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Exclusive: UTA has signed rising Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin for representation in all areas.

This August, Pellerin will be seen starring in Lurker, the critically acclaimed feature directorial debut of Alex Russell, which was snapped up by Mubi for U.S. distribution and Focus Features for international following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it broke out as one of this year’s buzziest titles.

In the psychological thriller set in Los Angeles, the actor plays Matthew, a young retail clerk who cunningly inserts himself into the inner circle of a pop star (Archie Madekwe) with whom he’s become infatuated.

Upcoming, Pellerin will also be seen starring in Pauline Loquès’ debut feature Nino, a Parisian drama that premiered in competition at Cannes Critics’ Week, where the actor was awarded the Rising Star Award.

Pellerin previously starred as the Marquis de Lafayette in Apple TV+’s Franklin,...

Exclusive: Peccadillo Pictures has picked up UK-Ireland rights for Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese’s Australian animation Lesbian Space Princess, winner of the Teddy award for queer cinema at this year’s Berlinale.

Blue Finch Films represents sales. Queer cinema specialist Peccadillo Pictures will release the film theatrically later this year.

The sci-fi comedy animation, which also screened at SXSW London and is playing in the Horizons strand at Karlovy Vary, follows a space princess that is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens.

Exclusive: Peccadillo Pictures has picked up UK-Ireland rights for Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese’s Australian animation Lesbian Space Princess, winner of the Teddy award for queer cinema at this year’s Berlinale.

Blue Finch Films represents sales. Queer cinema specialist Peccadillo Pictures will release the film theatrically later this year.

The sci-fi comedy animation, which also screened at SXSW London, follows a space princess that is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens.

Voice cast includes Shabana Azeez, Gemma Chua Tran and Richard Roxburgh.

Exclusive: This year’s Manchester Film Festival is set to run from March 14 – 23 and will open with a screening of The Penguin Lessons, directed by British filmmaker Peter Cattaneo and starring Steve Coogan.

Based on the best-selling memoir, the film tells the story of an Englishman’s personal and political awakening during a cataclysmic period in Argentine history, brought about by his unlikely adoption of a penguin.

Manchester will screen 37 features, including 15 UK premieres and 4 world premieres. All films will be screening in Manchester for the first time. This includes the Manchester premiere of the UK’s Oscar selection Santosh from Sandhya Suri, Sundance, and Cannes hit Good One directed by India Donaldson, and South by Southwest Audience Award Winner My Dead Friend Zoe from Kyle Hausmann-Stokes.

Other highlights include the UK premieres of Y2K, A24’s latest horror comedy starring Fred Durst and directed by Kyle Mooney, the...

Théodore Pellerin is mesmerizing as Simon, a gifted drag queen coming into his own in Montreal’s lively performance scene. Writer-director Sophie Dupuis, collaborating once more with Pellerin, crafts a tender portrait of her protagonist navigating rocky relationships.

We meet Simon delighting audiences with his alter-ego Glory Gore, gliding gracefully across the stage. But challenges await off-stage as he falls for the charming yet volatile Olivier, played by Félix Maritaud with nuanced flair. Just as this new romance takes flight, Simon’s estranged mother Claire, an opera diva, promises a reconnection that proves bittersweet at best.

Dupuis follows her character’s emotional odyssey with empathy and care. Through vivid choreography and costumes, she brings us straight into Simon’s dazzling world of drag while keeping us invested in the messier matters of the heart. Pellerin excels at conveying his character’s vulnerability, radiating warmth even in Simon’s darkest moments of doubt.

With “Solo,” the story of a young drag performer navigating a volatile new relationship, Sophie Dupuis delivers a film every bit as mesmerizing as her main character. Affectionately chronicling the drag world, as well as what happens to its inhabitants when the make-up comes off, the writer-director delivers a visually arresting and emotionally involving story that mercifully pivots more on broader familial and romantic conflicts than the ultraspecific cultural ones of its setting. Nevertheless fully rendering its protagonist’s personal and artistic crises, “Solo” both honors and transcends its subject matter in its widely evocative, deeply affecting character study — while also happening to have an absolutely banging soundtrack.

Théodore Pellerin leads as Simon, the ambitious ingenue among a tight-knit group of drag performers. After a performance of Abba’s “Voulez-Vous” to a rhapsodic crowd, he meets Olivier (Félix Maritaud), a fellow queen who’s slightly older but no less ambitious — and instantly drawn to Simon.

