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun Sep 20 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

THE WORLD OF KANAKO: TIFF Twitter Buzz!

"Twitter?! I don't have time for Twitter. I have extreme acts of violence to enact!"

Well, don't say we didn't warn ya, but The World of Kanako is definitely one of those polarizing films. If you're into graphic, graphic violence and strong imagery like the people quoted from Twitter below, then we highly recommend catching the last screening of this one. It's on a Saturday so at least you'll have Sunday to recover. Phew

The World of Kanako is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. You can check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website. 

THE WORLD OF KANAKO screening times:
Saturday, Sept 13 9:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

LUNA Premieres Tonight!

It's day three of the festival, and three new Vanguards to make their premieres! First up is Luna from art world legend Dave McKean premiering tonight at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema at 6:30 PM. Head over to our previous posts to see the poster and trailer, and an interview and a profile of director Dave McKean.

Tickets can be purchased:

• ONLINE: TIFF.net's Ticket Product List Page
• BY PHONE: 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 (Toll-free) 
• IN PERSON
• Festival Box Office; 225 King St. West
• The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St. West

Further information about Luna can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's official website, Facebook page and Twitter account. You can also find director Dave McKean on Twitter.

LUNA screening times:
Sat., Sept 6th, 6:30 PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Mon., Sept 8th 9:00 AM, AGO JACKMAN HALL
Sun., Sept 14th, 8:45 PM, SCOTIABANK 9

SPRING Premieres Tonight! Plus the Long Awaited Trailer!

Day two of the festival brings us the second Vanguard film to premiere! Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead follow up 2010's Resolution with Spring, premiering tonight at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema at 6:00 PM. Head over to our previous posts to see the poster, profile and interview of directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, plus not one but two posts on promo videos from Justin and Aaron to get you pumped for tonight.

To further whet your appetite, here is the just released trailer for Spring.

Tickets can be purchased:

• ONLINE: TIFF.net's Ticket Product List Page
• BY PHONE: 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 (Toll-free) 
• IN PERSON
• Festival Box Office; 225 King St. West
• The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St. West

Further information about Spring can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Facebook page, IMDB page and Twitter accounts for the Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead and the film.

SPRING screening times:
Fri., Sept 5th, 6:00 PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Sun., Sept 7th 7:00 PM, SCOTIABANK 4
Sat., Sept 13th, 3:15 PM, SCOTIABANK 3

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY First Look: Poster and Trailer

Prolific horror auteur Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer, Thirteen Assassins) returns to the festival with Over Your Dead Body, his latest in his massive body of work to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. A theatre troupe staging one of Japan's most famous ghost stories, Yotsuya Kaidan, find life imitating art as the ghost story's themes of murder, betrayal and revenge play out off the stage. As you can see from the trailers and teaser photos, Over Your Dead Body follows in Miike's very bloody footsteps.

Below is the poster, short English subtitled trailer and longer non-subtitled trailer for Over Your Dead Body, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Over Your Dead Body can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's website (Japanese) and Twitter account (Japanese).

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY screening times:

Thurs., Sept. 11, Ryerson 6:00 PM
Fri., Sept. 12, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 9:00 PM
Sat., Sept. 13, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 6:30 PM

LUNA First Look: Trailer and Poster

Dave McKean, best known for his collaborations with Neil Gaiman on Sandman, Hellblazer, and Arkham Asylum, follows up his 2005 fantasy film MirrorMask with Luna. Struggling after a major death in the family, Grant (Ben Daniels) and Christine (Dervla Kirwan) visit an old friend Dean (Michael Maloney) and his new girlfriend Freya (Stephanie Leonidas) at their cottage by the sea. Over the course of a long weekend, the four experience a series of hallucinatory dreams and visions, gorgeously envisioned and brought to life by McKean.

Below are the trailer and posters for Luna, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Luna can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's official website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

LUNA's screening times:

Sat., Sept. 6, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 6:30 PM
Mon., Sept. 8, AGO Jackman Hall 9:00 AM
Sun., Sept. 14, Scotiabank 9 8:45 PM

THE WORLD OF KANAKO First Look: Trailer and Poster!

What do you mean it's more bracing than Confessions?! 

When a filmmaker issues a statement saying he is "sorry if the film is too grotesque," you know it's got to be very special. (Maybe special means something different to you, but for us it means crazy and violent. Deal.) World of Kanako (Kawaki) is based on a best-selling novel by Akio Fukamachi some considered too gruesome to ever be a film. Tetsuya Nakashima took that as a challenge and crafted an over-the-top, violent revenge thriller. If any of you are familiar with 2010's Confessions then you know what we're talking about. If you aren't, take our word for it: this might not be the flick to see with your grandma. (No, really.)

Don't be fooled by the pink colour. 

Already a hit in Japan, garnering fans and critics alike, World of Kanako is sure to positively shock, probably disturb, and maybe even offend Vanguard audiences this Festival. Check out the trailer below for a little taste of the cah-razy film experience waiting for you:

World of Kanako is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. You can check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website. 

WORLD OF KANAKO screening times:

Sunday, Sept 7th 9:15 PM ISABELLA BADER THEATRE
Tuesday, Sept 9th 11:30 AM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Saturday, Sept 13 9:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

WASTE LAND: First Look and Trailer!

If that intense, tortured stare featured in the still above is any indicator, you can probably guess that Waste Land, directed by Pieter Van Hees, isn't going to be a lighthearted romp through homicide detective Leo Woeste's life. Sure, he just found out that his partner is unexpectedly pregnant, and yeah, he promises that this case will be his last. Except this one last case drags him into a dark and unsettling underworld. Woeste's fears of becoming a father fully manifest as he struggles to keep his sanity and solve the case.

The thought of parenthood makes us want to wander the streets at night too.

