The Toronto International Film Festival has today announced the lineup for two of its more unpredictable and interesting sections: Discovery and Midnight Madness. Billed as “the infamous,” this year’s Midnight Madness lineup features 10 titles, seven of which are world premieres. The Discovery lineup, which primarily includes world and international premieres, includes 26 titles.
Per TIFF, both “Midnight Madness and Discovery provide a cornucopia of original and unexpected work. Midnight Madness is a fan favorite, iconoclastic program highlighting the weird and the wicked, while the Discovery program offers a window to contemporary international cinema and introduces the public to first and second feature films from gifted new filmmakers.” The festival’s announcement also notes that 13 female filmmakers, representing 50 percent of the total program, are featured in this year’s Discovery lineup.
Those films include new offerings from Harmony Korine and Larry Charles, plus — as Peter Kuplowsky, TIFF International Programmer, Midnight Madness, shares — “two timely satiric provocations” in the form of “NAGA” and “Working Class Goes to Hell.” Kuplowsky also promises that “this year’s madness infectiously ignites with 11 o’clock numbers that go all the way to midnight courtesy of Larry Charles’ bonkers and bawdy ‘Dicks: The Musical.’ A menagerie of tastes will be sated, so bottoms up!”
The section will open with Charles’ feature and close with Weston Razooli’s “Riddle of Fire,” which debuted at Cannes earlier this year. The lineup also boasts the USA/Canada world premiere of Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk’s “Hell of a Summer.”
The Discovery section will open with Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut, “Gonzo Girl,” which stars Camilla Morrone and Willem Dafoe. It also includes new films from Kim Taeyang, Meredith Hama-Brown, Billy Luther, and Molly Manning Walker’s Cannes premiere “How to Have Sex.”
“The Discovery section, which is curated by a brilliant team of international programmers, is an integral part of TIFF,” said Dorota Lech, TIFF Lead Programmer, Discovery, & International Programmer for Central, Eastern, & Southern Europe, the Caucasus, Iran, & Turkey, in an official statement. “It is a bold and exciting showcase of cinema and emerging talent from around the world, and we are honored to highlight new and distinctive voices from artists creating their first or second feature on our global stage.”
Check out both lineups below.
Midnight Madness Program
“AGGRO DR1FT,” Harmony Korine | USA North American Premiere
“Boy Kills World,” Moritz Mohr | Germany/South Africa/USA World Premiere
OPENING FILM: “Dicks: The Musical,” Larry Charles | USA World Premiere
“Hell of a Summer,” Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk | USA/Canada World Premiere
“KILL,” Nikhil Nagesh Bhat | India World Premiere
“NAGA,” Meshal Aljaser | Saudi Arabia World Premiere
CLOSING FILM: “Riddle of Fire,” Weston Razooli | USA North American Premiere
“Sleep,” Jason Yu | South Korea North American Premiere
“When Evil Lurks,” Demián Rugna | Argentina World Premiere
“Working Class Goes to Hell,” Mladen Đorđević | Serbia World Premiere
Discovery Program
“Achilles,” Farhad Delaram | Iran/Germany/France World Premiere
“After the fire,” Mehdi Fikri | France World Premiere
“A Match (Sthal),” Jayant Digambar Somalkar | India World Premiere
“Andragogy,” Wregas Bhanuteja | Indonesia/Singapore World Premiere
“An Endless Sunday,” Alain Parroni | Italy/Germany/Ireland International Premiere
“Arthur&Diana,” Sara Summa | Germany World Premiere
“Backspot,” D.W. Waterson | Canada World Premiere
“Frybread Face and Me,” Billy Luther | USA International Premiere
OPENING FILM: “Gonzo Girl,” Patricia Arquette | USA World Premiere
“Hajjan,” Abu Bakr Shawky | Saudi Arabia/Egypt/Jordan World Premiere
“How to Have Sex,” Molly Manning Walker | United Kingdom North American Premiere
“I Don’t Know Who You Are,” M. H. Murray | Canada World Premiere
“La Suprema,” Felipe Holguín Caro | Colombia World Premiere
“Mandoob,” Ali Kalthami | Saudi Arabia World Premiere
“Mimang,” Kim Taeyang | South Korea World Premiere
“Seagrass,” Meredith Hama-Brown | Canada World Premiere
“Solitude,” Ninna Pálmadóttir | Iceland/Slovakia/France World Premiere
“Tautuktavuk (What We See),” Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk | Canada World Premiere
“The Teacher,” Farah Nabulsi | United Kingdom/Palestine/Qatar World Premiere
“The Tundra Within Me (Eallugierdi),” Sara Margrethe Oskal | Norway World Premiere
“The Queen of My Dreams,” Fawzia Mirza | Canada World Premiere
“Valentina or the Serenity (Valentina o la serenidad),” Ángeles Cruz | Mexico World Premiere
“Widow Clicquot,” Thomas Napper | France World Premiere
“Wild Woman,” Alán González | Cuba World Premiere
“Without Air,” Katalin Moldovai | Hungary World Premiere
“Yellow Bus,” Wendy Bednarz | United Arab Emirates World Premiere
This year’s TIFF will open with Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron,” and recently announced a star-filled gala and special presentations slate that features new work from Michael Keaton, Anna Kendrick, Viggo Mortensen, and others, as well as a documentary slate that includes mainstays like Alex Gibney and Frederick Wiseman, and its forward-looking Platform section.
