The 2014 Toronto International Film Festival will spotlight films featuring Kristen Stewart as an actress’ personal assistant, Dustin Hoffman as a choir teacher, John Travolta as an art forger, Adam Sandler as a shoe repairman, Arnold Schwarzenegger as a farmer surrounded by zombies and Benicio del Toro as drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
Their films were among more than 100 films added to the Toronto lineup on Tuesday, in the fourth of TIFF’s weekly programming announcements.
Olivier Assayas’ “Clouds of Sils Maria” features Stewart as the assistant to an actress played by Juliette Binoche; Francois Girard’s boarding-school drama “Boychoir” includes Hoffman, Kathy Bates and Debra Winger; Philip Martin’s “The Forger” features Travolta as the forger who pulls a job with his father (Christopher Plummer); Thomas McCarthy’s “The Cobbler” stars Sandler as the title character; Henry Hobson’s zombie movie “Maggie” features Schwarzenegger; and Andrea Di Stefano’s “Escobar: Paradise Lost” spotlights del Toro as Escobar.
See video: Kristen Stewart Assists an Insecure Juliette Binoche in ‘Clouds of Sils Maria’ Debut Trailer (Video)
The new galas, which join an extensive lineup of previously announced films, include a number of films with notable casts. Maya Forbes’ “Infinitely Polar Bear” stars Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana, and Lynn Shelton’s “Laggies” features a cast that includes Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell and Chloe Grace Moretz.
Other galas include Richard Loncraine’s “Ruth & Alex,” with Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman; and Cedric Jimenez’s “The Connection,” with Jean Dujardin.
Special screenings include Sophia Barthes’ “Madame Bovary,” with Mia Wasikowska and Paul Giamatti; actor-turned-director Paul Bettany’s ode to New York films of the ’70s, “Shelter”; the Dardenne brothers’ “Two Days, One Night,” which won raves in Cannes; and Shira Piven’s “Welcome to Me,” with Kristen Wiig and James Marsden.
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Also getting a special screening is a new director’s cut of “Human Highway,” a bizarre 1982 film directed by actor Dean Stockwell and musician Neil Young (under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey).
The Contemporary World Cinema program is particularly robust, with 51 new films from around the world. Pascale Ferran (“Bird People”), Jessica Hausner (“Amour Fou”), Melanie Laurent (“Breathe”), Ole Christian Madsen (“Itsi Bitsi”) and Naomi Kawase (“Still the Water”) are among the directors represented by selections.
The program also ranges far afield from what would be considered international arthouse cinema, to include Australian director Kriv Stenders’ pulpy, bloody comic thriller “Kill Me Three Times” and Martin Rejtman’s similarly titled “Two Shots Fired,” about a teenager who shoots himself twice without any apparent damage.
This year’s City to City section, which singles out the cinema of a different city each year, will focus on eight films from Seoul, South Korea. The lineup, chosen by artistic director Cameron Bailey, includes work from directors July Jung (“A Girl at My Door”), Kim Seong-hun (“A Hard Day”) and Park Jung-bum (“Alive”).
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Films in the TIFF Cinematheque section of revival screenings include John Ford’s classic Western “My Darling Clementine,” Armenian director Sergei Parajanov’s “The Color of Pomegranates” and three Asian films, Nagisa Oshima’s “Cruel Story of Youth” (Japan), King Hu’s “Dragon Inn” (Taiwan) and Wu Yonggang’s “The Goddess” (China).
The Wavelengths section is a combination of adventurous short, medium and feature-length films from around the world. Selections include Sergei Loznitsa’s “Maidan,” a documentary about recent protests in Kiev; Lisandro Alonso’s austere and haunting “Jauja,” starring Viggo Mortensen; and “The Old Man of Belem,” a new work from the world’s oldest working director, 105-year-old Portugese auteur Manoel de Oliveira.
The Future Projections section consists of art installations and multi-media works from a variety of international artists, with subject matter ranging from BMX bicycle riding and parkour (Shaun Gladwell’s “BMX Channel” and “Midnight Traceur”) to the furniture of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret (Amie Siegel’s “Provenance”) to a seven-part Korean work inspired by the City to City section (Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries’ “SOME GRAPHIC SEX, HEAVY DRINKING, BLOODY VIOLENCE, AND DIRTY LANGUAGE: SEVEN ONE-MINUTE FEATURE-LIKE FILMS ABOUT SEOUL”).
The shorts program is highlighted by the world premiere of “Here Is the Concatenation,” a new 30-minute film from iconic French director Claire Denis, as well as films about dancer Marina Abramovic and baseball legend Ted Williams.