Before Simon (Théodore Pellerin) struts out on stage every night in his drag regalia, he prepares backstage by lip-syncing to Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” His persona, Glory Gore, isn’t fully formed at this point — she’s only been half-painted into existence — but when Chaka belts out the lyrics to her signature anthem, something physically shifts within Simon as he begins to inhabit the words and the woman inside him alike. Although the other drag queens roll their eyes and tease Simon for always playing the same song each night, it’s not long before everyone joins him for a communal singalong that speaks to the uniquely queer connection these queens have bonded through.

Yet “Solo” isn’t so much about belonging as it is the desperate need to belong, and it’s this pain that Simon is forced to work through when his life twists into...

Here in the USA, we tend to cling to certain stereotypes about our Canadian neighbors. That they’re exceptionally polite. That they’re obsessed with ice hockey. That they say the word “eh” a lot. Some of that may even be true. But there’s one cliché aboot — um, about — the Great White North that turns out to be demonstrably false: The place is much more diverse than you might think.

That’s one of the reasons THR has put together its first list of Canada’s most powerful women in entertainment, to showcase not just the female talent running TV and film sets across the border, but to celebrate the rainbow of identities that make up Canada’s film, TV and music industries. On these pages you’ll find Korean Canadians, Ukrainian Canadians, Canadians of Mohawk descent, even a First Nation Canadian who’s half-Jewish. What they all have in common,...

Continues impressive New Queer Cinema legacy with a naturalistic and politically conscious approach. Thodore Pellerin shines as Simon, showcasing depth and authenticity in a complex role. Solo captures the beauty and politics of drag art, validating the artist's journey in a hostile world.

Written and directed by French-Canadian filmmaker, Sophie Dupuis, Solo joins the chorus of LGBTQ+ media set in the vibrant world of drag today. While it might seem like an over-saturated market between HBO's We're Here, which is currently in its fourth season, and the long-running RuPaul's Drag Race franchise Solo offers a grittier take on the life of a drag performer. It certainly offers the razzle-dazzle fans typically associate with drag queens, but underneath the glam is the tender beating heart of a sensitive artist trying to find his own way in a cruel world.

Solo stars Thodore Pellerin as Simon, who is a rising star in Montreal's drag scene.

How can we know what makes us happy? More importantly, how can we trust the people around us to make us happy, support us in our happiness, provide us with the love and care we deserve? And how can we know when what we're receiving is not love, but manipulation? It can be hard to see in a haze of newfound love, or love that has sat untended but abiding despite its neglect. For her third feature, Québécois filmmaker Sophie Dupuis, joined by rising star Théodore Pellerin, create a vibrant, intimate, and heartbreaking story of a young man whose happiness is slowly eroded by jealousy, control, and lack of understanding, not only from one source, but also from himself. Simon (Pellerin) is...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ever since seeing his stellar performance in Philippe Lesage’s Genesis, it’s been great to see Théodore Pellerin expand his resume with films by Eliza Hittman and Ari Aster. One of his most acclaimed films yet has now arrived with Sophie Dupuis’ Solo, which premiered at TIFF last fall while also picking up the award for Best Canadian Feature Film. Picked up by Music Box Films, it’ll now arrive in New York at IFC Center on May 24 and in Los Angeles at Laemmle Glendale on May 31. Ahead of the release, the new U.S. trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “Simon (Théodore Pellerin) is a rising star in Montreal’s drag scene performing lively disco pop numbers weekly at his local club. Friendly with his fellow drag queens and supported by his sister, who delights in designing increasingly elaborate and beautiful costumes for his act, Simon vibrates...

"You should come to my show." Music Box Films has unveiled the official trailer for a Canadian indie drama titled Solo, the latest creation from Quebecois filmmaker Sophie Dupuis. This is currently set to open in US theaters starting this May, after originally premiering at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival. It also showed at the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival last fall and a few other fests. An electrifying love story quickly develops when a rising star in the Montreal drag queen scene meets his club's newest performer, but how long can the couple sustain an artistic double act when the solo spotlight beckons? Featuring a star-making performance by Théodore Pellerin along with Félix Maritaud. "Beautifully charting the highs and lows of falling in love and finding oneself in one's art, writer and director Sophie Dupuis' Solo is a passionate feat of character-driven storytelling and visual extravagance, celebrating the drag world...

Twisted queer-drag romance drama “Solo” has the makings of “Passages” meets “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”

Written and directed by Sophie Dupuis, “Solo” stars Théodore Pellerin and Félix Maritaud as two drag performers whose love affair threatens both of their careers. The feature won Best Canadian Film at TIFF 2023, and is distributed by Music Box Films.

“Solo” is described as “an electrifying love story” that “quickly develops when a rising star in the Montreal drag queen scene meets his club’s newest performer.” Its logline asks: “How long can the couple sustain an artistic double act when the solo spotlight beckons?”

Pellerin plays Simon, a rising star in Montreal’s drag scene best known for performing lively disco pop numbers weekly at his local club. But when he meets new club recruit Oliver (Maritaud), a creative collaboration begins to flow alongside their flourishing romance…that is, until Oliver’s seemingly...

The Canadian indigenous TV drama Little Bird has grabbed a field-leading 19 nominations heading into the Canadian Screen Awards.

The series, which airs on Crave in Canada and PBS stateside, follows Behzig Little Bird, who was stripped of her indigenous identity when adopted into a Jewish family at age 5. As an adult, she goes looking for her indigenous roots and discovers she was forcibly taken from her birth family on the Long Pine Reserve in Saskatchewan by the Canadian government as part of a controversial Sixties Scoop policy.

Little Bird will compete for best drama series. and Darla Contois and Ellyn Jade nabbed nominations for best lead performer in a drama. Little Bird also earned Imajyn Cardinal a nomination for best guest drama performance, and Braeden Clarke grabbed a mention for best supporting drama performance.

The final seasons of CBC comedies Sort Of and Workin’ Moms earned 18 and 12 nominations, respectively. Other...

Music Box Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Solo,” Sophie Dupuis’s queer love story of two rising drag performers starring Théodore Pellerin (“Beau Is Afraid) and Félix Maritaud (“120 Bpm”).

The edgy film — which is repped by Snd and premiered at Toronto where it won best Canadian film — follows Simon, a rising star of Montreal drag queen scene, who falls in love with Olivier, the new recruit at the bar where he performs. While Simon believes he is experiencing an electrifying love story with Olivier, a toxic dynamic develops between them. At the same time, Simon’s mother, a famous opera singer, returns to work in the country after 15 years of absence. Fascinated by her, Simon persists in trying to create a bond with her, but in vain. Weakened by the failure of these two impossible relationships, Simon must learn how to find the love he deserves from within.

After a starry awards gala kicked off the Palm Springs Film Festival, several of this year’s awards contenders and friends reconnected at Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch & Creative Impact Awards Presented by Directv, Friday at the Parker Palm Springs hotel.

Before the presentation, the honorees posed on the red carpet and stopped for questions with Variety’s senior culture & events editor Marc Malkin. Anna Kendrick, a new member of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch, recalled the first time she yelled action on set for her film “Woman of the Hour.”

“Day one I was really worried about moving slowly on the first shot, of the first day, of the first Monday because it always sets the tone for the week,” the star-turned-director said. “And certainly, the very first one sets the tone for the whole shoot. I really raced through the first couple of setups because I was like,...

The traditionally celebrity-heavy Toronto Film Festival has unveiled its list of Canada’s best indie films for 2023, which includes a host of first-time directors that have come to the fore as the Hollywood actors strike put local movies and talent front and center at TIFF last September.

Canadian filmmakers were able to grab the spotlight after SAG-AFTRA members barred from promoting studio or streamer projects allowed them to fill the vacuum on TIFF red carpets and at industry events.

New directors were also favorites of Toronto programmers as a shifting TIFF film market with few American celebrities in town also allowed the marquee festival to double down on finding new creative voices.

So here’s the top Canadian feature films of 2023, as decided by film pickers in Toronto.

1. BlackBerry

Matt Johnson’s drama about the meteoric rise of the world’s first smartphone, before its competitive collapse, bowed in Berlin.

Exclusive: Black Bear’s management arm has signed the Swedish actor and model Simon Lööf for representation.

Lööf is currently on set in the lead role of Netflix’s Swedish thriller An Honest Life, directed by Mikael Marcimain, which is due to be released globally 2024.

Based on a thriller by Joakim Zander of the same name, the buzzed about production revolves around a disillusioned law school student who finds himself on the wrong side of the law, when he falls under the thrall of an anarchic, young woman he meets a political demonstration.

Simon Lööf made his acting debut in 2020 in teen ice hockey drama Eagles, which he followed with a co-starring role in the critically acclaimed Swedish series Threesome opposite Matilda Källström.

Aside from An Honest Life, Lööf’s will soon be seen in the series So Long, Marianne about the relationship between...

Black Bear’s management arm has signed award-winning Quebec director Sophie Dupuis for representation. Most recently, Dupuis’ third picture, “Solo,” premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the award for best Canadian film. The film, which was written and directed by Dupuis, stars fellow Black Bear client Théodore Pellerin. It is set in Montreal’s drag queen scene.

Critics embraced the film with SlashFilm calling it “a vibrant portrait of queer nightlife” and the Toronto Star praising the work as a “dexterous film that combines bold images with the quiet beat of a heart torn asunder two ways.”

Dupuis’ previous work, which also showcases her impactful storytelling and her focus on human complexity, has been widely lauded. Her feature film debut, the crime drama “Family First,” earned four Canadian Screen Awards. It was selected as Canada’s submission for best foreign language film at the 2018 Academy Awards.

’Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make Believe’ wins doc award, ’Dicks: The Musical’ wins Midnight Madness.

The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.

‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review

Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut for Amazon/MGM stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.

American Fiction follows last year’s recipient...

’Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make Believe’ wins doc award, ’Dicks: The Musical’ wins Midnight Madness.

The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.

‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review

Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut from Orion and MRC stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.

MGM distributes American Fiction in the...

’Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make Believe’ wins doc award, ’Dicks: The Musical’ wins Midnight Madness.

The satire American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright has won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 2023 People’s Choice Award, boosting the crowd-pleaser’s Oscar credentials heading into awards season.

‘American Fiction’: Toronto Review

Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut from Orion and MRC stars Wright as a frustrated Black author whose deliberately dumbed-down novel about cliched Black characters becomes a hit. There are multiple screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox today (September 17) from 2:30pm-9:30pm Et.

MGM distributes American Fiction in the...

“American Fiction” has won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced at an awards brunch on Sunday.

The Orion/MGM film by first-time director Cord Jefferson is a barbed satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a writer who, to his dismay, achieves enormous success after as a joke writing a book filled with what he feels are the worst and most pandering cliches of Black representation. In its review, TheWrap called the film “an outlandishly assured directorial debut, a beautifully modulated film that takes a great actor, Jeffrey Wright, and gives him a spectacular showcase.”

While the film did not come into the festival as one of its highest profile selections, it was an immediate sensation after its Friday night premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre, drawing some of TIFF’s most positive reviews. It currently stands at 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes...

The People’s Choice Award from the just-wrapped 2023 Toronto Film Festival has gone to Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction. First Runner-Up is Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. Second Runner-Up is Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron. The Documentary Award goes to Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, and the Midnight Madness winner is Dicks: The Musical.

Orion and MRC’s American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright and comes from writer-director Jefferson. It is a scathing satire on the publishing industry and its treatment of serious works by Black writers, one whose name is Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. He travels back to his hometown of Boston to attend a book festival, but the turnout is low in favor of another book seminar with author Sintara Golden’s (Issa Rae) bestseller We Lives in Da Ghetto. It is scheduled to be released in theaters in November.

Voted by audience members since 1978 and...

After a two week run that included a slew of buzzy world premieres and screenings of previous favorites from the international festival circuit, the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close. Toronto is often considered the unofficial kickoff to Oscar season (along with the Venice and Telluride film festivals), so the films that take home the coveted People’s Choice Awards often get an early boost for their award campaigns.

The top prize went to “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s publishing industry satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a novelist who finds massive success after writing a deliberately stupid novel about Black life. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” were honored as the first and second runners up, respectively.

The MRC title could have a bright future at the Academy Awards, as 11 of the last 14 People’s Choice Award winners...

How can we know what makes us happy? More importantly, how can we trust the people around us to make us happy, support us in our happiness, provide us with the love and care we deserve? And how can we know when what we're receiving is not love, but manipulation? It can be hard to see in a haze of newfound love, or love that has sat untended but abiding despite its neglect. For her third feature, Québécois filmmaker Sophie Dupuis, joined by rising star Théodore Pellerin, create a vibrant, intimate, and heartbreaking story of a young man whose happiness is slowly eroded by jealousy, control, and lack of understanding, not only from one source, but also from himself. Simon (Pellerin) is...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The art of drag provides the opportunity to find yourself. That may sound odd considering the objective is typically to make yourself look like somebody else, but that transformation has a magical way of discovering something within yourself you never ever knew was there. Few films understand the power of drag like Sophie Dupuis's "Solo," a radiant and intimate story of queer life and a celebration of the queer community's connection to the art of drag.

Simon owns Montréal nightlife. He's garnered a reputation as one of the premier drag queens of the city, impressing with a tantalizing combination of a tight lipsync, fierce dance moves, and gorgeous fashion-forward outfits, made specially for Simon by his sister. When Simon transforms into Glory Gore, she's unstoppable; in complete command of the stage and audience -- people just can't get enough, cheering her name and soaking in every second of her fiery performances.

Toronto: “Humanist Vampire,” “Solo” Heat Up Market for Toronto’s Quebec Feature Slate

By Jennie Punter

Toronto has long been a go-to place for Quebec filmmakers to launch new work, connect directly to the U.S. marketplace and, by extension, propel their careers to the next level — Denis Villeneuve, Phillippe Falardeau and Jean-Marc Vallée, for example, premiered most of their early films here.

Many of this year’s bumper crop of mostly world-premiering Quebec titles explore less familiar corners of society — First Peoples and newcomer stories, the drag scene — and there are also fresh takes on romantic dramedy (Monia Chokri’s “The Nature of Love”), true-story-inspired WWII drama (Louise Archambault’s “Irena’s Vow”) and horror comedy.

Five of the festival’s eight Quebec features are directed by women. Sophie Dupuis, whose third film, the drag-scene character study “Solo,” told Variety that support from government funding agencies Telefilm and Sodec (Quebec...

Quebec director Sophie Dupuis has found her voice.

So says Theodore Pellerin, the Boy Erased and Beau is Afraid actor who has starred front and center in Dupuis’s three movies to date, Solo being her latest after Chien de Garde (Family First) and Souterrain (Underground).

And she has solid promise to follow Denis Villeneuve and the late Jean-Marc Vallée as one of the top creative voices out of French-speaking Quebec after a coveted gala world premiere on the first weekend of Toronto Film Festival.

“Theodore told me, ‘I think for the first time you were talking about yourself,’ because he knows me and could say that,” Dupuis told The Hollywood Reporter after Pellerin, a close friend and frequent collaborator, read the script for Solo, her gender-bending queer romance drama.

The stylish French language indie has Dupuis’ signature energy and verve onscreen as Pellerin plays Simon, a rising star in the Montreal drag queen scene,...

Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled its first wave of 60 selections on Monday, July 24. The slate includes 37 world premieres, seven international openings and 12 North American debuts and will be held September 7 – 17, 2023. See the full lineup of films (so far) below.

Among the standouts is “The Holdovers,” a caustic Christmas comedy from “About Schmidt” and “Sideways” writer-director Alexander Payne. Pundits expect the film could emerge from the festival as a major Oscar player in several races, including Best Picture. Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money,” a retelling of the GameStop short squeeze starring Paul Dano, and David Yates’ “Pain Hustlers,” a pharma satire with Emily Blunt, could land two previously overlooked actors their first Oscar spotlight.

See 14 most anticipated movies for July include ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,’ ‘Barbie’ … [Photos]

George C. Wolfe’s “Rustin” is a highly anticipated Civil Rights drama that Gold Derby users currently predict will...

After unveiling a few titles, the Toronto International Film Festival has now dropped the initial 60 films taking part in their Galas and Special Presentations line-up when the festival takes place from September 7-17.

Highlights include Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, Lukas Moodysson’s Together 99, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Michel Franco’s Memory, Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel, Christos Nikou’s Fingernails, and Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat.

The festival will also feature a number of acclaimed films from earlier this year, including Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster, Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera, Catherine Breillat’s Last Summer, Chloe Dumont’s Fair Play, John Carney’s Flora and Son, and Marco Bellocchio’s Kidnapped, and more.

See the lineup below.

Gala Presentations 2023

*Previously announced

Concrete Utopia Um...

The Toronto International Film Festival is back for another big year.

On Monday, TIFF announced a whopping 60 films in its first wave of titles for the 2023 edition of the festival.

Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ Is The First Confirmed Title

Spanning both the Gala and Special Presentations sections of the fest, the lineup includes a number of big titles, including 37 world premieres.

“This year’s Galas & Special Presentations showcase a rich tapestry of talent, vision, and storytelling,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “From thought-provoking narratives to breathtaking visuals and stories so unreal they have to be real, each work embodies the power of cinema to inspire, challenge, and move audiences. Get ready to experience an unforgettable celebration of film and a memorable and star-studded festival, showcasing the best of global cinema for film lovers in September.”

Several of the films at this...

Festival runs September 7-17.

The world premieres of Ellen Kuras’s biopic Lee starring Kate Winslet, Craig Gillespie’s GameStop meme craze drama Dumb Money, David Yates’s crime drama Pain Hustlers with Emily Blunt, and Michael Winterbottom’s thriller Shoshana are among Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Galas and Special Presentations.

The festival unveiled a further 60 selections on Monday after previously announcing Taikia Waititi’s Searchlight Pictures underdog football story Next Goal Wins, and Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables, and Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils - both of which are available for the US. XYZ Films handles world sales...

Films directed by actors Michael Keaton, Chris Pine, Viggo Mortensen, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ethan Hawke, Tony Goldwyn and Anna Kendrick will screen at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Monday as they unveiled the first group of films in the festival’s Gala and Special Presentations sections.

Keaton, Goldwyn, Kendrick, Mortensen, Pine and Thomas will present the world premieres of their films – Keaton with “Knox Goes Away,” Goldwyn with “Ezra,” Kendrick with “Woman of the Hour,” Mortensen with “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” Pine with “Poolman” and Thomas with “North Star.” Hawke’s film, “Wildcat,” will make its international premiere in Toronto, meaning it will likely screen at the Telluride Film Festival just before TIFF.

Films that will receive their world premieres in Toronto include Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money,” with Paul Dano and Pete Davidson; Ellen Kuras’ “Lee,” with Kate Winslet; David Yates’ “Pain Hustlers,” with Emily Blunt...

All film festivals face a challenged season ahead as most onscreen talent will be forced to sit this one out due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Just last week, MGM and Luca Guadagnino yanked “Challengers” from the Venice opening night slot and shifted the movie entirely to April of next year.

But the Toronto International Film Festival forges ahead with a nevertheless starry lineup this year of 60 films across the Galas and Special Presentations sections, as announced Monday morning. The festival has not made an opening night selection but has so far also programmed Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins” and Ladj Ly’s “Les Indésirables.”

Among the world premieres are Ellen Kuras’ “Lee,” starring Kate Winslet as war photographer Lee Miller and Andy Samberg as Life Magazine photographer David E. Scherman; Viggo Mortensen’s directorial effort “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” a Western starring himself and Vicky Krieps; Craig Gillespie...

“Solo,” a stylish queer romance drama directed by Canadian helmer Sophie Dupuis has been boarded by Snd, the film arm of France’s second biggest commercial network M6.

“Solo” is headlined by two up-and-coming talent, Theodore Pellerin and Felix Maritaud (“Bpm (Beats per Minute)”). Snd will launch sales on the project at Cannes Film Market.

The edgy film follows Simon, a rising star of Montreal drag queen scene who is simultaneously facing the disappointment of two impossible loves — one of a passionate but destructive crush with Oliver, and the other of a cold and distant relationship with his mother Claire, who has returned home after a 15-year absence.

“Solo” reteams Dupuis with the production banner Bravo Charlie, which produced her first two critically acclaimed films, “Underground” and “Family First.” Dupuis’s previous film “Underground” was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards, and won two prizes at Namur International Film Festival.

Drag

Quebecois filmmaker Sophie Dupuis reteams with her muse Théodore Pellerin for her third feature film — a drag queen drama set in the Montreal backdrop that was filmed in February last year. Produced by Bravo Charlie’s Étienne Hansez, the film features supporting players in French thesp Félix Maritaud and veteran actress Anne-Marie Cadieux. Dupuis has rocked the boat with her previous features in Chien de garde (2017) andSouterrain (2020) and has yet to hit an A-list film fest premiere. This might change with this colorful portrait.

Gist: Simon (Pellerin), is a rising star in the world of drag queens.…...

Variety and Whistler Film Festival have teamed for 10 Canadians to Watch, a new program unique to Wff that celebrates top Canadian talent in the film and entertainment industry.

The 10 Canadians to Watch honorees will be celebrated at the Whistler Film Festival on Dec. 3.

“The Whistler Film Festival has proven to be a wonderful destination for Variety, first with a focus on screenwriters and now with the 10 Canadians to Watch,” says Steven Gaydos, Variety executive VP of content. “It’s inspiring to be able to celebrate the diverse talent in this convivial atmosphere where international film professionals gather to experience the best in the screen industry.”

Meet the honorees:

Bilal Baig

Credit: Tyler J. Sloane

Bilal Baig

Playwright, Performer, Showrunner, Producer

In 2018, not long after the well-received premiere of their first full-length play, “Acha Bacha,” at a prestigious alternative theater, Baig was making ends meet by working as a nanny. That fall,...

French-Canadian director Sophie Dupuis puts human drama ahead of the action in this naturalistic, character-driven film

Here is an arthouse disaster movie from Quebec: a naturalistic, character-driven drama about what it might truly look like if a mineral mine exploded, trapping five workers underground. It’s the second feature from French-Canadian director Sophie Dupuis, who herself grew up in a mining family.

She opens her film in the heat of the rescue: red lights flashing, a response team descending into darkness. One of the rescuers, Max (Joakim Robillard), would be the hero of the Hollywood version, running around hot-headedly, disobeying orders: “Fuck you! I’m going to get the others!” Actually, much of the film is about how damaging it is for Max living with this tough-guy masculinity.

2019 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions Algeria – Until The End Of Time – Yasmine Chouikh Argentina– The Angel (El Angel) – Luis Ortega Austria – The Waldheim Waltz – Ruth Beckermann Belarus – Crystal Swan – Darya Zhuk Belgium – Girl – Lukas Dhont Bolivia – Muralla – Rodrigo Patiño Bosnia – Never Leave Me – Aida Begic Brazil – The Great Mystical Circus – Carlos Diegues Bulgaria – Omnipresent – Ilian Djevelekov Cambodia – Graves Without A Name – Rithy Pan Canada – Watch Dog – Sophie Dupuis Chile – And Suddenly The Dawn – Silvio Caiozzi Colombia– Birds of Passage, Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra Croatia – The Eighth Commissioner – Ivan Salaj Czech Republic – Winter Flies – Olmo Omerzu Denmark – The Guilty – Gustav Möller Dominican Republic – Cocote – Nelson Carlo de los Santos Ecuador – A Son Of Man – Jamaicanoproblem and Pablo Agüero Egypt – Yomeddine – Abu Bakr Shawky Estonia – Take It Or Leave It – Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo Finland – Euthanizer – Teemu Nikin France – Memoir Of War – Emmanuel Finkiel Georgia – Namme – Zaza Khalvashi Germany – Never Look Away – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck...

Souterrain

Quebec’s Sophie Dupuis will have sophomore feature Souterrain ready for 2020, produced by Etienne Hansez from Montreal’s Bravo Charlie and backed by Sodec, Telefilm Canada and the Harold Greenberg Fund. Returning to her native Val d’Or, Dupuis reunites with her 2018 Chien de Garde (Family First) star Théodore Pellerin with a cast consisting of Joakim Robillard, James Hyndman, Guillaume Cyr, Catherine Trudeau, Mickael Gouin, Chantal Fontaine, Bruno Marcil, Jean L’Italien, Lauren Hartley, Jean-Francois Boudreau, Maxime Genois, Charles-Aubey Houde and Sebastien Leblanc.…...

Eleven World Premieres plus $146,500 in cash and prizes to be awarded.

‘Mary Queen of Scots’ and ‘Momentum Generation’ to bookend festival.

Canadian Premieres include ‘On the Basis of Sex’, ‘Stockholm’, and ‘Untogether’. Western Canadian Premieres include ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, ‘Roma’ and ‘At Eternity’s Gate’

The 18th annual Whistler Film Festival (Wff), November 28 to December 2, selected its opening night film and full program lineup from over 1,000 submissions. Festival goers can look forward to 85 fresh films including 50 features and 35 shorts representing 12 countries. Selections for this year’s festival include leading award season fare, quality Canadian content (69% of the lineup) and more female-directed films than ever before (46% of the lineup).

‘Canada’s coolest film fest’ remains true to its mandate of discovering new talent, with the inclusion of 16 first time feature films, 21 feature films directed by women, and with 64% of its program premiering Canadian features, more than any other international Canadian film festival this year.

Though she directed Family First, a savagely violent crime drama tapped as Canada's contender in the Oscars' best foreign-language film category, Sophie Dupuis insists she doesn't have a cruel bone in her body.

While themes of physical brutality and emotional torment may fill her scripts, "In my real life, I'm so soft and I fear violence. I don't want to have it around me at all. But in my writing, it's there," Dupuis told The Hollywood Reporter.

Family First portrays Jp, a petty Montreal hood played by Jean-Simon Leduc, who is caught between wanting to ...

Though she directed Family First, a savagely violent crime drama tapped as Canada's contender in the Oscars' best foreign-language film category, Sophie Dupuis insists she doesn't have a cruel bone in her body.