TIFF 2023 runs September 7 through 17, 2023.
Per TIFF, both “Midnight Madness and Discovery provide a cornucopia of original and unexpected work. Midnight Madness is a fan favorite, iconoclastic program highlighting the weird and the wicked, while the Discovery program offers a window to contemporary international cinema and introduces the public to first and second feature films from gifted new filmmakers.” The festival’s announcement also notes that 13 female filmmakers, representing 50 percent of the total program, are featured in this year’s Discovery lineup.
Those films include new offerings from Harmony Korine and Larry Charles, plus — as Peter Kuplowsky, TIFF International Programmer, Midnight Madness, shares — “two timely satiric provocations” in the form of “NAGA” and “Working Class Goes to Hell.” Kuplowsky also promises that “this year’s madness infectiously ignites with 11 o’clock numbers that go all the way to midnight courtesy of Larry Charles’ bonkers and bawdy ‘Dicks: The Musical.’ A menagerie of tastes will be sated, so bottoms up!”
The section will open with Charles’ feature and close with Weston Razooli’s “Riddle of Fire,” which debuted at Cannes earlier this year. The lineup also boasts the USA/Canada world premiere of Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk’s “Hell of a Summer.”
The Discovery section will open with Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut, “Gonzo Girl,” which stars Camilla Morrone and Willem Dafoe. It also includes new films from Kim Taeyang, Meredith Hama-Brown, Billy Luther, and Molly Manning Walker’s Cannes premiere “How to Have Sex.”
“The Discovery section, which is curated by a brilliant team of international programmers, is an integral part of TIFF,” said Dorota Lech, TIFF Lead Programmer, Discovery, & International Programmer for Central, Eastern, & Southern Europe, the Caucasus, Iran, & Turkey, in an official statement. “It is a bold and exciting showcase of cinema and emerging talent from around the world, and we are honored to highlight new and distinctive voices from artists creating their first or second feature on our global stage.”
Check out both lineups below.
Midnight Madness Program
“AGGRO DR1FT,” Harmony Korine | USA North American Premiere
“Boy Kills World,” Moritz Mohr | Germany/South Africa/USA World Premiere
OPENING FILM: “Dicks: The Musical,” Larry Charles | USA World Premiere
“Hell of a Summer,” Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk | USA/Canada World Premiere
“KILL,” Nikhil Nagesh Bhat | India World Premiere
“NAGA,” Meshal Aljaser | Saudi Arabia World Premiere
CLOSING FILM: “Riddle of Fire,” Weston Razooli | USA North American Premiere
“Sleep,” Jason Yu | South Korea North American Premiere
“When Evil Lurks,” Demián Rugna | Argentina World Premiere
“Working Class Goes to Hell,” Mladen Đorđević | Serbia World Premiere
Discovery Program
“Achilles,” Farhad Delaram | Iran/Germany/France World Premiere
“After the fire,” Mehdi Fikri | France World Premiere
“A Match (Sthal),” Jayant Digambar Somalkar | India World Premiere
“Andragogy,” Wregas Bhanuteja | Indonesia/Singapore World Premiere
“An Endless Sunday,” Alain Parroni | Italy/Germany/Ireland International Premiere
“Arthur&Diana,” Sara Summa | Germany World Premiere
“Backspot,” D.W. Waterson | Canada World Premiere
“Frybread Face and Me,” Billy Luther | USA International Premiere
OPENING FILM: “Gonzo Girl,” Patricia Arquette | USA World Premiere
“Hajjan,” Abu Bakr Shawky | Saudi Arabia/Egypt/Jordan World Premiere
“How to Have Sex,” Molly Manning Walker | United Kingdom North American Premiere
“I Don’t Know Who You Are,” M. H. Murray | Canada World Premiere
“La Suprema,” Felipe Holguín Caro | Colombia World Premiere
“Mandoob,” Ali Kalthami | Saudi Arabia World Premiere
“Mimang,” Kim Taeyang | South Korea World Premiere
“Seagrass,” Meredith Hama-Brown | Canada World Premiere
“Solitude,” Ninna Pálmadóttir | Iceland/Slovakia/France World Premiere
“Tautuktavuk (What We See),” Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk | Canada World Premiere
“The Teacher,” Farah Nabulsi | United Kingdom/Palestine/Qatar World Premiere
“The Tundra Within Me (Eallugierdi),” Sara Margrethe Oskal | Norway World Premiere
“The Queen of My Dreams,” Fawzia Mirza | Canada World Premiere
“Valentina or the Serenity (Valentina o la serenidad),” Ángeles Cruz | Mexico World Premiere
“Widow Clicquot,” Thomas Napper | France World Premiere
“Wild Woman,” Alán González | Cuba World Premiere
“Without Air,” Katalin Moldovai | Hungary World Premiere
“Yellow Bus,” Wendy Bednarz | United Arab Emirates World Premiere
This year’s TIFF will open with Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron,” and recently announced a star-filled gala and special presentations slate that features new work from Michael Keaton, Anna Kendrick, Viggo Mortensen, and others, as well as a documentary slate that includes mainstays like Alex Gibney and Frederick Wiseman, and its forward-looking Platform section.
TIFF 2023 runs September 7 through 17, 2023.