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The additions:
GALAS
“Boychoir,” Francois Girard / World Premiere
“The Connection” (“La French”), Cédric Jimenez, France/Belgium / World Premiere
“Escobar: Paradise Lost,” Andrea Di Stefano, France / World Premiere
“The Forger,” Philip Martin, USA / World Premiere
“Infinitely Polar Bear,” Maya Forbes, USA / Canadian Premiere
“Laggies,” Lynn Shelton, USA / International Premiere
“Ruth & Alex,” Richard Loncraine, USA / World Premiere
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Beyond the Lights,” Gina Prince-Bythewood, USA / World Premiere
“Clouds of Sils Maria,” Olivier Assayas, France/USA / North American Premiere
“The Cobbler,” Thomas McCarthy, USA / World Premiere
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2,” (“Dan Shen Nan Nu 2”), Johnnie To, Hong Kong/China / World Premiere
“Gemma Bovery,” Anne Fontaine, France / World Premiere
“Gentlemen,” Mikael Marcimain, Sweden / World Premiere
“Gomorrah,” Stefano Sollima, Italy / North American Premiere
“Human Highway (Director’s Cut),” Bernard Shakey and Dean Stockwell, USA / World Premiere
“Madame Bovary,” Sophie Barthes, United Kingdom/Belgium / World Premiere
“Maggie,” Henry Hobson, USA / World Premiere
“Pride,” Matthew Warchus, United Kingdom / North American Premiere
“Revenge of the Green Dragons,” Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo, USA / World Premiere
“The Search,” Michel Hazanavicius, France / North American Premiere
“Shelter,” Paul Bettany, USA / World Premiere
“Three Hearts” (“3 Coeurs”), Benoît Jacquot, France / North American Premiere
“Two Days, One Night,” (“Deux jours, une nuit”), Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium/France / Canadian Premiere
“Welcome to Me,” Shira Piven, USA / World Premiere
CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
“Aire Libre,” Anahí Berneri, Argentina / International Premiere
“Amour Fou,” Jessica Hausner, Austria/Luxembourg/Germany / North American Premiere
“Behavior” (“Conducta”), Ernesto Daranas, Cuba / Canadian Premiere
“Bird People,” Pascale Ferran, France / North American Premiere
“Black Souls” (“Anime Nere”), Francesco Munzi, Italy / International Premiere
“Breathe” (“Respire”), Mélanie Laurent, France / North American Premiere
“Charlie’s Country,” Rolf de Heer, Australia / North American Premiere
“Cut Snake,” Tony Ayres, Australia / International Premiere
“The Dark Horse,” James Napier Robertson, New Zealand / International Premiere
“Don’t Breathe” (“La Faille”), Nino Kirtadze, France / World Premiere
“The Farewell Party” (“Mita Tova”), Sharon Maymon, Tal Granit, Germany/Israel / North American Premiere
“Frailer” (“Brozer”) Mijke de Jong, Netherlands / World Premiere
“Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem” (“Gett, le procès de Vivane Amsalem”), Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz, France/Germany/Israel / North American Premiere
“Girlhood” (“Bande de filles”), Céline Sciamma, France / North American Premiere
“The Grump” (“Mielensäpahoittaja”), Dome Karukoski, Finland / World Premiere
“High Society” (“Le beau monde”), Julie Lopes Curval, France / International Premiere
“Impunity,” Jyoti Mistry, South Africa / World Premiere
“In the Crosswind” (“Risttuules”), Martti Helde, Estonia / International Premiere
“Itsi Bitsi,” Ole Christian Madsen, Denmark/Sweden / World Premiere
“Justice” (“Hustisya”), Joel Lamangan, Philippines / International Premiere
“Kabukicho Love Hotel” (“Sayonara Kabukicho”), Ryuichi Hiroki, Japan / World Premiere
“Kill Me Three Times” Kriv Stenders, Australia / World Premiere
“Labyrinth Of Lies” (“Im Labyrinth des Schweigens”), Giulio Ricciarelli, Germany / World Premiere
“Leopardi” (“Il giovane favoloso”), Mario Martone, Italy / International Premiere
“The Lesson” (“Urok”), Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, Bulgaria/Greece World Premiere
