“The Armstrong Lie,” Alex Gibney‘s documentary about disgraced bicycle racer Lance Armstrong, is among more than 100 films added to the lineup of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Tuesday.
Gibney’s film, which will be released by Sony Pictures Classics, was originally envisioned as a chronicle of Armstrong’s attempt to come out of retirement and win his eighth Tour de France in 2010. The filmmaker's approach changed dramatically when Armstrong admitted to doping, with a resulting title change from “The Road Back” to “The Armstrong Lie.”
The Oscar-winning Gibney has screened many of his recent films, including “Mea Maxima Culpa,””Client 9” and “The Last Gladiators,” at TIFF.
Other films added to the Toronto lineup include gala screenings of Guillaume Canet’s “Blood Ties,” which premiered at this year’s Cannes, Marion Vernoux’s “Bright Days Ahead” and Fred Schepisi’s “Words and Pictures,” with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche as New England prep school teachers.
Among the 19 special presentations are new films from Johnnie To (“Blind Detective”), Sean Durkin (“Southcliffe”), John Turturro (“Fading Gigolo”) and Patrice Leconte (“A Promise”).
Also added: the world premiere of Josh C. Waller's "McCanick," which means that Cory Monteith's last two films will both screen in Toronto. TIFF previously announced that "All the Wrong Reasons," also featuring the late actor, would premiere at the festival.
And since it would hardly be a film festival without James Franco popping up to do something, the insatiable hyphenate will be represented in Toronto with “Child of God,” a Cormac McCarthy adaptation directed by, co-written by and co-starring Franco.
The new additions bring the total number of confirmed films to more than 260. TheWrap has the full list here.
Also read: Toronto Film Festival 2013: The Full Lineup
Films added to the Contemporary World Cinema section include “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” from Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, “The Selfish Giant” from Clio Barnard (right), “When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism” by Corneliu Porumboiu, “Honeymoon” by Jan Hrebejk, the sexually explicit "Stranger by the Lake" by Alain Guiraudie and “Paradise: Hope,” the third film in a trilogy by Ulrich Seidl.
TIFF also unveiled an extensive list of experimental works, ranging from feature films to shorts, that will make up the Wavelengths program. The features include Ben Wheatley’s druggy black-and-white period fantasia “A Field in England”; Albert Serra’s “Story of My Death,” loosely based on the autobiography of Casanova; Rithy Panh’s Cannes winner “The Missing Picture,” which tells the story of the director’s family during the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia by using miniature clay figures; Stephanie Spray’s and Pacho Velez’s “MANAKAMANA,” which was shot entirely inside airborne gondolas in the jungles of Nepal; and “La ultima pelicula,” a film from Raya Martin and Mark Peranson about an American filmmaker who encounters the Mayan apocalypse while scouting locations in the Yucatan.
Finally, the festival unveiled the list of participants in its fifth annual Doc Conference, a two-day program of panels, keynote speeches and case studies devoted to both the creative and business sides of documentary filmmaking. Directors Andrew Jarecki, Alex Gibney, Greg Campbell and Gary Hustwit will participate, as will sales agent Josh Braun, distributors Peter Broderick and Tim League, financier Dan Logan and executives from Al Jazeera America.
Additional films and special guests will be added to the TIFF lineup on Aug. 20. The festival begins on Sept. 5 and runs through Sept. 15. More information is available at www.tiff.net.
