Today’s TIFF news: five exciting announcements, including the premieres of three buzzy documentaries
Last week, we highlighted TIFF’s announcement of an impressive lineup of galas and special presentations for this year’s film fest, including the debuts of films featuring the likes of Brad Pitt, Jennifer Garner, George Clooney and Sarah Polley. Today, TIFF organizers were back at it, releasing five more notable additions to the festival’s ever-growing roster. We’re excited about this year’s big show, so we have all the details about foreign film premieres, Vanguard cinema, Midnight Madness, shows for children and documentary premieres after the jump.
City to City program
For the past two years, TIFF has highlighted films from partner cities from around the globe. Last year, the City to City program showcased films from Istanbul, while Tel Aviv was in the spotlight the previous year. For 2011, Buenos Aires will be participating in City to City with 10 flicks on tap from Argentine directors like Lucrecia Martel, Lisandro Alonso and Pablo Trapero, five of which will be world premieres.
Vanguard program According to TIFF, all the films featured in the “provocative” Vanguard lineup are “young and cutting edge.” And with screenings of titles like Headshot (Thailand/France), Love and Bruises (China/France) and Generation P (Russia/U.S.), we believe it.
Midnight Madness
Those films that are deemed too cool for daylight are being shown during the Midnight Madness program. This year’s Midnight Madness features films about maniacal crossbow killers, a “reimagined” Bonnie and Clyde and Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America.
TIFF Kids
The program formerly known as Sprockets Family Zone has been redubbed TIFF Kids, but we can expect a variety of kid-friendly selections from around the world, including Bess Kargman’s First Position, a documentary that takes viewers behind the scenes of a children’s international ballet competition, and the self-explanatory A Monster in Paris.
Documentary Premieres
We’re over-the-moon excited about the slew of highly anticipated documentaries that will premiere at TIFF, including Werner Herzog’s long-awaited Into the Abyss, which chronicles a triple homicide in Texas (because it’s Werner Herzog), Morgan Spurlock’s Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope and Jessica Yu’s harrowing documentary on our dwindling water resources, Last Call of the Oasis.