“Li’l Quinquin” (“P’tit Quinquin”), Bruno Dumont, France / North American Premiere
“Lulu,” Luis Ortega, Argentina / World Premiere
“Margarita, with a Straw,” Shonali Bose, India / World Premiere
“Meet Me in Montenegro,” Alex Holdridge, Linnea Saasen, USA/Germany/Norway / World Premiere
“Men Who Save The World” (“Lelaki Harapan Dunia”), Liew Seng Tat, Malaysia/Netherlands/Germany/France / North American Premiere
“Mirage” (“Délibáb”), Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary/Slovakia / World Premiere
“Modris,” Juris Kursietis, Latvia/Germany/Greece / World Premiere
“Not My Type” (“Pas son genre”), Lucas Belvaux, Belgium/France / Canadian Premiere
“Out of Nature” (“Mot nature”), Ole Giæver, Norway / World Premiere
“The Owners,” Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Kazakhstan / North American Premiere
“Partners in Crime” (“Kong Feng”), Chang Jung-Chi, Taiwan / North American Premiere
“The Reaper” (“Kosac”), Zvonimir Jurić, Croatia/Slovenia / International Premiere
“Red Rose,” Sepideh Farsi, France/Greece/Iran / World Premiere
“Sand Dollars” (“Dólares de Arena”), Laura Amelia Guzmán, Israel Cárdenas, Dominican Republic/Argentina/Mexico / World Premiere
“Still the Water” (“Futatsume no mado”), Naomi Kawase, Japan/France/Spain / North American Premiere
“Tales” (“Ghesseha”), Rakhshan Banietemad, Iran / North American Premiere
“Today” (“Emrouz”), Reza Mirkarimi, Iran / International Premiere
“Tokyo Fiancée,” Stefan Liberski, Belgium/Canada/France / World Premiere
“Tour de Force” (“Hin und weg”), Christian Zübert, Germany / North American Premiere
“Two Shots Fired” (“Dos disparos”), Martin Rejtman, Argentina/Chile/Germany/Netherlands / North American Premiere
“The Valley” (“Al-Wadi”), Ghassan Salhab, France/Germany/Lebanon/Qatar / World Premiere
“Venice” (“Venecia”), Kiki Álvarez, Cuba/Colombia / World Premiere
“Voice Over” (“La Voz en Off”), Cristián Jiménez, Chile / World Premiere
“Where I Am King” (“Hari ng Tondo”), Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Philippines / International Premiere
“Who Am I – No System is Safe,” Baran bo Odar, Germany / World Premiere
“Xenia,” Panos H. Koutras, Greece/France/Belgium / North American Premiere
CITY TO CITY
“A Dream of Iron” (“Cheol-ae-kum”), Kelvin Kyung Kun Park, South Korea/USA / Canadian Premiere
“A Girl at My Door” (“Dohee-Ya”), July Jung, South Korea / North American Premiere
“A Hard Day” (“Kkeut-kka-ji-gan-da”), Kim Seong-hun, South Korea / North American Premiere
“Cart” (“Ka-teu”), Boo Ji-Young, South Korea / World Premiere
“Confession” (“Jo-Eun-Chin-Goo-Deul”), Lee Do-yun, South Korea / International Premiere
“Gyeongju,” Zhang Lu, South Korea / North American Premiere
“Scarlet Innocence,” Yim Pil-sung, South Korea / World Premiere
TIFF CINEMATHEQUE
“The Color of Pomegranates” (“Sayat Nova”), Sergei Parajanov, Armenia
“Cruel Story of Youth” (“Seishun zankoku monogatari”), Nagisa Ôshima, Japan
“Dragon Inn,” King Hu, Taiwan
“The Goddess,” Wu Yonggang, China
“In Comparison,” Harun Farocki, Germany/Austria (Tribute Screening)
“My Darling Clementine,” John Ford, USA
WAVELENGTHS
Short Film Programs
Wavelengths 1: Open Forms
“brouillard – passage #14,” Alexandre Larose, Canada
“Against Landscape,” Josh Gen Solondz, USA
“Open Form – Game on an Actress’s Face,” KwieKulik Group, Poland
“The Dragon is the Frame,” Mary Helena Clark, USA
“Open Form – Street and Tribune in Front of PKiN,” KwieKulik Group, Poland
“Poetry for Sale,” Friedl vom Gröller, Austria
“Under a Changing Sky,” Jean-Claude Rousseau, France
“Panchrome I, II, III,” T. Marie, USA
Wavelengths 2: Something in the Atmosphere
“The pimp and his trophies,” Antoinette Zwirchmayr, Austria
“The Innocents,” Jean-Paul Kelly, Canada
“Catalogue,” Dana Berman Duff, USA
“Relief,” Calum Walter, USA
“Red Capriccio,” Blake Williams, Canada
“Under the Atmosphere,” Mike Stolz, USA
“Beep,” Kim Kyung-man, South Korea
Wavelengths 3: Tales Told
“Twelve Tales Told,” Johann Lurf, Austria
“San Siro,” Yuri Ancarani, Italy
“Intransit,” Jakrawal Nilthamrong, Thailand
“Canopy,” Ken Jacobs, USA
“Detour de Force,” Rebecca Baron, Austria/USA
Wavelengths 4: Night Noon
“Lunar Almanac,” Malena Szlam, Canada/Chile
“Deep Sleep,” Basma Alsharif, Malta/Greece/France/Palestine
“Orizzonti Orizzonti!,” Anna Marziano, Italy
“The Policeman’s House,” Mich’ael Zupraner, Israel/Palestine
“Night Noon,” Shambhavi Kaul, USA/Mexico
“Sea of Vapors,” Sylvia Schedelbauer, Germany
Medium-length Groupings
“The Figures Carved into the Knife by the Sap of the Banana Trees,” Joana Pimenta, USA/Portugal International Premiere
“The Old Man of Belem,” Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/France / North American Premiere
“Taprobana,” Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal/Sri Lanka/Denmark / North American Premiere
“Journey to the West” (“Xi You”), Tsai Ming-liang, France/Taiwan / Canadian Premiere
“Spectrum Reverse Spectrum,” Margaret Honda, USA / North American Premiere
Features
“A Single Word” (“Une Simple Parole”), Mariama Sylla, Khady Sylla, Senegal/Qatar / World Premiere
“Horse Money” (“Cavalo Dinheiro”), Pedro Costa, Portugal / North American Premiere
“Episode of the Sea,” Lonnie van Brummelen, Siebren de Haan, the inhabitants of Urk, Netherlands / World Premiere
“Fires on the Plain” (“Nobi”), Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan / North American Premiere
“From What is Before” (“Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon”), Lav Diaz, Philippines / North American Premiere
“Heaven Knows What,” Joshua Safdie, Benny Safdie, USA/France / North American Premiere
“Jauja,” Lisandro Alonso, Denmark/USA/Argentina/Mexico/Netherlands/Germany/France / North American Premiere
“La Sapience” (“La Sapienza”), Eugène Green, France/Italy / North American Premiere
“Le beau danger,” René Frölke, Germany / North American Premiere
“Letters to Max,” Eric Baudelaire, France / International Premiere
“Maidan” (“Maïdan”), Sergei Loznitsa, Ukraine/Netherlands / North American Premiere
“Songs From the North,” Soon-Mi Yoo, USA/South Korea/Portugal / North American Premiere
“The Princess of France” (“La Princesa de Francia”), Matías Piñeiro, Argentina / North American Premiere
FUTURE PROJECTIONS
“Anna and the Tower”
“SOME GRAPHIC SEX, HEAVY DRINKING, BLOODY VIOLENCE, AND DIRTY LANGUAGE: SEVEN ONE-MINUTE FEATURE-LIKE FILMS ABOUT SEOUL”
“Nature of the Self”
“BMX Channel” and “Midnight Traceur”
“Provenance”
SHORT CUTS INTERNATIONAL
“( NULL ),” David Gesslbauer and Michael Lange
“130919 • A Portrait of Marina Abramović,” Matthu Placek
“8 Bullets,” Frank Ternier
“Aïssa,” Clément Trehin-Lalanne
“Boogaloo and Graham,” Michael Lennox
“A Ceremony for a Friend,” Kaveh Ebrahimpour
“Chop My Money,” Theo Anthony
“Discipline,” Christophe M. Saber
“everything & everything & everything,” Alberto Roldán
“Eye & Mermaid,” Shahad Ameen
“German Shepherd,” Nils Bergendal
“The Goat,” John Trengove
“Growing Pains,” Tor Fruergaard
“Here is the Concatenation,” Claire Denis
“Ice Cream,” Serhat Karaaslan
“I’m in the Corner with the Bluebells,” Ako Mitchell
“An Immortal Man,” Josh Koury and Myles Kane
“The Last Day of Summer,” Feike Santbergen
“Lava,” James Ford Murphy
“Listen,” Hamy Ramezan and Rungano Nyoni
“Midfield,” Pedro Amorim
“Newborns,” Megha Ramaswamy
“Oh Lucy!,” Atsuko Hirayanagi
“Papa Machete,” Jonathan David Kane
“Persefone,” Grazia Tricarico
“Pineapple Calamari,” Kasia Nalewajka
“Playing with Balls,” Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir
“Seven Boats,” Hlynur Pálmason
“The Shove,” My Sandström
“A Single Body,” Sotiris Dounoukos
“A Single Life,” Job, Joris & Marieke
“Skinner,” Gábor Fabricius
“A Spark at Darkest Night,” Paul De Silva
“Tatuapé Mahal Tower,” Carolina Markowicz and Fernanda Salloum
“Tricycle Thief,” Maxim Bessmertnyi
“The Warren,” James Adolphus