Toronto International Film Festival 2018: Discovery
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- DirectorHajooj KukaStarsAbdallah AlnurGanja ChakadoEkram MarcusA Kasha is a universal offbeat love story set in a time of civil war - but the war is in Sudan and it is happening right now. We follow Adnan, an AK47-loving rebel, his long-suffering love interest, Lina, and the armydodging Absi, over a fateful 24 hours in a rebel-held area of Sudan.
- DirectorBo HuStarsYu ZhangYuchang PengUvin WangFour people in a Chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect.
- DirectorPella KagermanHugo LiljaStarsEmelie GarbersBianca CruzeiroArvin KananianA spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.
- DirectorTuva NovotnyStarsPia TjeltaAnders BaasmoPer FrischBLIND SPOT is a story about the grey zones in mental illness; the blind spots hard to discover, as experienced by a mother realizing her daughter struggling with far worse issues than she realized.
- DirectorAkash ShermanStarsPatrick J. AdamsTroian BellisarioEnnis EsmerAn obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.
- DirectorKei Chika-uraStarsYulai LüTatsuya FujiSayo AkasakaA Chinese man moves illegally to Japan in order to improve his life and gain opportunity. He buys and assumes a false identity at considerable cost and is, therefore, more than happy to accept a job offer meant for someone else. Having forged his way into a new setting once again he has to contend with the reality that the job is preparing traditional Japanese soba noodles.
- DirectorMichael D. AnglinStarsHannah Goldie AlltmontMichael D. AnglinJohn L. ArmijoJust released from prison, Jessie vows to do the right thing. Will his mistakes from the past outshine his future?
- DirectorImogen ThomasStarsRhae-Kye WaitesWayne BlairStella CarterA spirited 8-year-old girl deals with the grief of her mother's death by forging a bond with a wild emu. This spiritual dreaming is a bond she will do anything to keep, but one that puts her at odds with the new social worker.
- DirectorCarolina HellsgårdStarsGro Swantje KohlhofMaja LehrerTrine DyrholmIt has been two years since a zombie virus epidemic infected all but two German cities. Vivi and Eva flee the struggling community in Weimar for the one other safe-haven: Jena.
- DirectorAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeStarsLeke AdebayoAdemola AdedoyinAdejola AdeyemiBased on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he joins a white skinhead gang.
- DirectorAalam-Warqe DavidianStarsMareta GetachewYohannes MusaWeyenshiet Belachew16 year old Jewish Mina, is trying to navigate between a surreal routine dictated by the civil war in Ethiopia and her last days of youth with her Christian boyfriend Eli. When she discovers that her family is planning to immigrate to Israel and escape the war, she weaves an alternate plan in order to save Eli. But in times of war, plans tend to go wrong. Marsha's coming of age film debut film is based on her childhood memories of a civil-war-torn Ethiopia.
- DirectorJasmin MozaffariStarsMichaela KurimskyKarena EvansCallum ThompsonA teenage girl and her friend run into problems when they plan to leave town.
- DirectorCarmel WintersStarsHazel DoupeDara DevaneyJohnny CollinsFrom the producers of "Once" and "Sing Street", "Float Like a Butterfly" is a powerful, timely story of a girl's fight for freedom and belonging. In a gender-reversal of the classic film "Billy Elliott," 15-year-old Frances must fight for the right to fight back. Raised in roadside camps in rural Ireland, Frances wants to champion her people inside the boxing ring and out, like her idol Muhammad Ali. But society is determined to break her spirit and destroy her way of life. And her father, once her greatest ally, is too defeated himself to imagine anything better for his daughter. But Frances was not born to be broken. In the mother of all fights, she must dig deep to find in herself the Champion her father once knew her to be.
- DirectorZach LipovskyAdam B. SteinStarsEmile HirschBruce DernGrace ParkA bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father's protective and paranoid control.
- DirectorLukas DhontStarsVictor PolsterArieh WorthalterOliver BodartA promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.
- DirectorWilliam McGregorStarsEleanor Worthington-CoxJodie InnesKobna Holdbrook-SmithA folk tale set in the hills of Wales during the industrial revolution.
- DirectorNeto VillalobosStarsDaniela MoraWilliam QuirósHarvey MonestelMancha is an easygoing bike messenger with no big expectations in life. His only cares in the world are riding his motorcycle, being with his girlfriend Clara, and hanging out with his fellow messengers. His carefree existence is disrupted one day when they all get fired and Clara announces that she is moving to Horse Island - a place that doesn't allow any motorcycles. Faced with no other job prospects, Mancha forms a debt-collecting biker gang with his messenger buddies to try and preserve his way of life and win Clara back.
- DirectorNikos LabôtStarsMarisha TriantafyllidouDimitris ImellosMaria FiliniAn oppressed woman discovers a new sense of self when she gets her first job as a cleaning woman in a shopping mall.
- DirectorDaniel SawkaStarsGenesis RodriguezCarrie LazarSarah MinnichA young boy becomes trapped inside America's rigid immigration process. (Feature adaptation of the 2016 short film, "Icebox.")
- DirectorBenjamin GilmourStarsSam SmithMohammad MosamKefayat Lag HumaniFormer Australian soldier, Mike Wheeler, returns to Afghanistan, seeking redemption from the family of a civilian man he killed during the war.
- DirectorRosanne PelStarsErik WalnyEwa MakulaKlaudia Przybylska15-year-old Eryk lives with his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother in a small village in Poland. He has a too-intimate relationship with his manipulative and dominant mother. Eryk is in love with his 13-year-old neighbor Klaudia, but he doesn't know the difference between love and abuse.
- DirectorGenevieve NnajiStarsGenevieve NnajiNkem OwohPete EdochieRunning a company can be challenging, especially for a female in a male-dominated industry. Looking to prove her worth, Adaeze steps up to the challenge when health issues force her father to take a step back.
- DirectorPhuttiphong AroonphengStarsAphisit HamaWanlop RungkumjadRasmee WayranaNear a coastal village of Thailand, by the sea where thousands of Rohingya refugees have drowned, a local fisherman finds an injured man lying unconscious in the forest. He rescues the stranger, who does not speak a word, offers him his friendship and names him Thongchai. But when the fisherman suddenly disappears at sea, Thongchai slowly begins to take over his friend's life - his house, his job and his ex-wife.
- DirectorCamilla Strøm HenriksenStarsYlva Bjørkaas ThedinMaria BonnevieSverrir GudnasonFrom a young age, Jill has acted as the responsible adult in her small family. She cares for her loving but mentally unstable mother and her younger brother. The news that their estranged father will be visiting on Jill's birthday gives the children much needed hope. When the family is struck by tragedy, Jill keeps it a secret.
- DirectorWanuri KahiuStarsSamantha MugatsiaNeville MisatiNice Githinji"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
- DirectorBassam JarbawiStarsZiad BakriAreen OmariJameel KhouryPalestinian director Bassam Jarbawi's debut feature film tackles the physical and emotional toll of one man's return home after 15 years in an Israeli jail.
- DirectorMarija KavtaradzeStarsAdrija Cepaite-PalsauskieneGelmine GlemzaiteVilija GrigaityteAn ambitious young research psychologist, Indre, has reluctantly agreed to transport two patients from one psychiatric unit to another in exchange for research privileges at her clinic.
- DirectorSameh ZoabiStarsKais NashifLubna AzabalYaniv BitonSalam is a consultant on a popular Palestinian TV series filmed in Ramallah who rather stupidly runs afoul of an Israeli checkpoint commander who uses his military influence to begin to manipulate Salam and the writing of the show.
- DirectorXue BaiStarsYao HuangSunny SunCarmen SoupStudying in Hong Kong but living in Shenzhen (the port city of Mainland China), Peipei has spent 16 years in her life travelling between these two cities. To realize the dream of seeing snow in Japan with her bestie, Peipei joins a smuggling gang and uses her student identity to smuggle iPhones from Hong Kong to Mainland. Her family life and friendships begin to fall apart. The daily life of Peipei starts to get out of control.
- DirectorAndy TohillRyan TohillStarsMoe DunfordEmily TaaffeFrancis MageeAfter serving fifteen years for murder, Callahan returns home to find Sean, his victim's father searching for the body. Callahan soon realises that the only way to get rid of him is to help him dig.
- DirectorArturo InfanteStarsMaría Isabel Díaz LagoFaustino PérezDaisy QuintanaCeleste is a widow living a tranquil, unadventurous existence in Havana, fulfilling her daily shifts as a tour guide at the local planetarium. One day when several "Cubans" mysteriously vanish into thin air, the government announces that aliens have been living in Cuban society disguised as humans, and that these foreign guests are now returning the favor by inviting humans to visit their far-away world. It all makes perfect sense to Celeste - she had always thought that her "Russian" neighbor Pauline was eccentric, but now learns she was truly from another planet. Celeste discovers that Pauline has left her a personal invitation to join her and joins the government preparation program to journey to the far unknown.
- DirectorOgnjen GlavonicStarsLeon LucevNovak BilbijaBranko PerisicVlada works as a truck driver during the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. Tasked with transporting a mysterious load from Kosovo to Belgrade, he drives through unfamiliar territory, trying to make his way in a country scarred by the war. He knows that once the job is over, he will need to return home and face the consequences of his actions.
- DirectorJoël KarekeziStarsAbby Mukiibi NkaagaCédrick Mbongo MbuluNsereko Mazinga HenryThe Mercy of the jungle is a road movie that deals with wars in Congo through the eyes of two lost soldiers in the jungle by showcasing their struggle, weakness and hope.
- DirectorAsh MayfairStarsHong Chuong NguyenLong Le VuNu Yên-Khê TranIn 19th century rural Vietnam, May is ready to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Little does she know that her hidden desires will force her to decide between living in safety and being free.
- DirectorGabriel BitarAndré CatotoGustavo SteinbergStarsPedro HenriqueDenise FragaMatheus NachtergaeleThe film tells the story of a boy who is responsible, along with his father, for finding the cure for an illness that is contracted after the person takes a fright.
- DirectorDominga SotomayorStarsDemian HernándezAntar MachadoMagdalena TótoroDuring the summer of 1990 in Chile, people begin to feel a growing sense of freedom and three teenagers face their first loves and fears.
- DirectorAdina PintilieStarsLaura BensonTómas LemarquisChristian BayerleinTogether, a filmmaker and her characters venture into a personal research project about intimacy. On the fluid border between reality and fiction, Touch Me Not follows the emotional journeys of Laura, Tómas and Christian, offering a deeply empathic insight into their lives.
- DirectorBenedikt ErlingssonStarsHalldóra GeirharðsdóttirJóhann SigurðarsonJuan Camilo Román EstradaHalla becomes a determined environmental activist, but this threatens a long-held hope of hers.