If you're lucky enough to understand French or Flemish, you can also fully understand this trailer, instead of just appreciating—and being slightly disturbed by—the mood and sound and cinematography like this author. (Okay, she understood "un, deux, trois" but that was it.)

Waste Land is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films of the official Festival website. 

WASTE LAND screening times:

Saturday, Sept 6th, 9:30 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Monday, Sept 8th, 4:30 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2
Saturday, Sept 13, 6:30 PM SCOTIABANK 13

THEY HAVE ESCAPED First Look: Trailer and Poster!

How can we get invited to their parties? 

They Have Escaped (He ovat paenneet) comes to us from the brilliant mind of Finnish director JP Valkeapää. This ain't your typical "boo-hoo, troubled youth, let's talk it out to an indie soundtrack" sort of film; nah, instead Valkeapää crafts an intense and at times troubling story of two teens who set out on a sometimes rambling, sometimes crazed journey through Finland after escaping from their halfway house.

Grocery cart: the best way to travel.

We know this intimate yet disruptive story coupled with gorgeous cinematography of Finland and intriguing main characters puts it at the top of your Vangaurd list. But if you needed any more convincing, here's a first poster and trailer.

They Have Escaped is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THEY HAVE ESCAPED screening times:

Monday, Sept 8th, 9:45 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wednesday, Sept 10, 4:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Saturday, Sept 13, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 8

ALLELUIA First Look: Poster and Trailer!

Uh, got a little something on the wall there behind you. 

Nothing makes a horror film scarier than knowing it was inspired by a true story. It's all, "Wait, what, some of that actually happened?! No. Way." When it comes to Alleluia, yes way: it was inspired by the murderous rampage of the 1960s "Lonely Hearts Killers," a couple who killed at least twenty women that they lured through newspaper ads. (Note to self, avoid newspapers for the rest of forever. Just in case.)

Great looking couple. We should invite them over for a potluck sometime. 

Director Fabrice Du Welz puts a murderous, carnage-filled twist on this classic story, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year to fantastic reviews. Variety makes reference to it being a "shield-your-eyes" kind of movie, so you might want to keep that in mind. Perfect film to bring your mum to, if you ask us. We get a sense that Alleluia is going to have people talking a lot during this year's Festival. Check out the poster and trailer below and you'll find it hard to disagree.

Alleluia is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

ALLELUIA screening times:

Tuesday, Sept 9th 10:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Thursday, Sept 11th 3:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Saturday, Sept 13th 9:15PM SCOTIABANK 13

FINAL SCREENING: Sapi

Missed the premiere of Brillante Ma Mendoza's Sapi? You still have a chance to catch this deft mix of satire and horror today!

From Steve Gravestock's notes:

One of the masters of contemporary Philippine cinema, Brillante Ma Mendoza embarks on a very different course with his most recent film, the alternately hilarious and terrifying Sapi, a caustic media satire and horror film about the lengths news services will go to capture and capitalize on a story.

The film follows two competing television news teams as they chase a variety of leads, gradually zeroing in on an impending and possibly apocalyptic storm, and a middle-aged teacher who may or may not be possessed by a demon. Writer and actress Raquel Villavicencio plays the ruthless head of the top-rated network, coming off as a Tagalog variation on Faye Dunaway's fabled character in Network. Her team has eschewed covering politics in favour of triedand- true tabloid fodder: demonic possession.

SAPI Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

BORGMAN Premieres Tonight!

Alex van Warmerdam's Borgman premieres tonight at Scotiabank Theatre 1 at 9:00 PM. Head over to our previous post to see the poster and trailer.

Tickets can be purchased:

• ONLINE: TIFF.net/thefestival
• BY PHONE: 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 (Toll-free) 
• IN PERSON
• Festival Box Office; 225 King St. West
• Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Box Office; 506 Bloor Street West

Further information about Alex van Warmerdam's Borgman can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the Borgman and IMDB page.

BORGMAN screening times:

• Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:00pm SCOTIABANK 1
• Thursday, Sept 12th, 3:00pm BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

BORGMAN: Cannes Press Round Up

Alex van Warmerdan's eighth feature film Borgman competed in competition at the 2013 Festival de Cannes, and now the film arrives at the Toronto International Film Festival for its North American Premiere in the Vanguard programme. Below are just a sampling of the buzz out of Cannes for the surreal home and mind invasion film.

Variety's Guy Lodge called Borgmann "a sly, insidious and intermittently hilarious domestic thriller that is likely to remain one of the most daring selections of this year’s Cannes competish."

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney says the film is a "quirky study of the unrelenting grip of evil, the film is beautifully made" and that it is "an engrossing and original work that should find an international niche."
The Guardian's Catherine Shoard states that aesthetically Borgman has "a Fassbinder-esque mise-en-scene that mixes minimalism and kinky fuss to good effect, and the whole affair is served with a sheen you can almost touch."

Twitchfilm's Brian Clark says van Warmerdam "brings wit and humor that is often laugh-out-loud hilarious to the proceedings. It's certainly dark, sterile and deadpan, along with pretty much every stylistic choice in the movie, but also whip-smart, inventive and often very surprising."

"With pitch-perfect performances across the board, and boasting crisp photography and editing, the film never ceases to twist, turn and surprise, taking wicked joy in constantly switching us back on ourselves and our expectations of the characters" writes Indiewire's Jessica Kiang.

Los Angeles Times' Steven Zeitchik wonders if Borgman is "this year's Holy Motors" and states that the film generated a lot of debate out of Cannes over what to make of the film. Borgman will defini

Further information about Alex van Warmerdam's Borgman can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the Borgman IMDB page.

BORGMAN screening times:

• Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:00pm SCOTIABANK 1
• Thursday, Sept 12th, 3:00pm BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA