TIFF 51 Is Here!
It’s another year, which means another trip across the world to Toronto where the 51st Toronto International Film Festival will be taking place. With nearly 400 films from across the world including features, award contenders, shorts and documentaries, there’s something for everyone at this incredible fest. We will be on the ground providing live coverage and reviews all throughout TIFF, but we also got a chance to check plenty films prior the festival that we’re excited to highlight and put on your radar. Since we’ve seen so many, I’m going to break it down by categories and sections – starting with TIFF Docs.
Documentaries aren’t typically a big focus for a festival like TIFF. Not that they don’t have them – they most certainly do – but they’re usually found taking a back seat to world premieres and big, buzzy titles. This year however, the Doc lineup is stacked. Packed with plenty of incredible stories and some real contenders that left me floored. Let’s take a look at a few of them that you should put on your radar and find some time in your schedule in Toronto to check out!
Note that these are not in any ranked order, just a collection of documentary films we recommend!
Edward Said: Between Worlds
Prior to this film, I knew nothing about Edward Said. His works, his activism, and his impact on western colonialism and Israel/Palestine relations. Between Worlds is an eye opening documentary that not only digs into Said’s life, but also traces the history of brutal conflicts and deconstructing our own western ideas about the orient. Extremely relevant to the current times, Said’s work – though often controversial and confrontational – resonates even now and reframes the way we think about the world outside of our own little bubble. Edward Said: Between Worlds will expand your mind and reshape it, and it is certainly one to keep an eye out for.
Tehran, Under The Skin
I love a documentary that shows me a whole new side of a culture and people I know nothing about outside of our own American propaganda machine. Tehran, Under the Skin exposes the thriving cosmetic enhancement industry that exists in Tehran, as women flock to cosmetic surgery doctors to “fix” and “enhance” their bodies. It’s simply not something the other side of the world would ever think occurs in Iran, and the doc serves as an eye opening experience that unlocks a hidden cultural surge in place wholly foreign. Tehran, Under the Skin is certain to breed conversations about beauty standards and daily life in Iran, two things that are worth learning more about.
Still Night Burning House
I know this is a curtain raiser, so I have to be careful about traveling too far into review territory. But Still Night, Burning House blew me away. An unexpected gem of a film bursting with loss grief, and healing presented with a stunning cinematic lens. The film follows a Vietnamese family left to make sense of a patriarchs sudden passing. It becomes clear that he suffered from a mental illness, one that each family member understood (or didn’t) in different ways. As they prepare for their next family reunion, each person brings a different perspective of their father, uncle, brother etc and reckon with the loss differently, too. A tender, empathetic look at family history and moving past tragedy, Still Night,Burning House is a huge surprise that left me completely moved. If you’re looking for a true hidden gem, seek this one out.
Sports and Music – Rapinoe and Bleed Heart
We have a LOT of docs to get through here, so I’m gonna combine some of these to save time and paragraphs. I’m not a soccer fan at all, so I knew next to nothing about Megan Rapinoe. Thankfully, Rapinoe is an excellent look at her life and impact on women’s soccer. Her drive for greatness, acceptance of self, activism and fight for equality is impossible not to get behind, and Megan proves to be a fascinating subject. Standard by always engaging, Rapinoe is one that will surely interest sports fans but will also peak some interest in the sport’s stars from those like me.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bleeding Heart follows a grassroots bluegrass/folk duo and couple who navigate their growing popularity and the challenges of collaboration and romantic partnership. It’s a real peel back the curtain kind of approach, keeping itself centered on its subjects at their most vulnerable rather than trying to dramatize things that aren’t there. While their music isn’t really my thing, it’s hard not to get behind the talent of the pair and experience the struggles of being an artist on the rise against the struggles of being in a relationship at the same time.
Double Dose of Excellence – Union Town and Low Lies the Land
Prescient docs will always get me, and both Union Town and Low Lies the Land both have it spades. Wildly different in tone and subject but similar in that they are both necessary, they deal with eveyday people just trying to make a living and forces that fight against them. Union Town digs deep into the heart of New York unions and the fight for better pay and fair treatment from big companies like Amazon, UPS, and delivery services. Candid and riveting, Union Town is an exciting indictment of late stage capitalism and exploitation of the workforce that keep our convenient lives convenient.
Low Lies the Land takes a quieter approach to a similarly disruptive force, the doc follows a collection of wine making families in the Italian countryside. We follow their daily lives as they tend to the lands that have been a part of their families for generations. Climate change has made agriculture more and more difficult to produce each year, and as the rain gets more scarce and the crops wither and die the families do what they can to make ends meet. Additionally, a broker working on behalf of a private investment company who want the land starts hanging around and prepositioning the families to sell their lands. It may be quiet, but the storm of change is a’comin’ and Low Lies the Land presents it beautifully.
Rehearsals For a Revolution and Rescue
Again, I know it’s a curtain raiser and not a review, but I did save two of my favorites for last. Rehearsals for a Revolutions traces the family and Iranian history in a series of chapters dedicated to a different family member. Normally I don’t care for documentaries in which the documentarian injects themselves into their projects, but this one is so deeply personal, vulnerable and introspective I didn’t mind it one bit. Another eye opening examination of Iranian life, it’s a harrowing documentary that demonstrates the best and worst of humanity. Rehearsals for a Revolution is absolutely one you should put on your radar and not miss this one at TIFF!
last but certainly not least is Rescue, a riveting doc that is so cinematic I had to pinch myself to remember it was a documentary and not a feature film. It plays like a thriller with no fat whatsoever, and moves with such veracity and emotion it will leave you on the edge of your seat. A powerful look at survival and hope to be reunited with love ones, Rescue is the biggest hidden gem of the fest and one you have to see to believe. It shattered my heart and put it back together again, brimming with harrowing struggle and immense perseverance. Seek this out!
So there you have it! Plenty of docs to put on your radar and keep and eye on! Plenty more to watch and discover, so be sure to check back for more TIFF updates!
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