CJRU’s TIFF reporter Lauren Malyk presents her top picks that you need to see at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Follow Lauren on Twitter @lmalyk
1. Endorphine
If you’re looking for a film with intertwining narratives, I’d suggest Endorphine. The film comes from one of Canada’s own top cinematographers, Andre Turpin. You may not recognize his name, but he’s behind Xavier Dolan’s Canne’s Jury Prize winning Mommy. He’s also worked on a favorite lesser known Dolan film of mine, Tom at the Farm.
Endorphine promises to be a twisting adventure with three heroine’s named Simone, all at different points in their lives. One woman feeling disconnected after the loss of her mother, another a multimedia artist struggling with her panic attacks and job and the last “a sixty-year-old physicist, is giving a conference on the nature of time.”
2. World Famous Gopher Hole Museum
If you’re in the mood to see something mind-boggling, try World Famous Gopher Hole Museum. This short from directors Chelsea McMullan and Douglas Nayler follows local museum in Torrington, Alberta. This isn’t your regular museum— it’s the Gopher Hole Museum featuring critters in let’s just say, unique situations.
3. The Witch
This pick is for all the horror-loving film students out there. The Witch is a highly anticipated film directed by Robert Eggers. This Canadian is relatively new to the directing scene but the film is being compared to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.”
As for the plot, the film follows a Puritian family living on their New England farm and their encounters with evil spirits. On first view of the trailer, I initially thought that the film evoked elements of M. Night Shamalan’s The Village.
This horror film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic category.
4. Families
Families promises to be an interesting take, on well, a family.
The French film stars Mathieu Amalric (from The Grand Budapest Hotel) as he deals with life, love and his family’s interesting past. Amalric’s performance exudes dramatic frustration. From the trailer and the brief description of the rom-com, Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s work aims to untangle the past, but can it be untangled?
5. Fire Song
Adam Garnet Jones tells the tale of Shane (Andrew Martin) an Anishinaabe man, debating his future. Should he leave his community and go to school? How’s he going to raise the money for his education? Throw in some love life drama, neglect and tradition and you have Jones’ feature Fire Song.