The new additions:
GALAS
Blood Ties Guillaume Canet, France/USA (North American Premiere)
Bright Days Ahead (Les Beaux jours) Marion Vernoux, France (North American Premiere)
Words and Pictures Fred Schepisi, USA (World Premiere)
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
The Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney, USA (North American Premiere)
Blind Detective Johnnie To, Hong Kong (North American Premiere)
Child of God James Franco, USA (North American Premiere)
The Face of Love Arie Posin, USA (World Premiere)
Fading Gigolo John Turturro, USA (World Premiere)
The Finishers Nils Tavernier, Belgium/France (World Premiere)
How I Live Now Kevin Macdonald, United Kingdom (World Premiere)
The Last of Robin Hood Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, USA (World Premiere)
The Liberator (Libertador) Alberto Arvelo, Venezuela/Spain (World Premiere)
Love is the Perfect Crime (Amour Crime Parfait) Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu, France/Switzerland (World Premiere)
Lucky Them Megan Griffiths, USA (World Premiere)
A Promise (Une Promesse) Patrice Leconte, Belgium/France (North American Premiere)
Rock the Casbah Laïla Marrakchi, France/Morocco (International Premiere)
Singing Women (Sarki Söyleyen Kadinlar) Reha Erdem, France/Germany/Turkey (World Premiere)
Southcliffe Sean Durkin, United Kingdom (International Premiere)
Sunshine on Leith Dexter Fletcher, United Kingdom (World Premiere)
Therese Charlie Stratton, USA (World Premiere)
Unforgiven (Yurusarezarumono) Lee Sang-il, Japan (North American Premiere)
The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) Hayao Miyazaki, Japan (North American Premiere)
TIFF KIDS
Amazonia Thierry Ragobert, France/Brazil (North American Premiere)
Antboy Ask Hasselbalch, Denmark (World Premiere)
KHUMBA Anthony Silverston, South Africa (North American Premiere)
The World of Goopi and Bagha Shilpa Ranade, India (World Premiere)
Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang Oskar Santos, Spain (World Premiere)
CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
A Place in Heaven (Makom be-gan eden)Yossi Madmony, Israel (North American Premiere)
A Wolf at the Door (O Lobo atrás da Porta) Fernando Coimbra, Brazil (World Premiere)
An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (Epizoda u životu beraca željeza) Danis Tanović, Bosnia-Herzegovina/France/Slovenia (North American Premiere)
Bad Hair (Pelo Malo) Mariana Rondón, Venezuela (World Premiere)
Bastardo Nejib Belkadhi, Tunisia/France/Qatar (World Premiere)
The Bit Player (Ekstra) Jeffrey Jeturian, Philippines (International Premiere)
Blind Dates (Brma Paemnebi) Levan Koguashvili, Georgia (World Premiere)
Brazilian Western (Faroeste Caboclo) René Sampaio, Brazil (Canadian Premiere)
Break Loose (Vosmerka) Alexey Uchitel, Russia (World Premiere)
Child's Pose (Pozitia Copilului) Calin Peter Netzer, Romania (North American Premiere)
Club Sandwich (Club Sándwich) Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico (World Premiere)
Cristo Rey Leticia Tonos Paniagua, Dominican Republic/France/Haiti (World Premiere)
The Dinner (Het Diner) Menno Meyjes, The Netherlands (World Premiere)
Eastern Boys Robin Campillo, France (North American Premiere)
El Mudo Diego Vega and Daniel Vega, Peru/France/Mexico (North American Premiere)
Friends from France (Les Interdits) Anne Weil and Philippe Kotlarski, France/Germany/Canada/Russia (World Premiere)
Giselle Toa Fraser, New Zealand (International Premiere)
Heart of a Lion (Leijonasydän) Dome Karukoski, Finland/Sweden (World Premiere)
Honeymoon (Líbanky) Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic/Slovakia (International Premiere)
Hotell Lisa Langseth, Sweden/Denmark (World Premiere)
The Immoral (De Umoralske) Lars Daniel Krutzkoff Jacobsen, Norway (World Premiere)
Intruders (Jo Nan-ja-deul) Noh Young-Seok, South Korea (World Premiere)
The Kids from the Port (Los Chicos del Puerto) Alberto Morais, Spain (North American Premiere)
iNumber Number Donovan Marsh, South Africa (World Premiere)
Ladder to Damascus (Soullam iIa Dimashq) Mohamad Malas, Syria/Lebanon/Qatar (World Premiere)
Le Grand Cahier (A Nagy Füzet) János Szász, Germany/Hungary/Austria/France (North American Premiere)
Life's a Breeze Lance Daly, Ireland/Sweden (International Premiere)
Little Feet Alexandre Rockwell, USA (World Premiere)
The Major Yuri Bykov, Russia (North American Premiere)
Manuscripts Don't Burn (Dast-neveshtehaa nemisoozand) Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran (Canadian Premiere)
McCanick Josh C. Waller, USA (World Premiere)
Metalhead (Málmhaus) Ragnar Bragason, Iceland (World Premiere)
Ningen Guillaume Giovanetti and Çagla Zencirci, Japan/Turkey (World Premiere)
October November (Oktober November) Götz Spielmann, Austria (World Premiere)
Old Moon (Luna Vieja) Raisa Bonnet, Puerto Rico (World Premiere)