While themes of physical brutality and emotional torment may fill her scripts, "In my real life, I'm so soft and I fear violence. I don't want to have it around me at all. But in my writing, it's there," Dupuis told The Hollywood Reporter.

Family First portrays Jp, a petty Montreal hood played by Jean-Simon Leduc, who is caught between wanting to ...

On the way to the grocery store, “Family First” director Sophie Dupuis got a call that made her wish she wasn’t wearing jeggings. Not only was her first feature film Canada’s official entry into the Oscar foreign film race, but she needed to announcement it live within the hour.

“I was sure it wasn’t going to be us,” the Quebec native told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at a Q&A on Tuesday following a screening of the crime drama.

“Family First” is a 90-minute journey into the dysfunctional world of debt collectors, brothers Jp (Jean-Simon Leduc) and 19-year-old Vincent (Theodore Pellerin). While older brother Jp begins to have doubts about helping the cartel collect their money, a group lead by their uncle Dany (Paul Ahmarani), Vincent’s explosive, care-free personality leads him deeper into Dany’s web. Canadian actress Maude Guerin plays the on-again off-again alcoholic mother...

For countries in the English-speaking world, entries into the foreign-language Oscar race offer a chance to reflect on the complexity of their own cultures or examine their place in the wider world.

After digging into its colonial past last year in Francois Girard’s Quebec-set “Hochelaga, Land of Souls,” Canada enters the Oscar race with Sophie Dupuis’ “Family First.” Set in a gritty working-class neighborhood, Dupuis’ low-budget feature debut is about a Montreal family bound together by a life of crime. Canada, which took home the foreign-language Oscar in 2003 with Denys Arcand’s “The Barbarian Invasions,” has scored four nominations and three shortlist spots in the past 12 years.

Australia landed its first nomination in 2016 with “Tanna,” a Nauvhal-language romance about two young lovers defying local mores that was the first film ever shot on the island of Vanuatu. This year’s submission for the foreign-language race, “Jirga,” follows a former...

Among the 87 entries this year, down five from 2017’s whopping 92, there are more documentaries than ever, plus two African countries submitting for the first time: Malawi and Niger. Here’s a guide to the films, including logline, sales, and production contact.

Afghanistan

“Rona, Azim’s Mother”

Director: Jamshid Mahmoudi

Logline: A touching drama set in the milieu of Afghan immigrants in Iran who lack full citizens’ rights, with laborer Azim struggling to care for his mother.

Key Cast: Mohsen Tanabandeh, Fatemeh Hosseini

Intl. Sales: Noori Pictures

Algeria

“Until the End of Time”

Director: Yasmine Chouikh

Logline: An elderly grave digger and a 60-something widow meet in the cemetery of Sidi Boulekbour and develop feelings for one another.

Key Cast: Djillali Boudjemaa, Djamila Arres

Intl. Sales: MakingOf Film

Argentina

“El Ángel”

Director: Luis Ortega

Logline: A portrait of the infamous teenage serial killer “The Angel of Death,” who took Argentina by...

The title spells out the theme in the crime drama “Family First,” and if that weren’t enough, the title itself is inked out in cursive on one of the main character’s forearms, a reminder to everyone about how the priorities of mob-linked siblings must align. Quebecois director Sophie Dupuis’ debut feature, selected as Canada’s Oscar foreign language submission, tries to make a virtue of simplicity, whittling the trials of a conflicted goon down to an 87-minute pressure cooker, driving its reluctant hero into action. Yet Dupuis isn’t exactly the first to tackle a “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” gangland scenario, and the no-frills storytelling mostly works against her, rendering the film’s Verdun, Montreal, underworld disappointingly nondescript.

In this “Animal Kingdom”-like domestic scenario, the mother (Maude Guérin) is too swamped by alcoholism to run the show, so it...

Yesterday afternoon, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced which movies will be competing to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Feature. This first long list marks an important benchmark in the season. Yes, we can actually begin narrowing things down. To be fair, this is a category that doesn’t get the attention of Best Picture or Best Actor/Best Actress, but it’s still a big deal. The Academy has narrowed things down to 87 films, just shy of the record set last year. That many countries submitting movies for Oscar consideration is wonderful, especially since I’ve seen a handful of these and they’re largely excellent. The only notable exclusion was that Italy did not choose Happy as Lazarro to be their selection, despite the backing of Martin Scorsese and Netflix. That country opted for Dogman from Matteo Garrone, instead. Aside from that, it...