Palestine Stereo (Falastine Stereo) Rashid Masharawi (World Premiere)
Paradise: Hope (Paradies: Hoffnung) Ulrich Seidl, Austria/France/Germany (North American Premiere)
Qissa Anup Singh, Germany/India/The Netherlands/France (World Premiere)
Rags and Tatters (Farsh wa ghata) Ahmad Abdalla, Egypt (World Premiere)
The Sea Stephen Brown, Ireland (North American Premiere)
The Selfish Giant Clio Barnard, United Kingdom (North American Premiere)
Something Necessary Judy Kibinge, Kenya/Germany (North American Premiere)
Stop the Pounding Heart Roberto Minervini, Belgium/Italy/USA (North American Premiere)
Stranger by the Lake Alain Guiraudie, France (North American Premiere)
This is Sanlitun Róbert I. Douglas, China/Iceland/Ireland (World Premiere)
Unbeatable Dante Lam, China/Hong Kong (North American Premiere)
Under the Starry Sky (Des Etoiles) Dyana Gaye, France/Senegal (World Premiere)
When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism (Cand se lasa seara peste Bucuresti sau Metabolism) Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania (North American Premiere)
White Lies (Tuakiri Huna) Dana Rotberg, New Zealand (International Premiere)
The Wonders (Plaot) Avi Nesher, Israel (International Premiere)
To Repel Ghosts: Urban Tales from the African Continent
Homecoming (African Metropolis) Jim Chuchu, Kenya (International Premiere)
Berea (African Metropolis) Vincent Moloi, South Africa (International Premiere)
To Repel Ghosts (African Metropolis) Philippe Lacôte, Ivory Coast (International Premiere)
Kwaku Ananse Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ghana/Mexico/USA (North American Premiere)
Noah’s Flood (Unogumbe, Noye’s Fludde) Mark Dornford-May, South Africa (World Premiere)
WAVELENGTHS
Features:
A Field in England Ben Wheatley, United Kingdom (North American Premiere)
A Spell to Ward off the Darkness Ben Rivers and Ben Russell, Estonia/France (North American Premiere)
I’m the same, I’m an other Caroline Strubbe, Belgium (World Premiere)
La ultíma película Raya Martin & Mark Peranson, Canada/Denmark/Mexico/Philippines (World Premiere)
Preceded by
RP31 Lucy Raven, USA (Canadian Premiere)
MANAKAMANA Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez, USA/Nepal (North American Premiere)
Pays Barbare Yvervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi , France (North American Premiere)
Story of My Death Albert Serra, Spain/France (North American Premiere)
Stray Dogs (Jiao You) Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan/France (North American Premiere)
The Battle of Tabatô Joao Viana, Portugal/Guinea-Bissau (North American Premiere)
Preceded by
The Disquiet, Ali Cherri (World Premiere)
The Missing Picture (L’image manquante) Rithy Panh, Cambodia/France (North American Premiere)
The Police Officer’s Wife Philip Gröning, Germany (North American Premiere)
The Strange Little Cat Ramon Zürcher, Germany (Canadian Premiere)
‘Til Madness Do Us Apart Wang Bing, France/Hong Kong/Japan (North American Premiere)
Three Interpretation Exercises (Trois Exercises d’Interprétation) Cristi Puiu, Romania/France (North American Premiere)
Medium-length films:
Un conte de Michel de Montaigne Jean-Marie Straub (North American Premiere) and
The King’s Body (O Corpo de Afonso) Jõao Pedro Rodrigues (North American Premiere) and
Redemption Miguel Gomes (North American Premiere)
A Thousand Suns (Mille soleils) Mati Diop (International Premiere) and
Letter to a Refusing Pilot Akram Zaatari (North American Premiere)
Three Landscapes preceded by Song and Spring
Song Nathaniel Dorsky Canadian Premiere
Spring Nathaniel Dorsky (World Premiere)
Three Landscapes Peter Hutton (World Premiere)
Short film programs:
Wavelengths 1: Variations On…
Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper David Rimmer (Restoration courtesy of Academy Film Archive), Canada
Pop Takes Luther Price, USA
Airship Kenneth Anger, USA
El Adios Largos Andrew Lampert, Mexico/USA
The Realist Scott Stark, USA
Wavelengths 2: Now & Then
Instants Hannes Schüpbach, Switzerland
Pepper’s Ghost Stephen Broomer, Canada
Man in Motion, 2012 (Homme en mouvement, 2012) Christophe M. Saber, Ruben Glauser and Max Idje, Switzerland
Flower Naoko Tasaka, Japan/USA
Constellations (Konstellationen) Helga Fanderl, Germany
Wavelengths 3: Farther Than the Eye Can See
Farther Than the Eye Can See Basma Alsharif, United Arab Emirates
Main Hall Philipp Fleischmann, Austria
45 7 Broadway Tomonari Nishikawa, USA
Bann Nina Könnemann, Germany
Dry Standpipe (Suchy Pion) Wojciech Bakowski, Poland
Gowanus Canal Sarah J. Christman, USA
Nefandus Carlos Motta, USA/Spain
Wavelengths 4: Elysium
Trissákia 3 Nick Collins, UK
Brimstone Line Chris Kennedy, Canada
Listening to the Space in my Room Robert Beavers, Switzerland
Mount Song Shambhavi Kaul, USA/India
Natpwe, the feast of the spirits Tiane Doan na Champassak and Jean Dubrel, France/Burma