The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for TIFF Industry Selects, a curated selection of 10 audience friendly films beyond the official selections that are available for worldwide acquisition. These Industry Selects films will each have an in-person screening during the Festival for accredited buyers and industry professionals..
“We’ve worked to build a selection that will appeal to buyers as well as audiences,’’ said Norm Wilner, programmer, digital releasing and Industry Selects. “We aim to celebrate new voices and showcase international talent, in line with the Festival’s global spirit.”
“We’re delighted to present these director-driven and audience-engaging sales titles from around the world to international buyers who rely on our festival to strengthen their upcoming film slate,” added Geoff Macnaughton, sr. director, industry and theatrical. “Fostering sales at the Festival is a key part of our mandate, and the TIFF Industry Selects distinction is one of our newer initiatives that helps to support that mission.”
TIFF 2022 Industry Selects
Blue Jean (Georgia Oakley, UK)
In Thatcher’s England, a closeted physical education teacher (Rosy McEwen) wrestles over whether to risk her career ― and her safety ― by reaching out to a student (Lydia Page) wrestling with her own identity.
Driving Mum (Hilmar Oddsson, Iceland)
A middle-aged man (Thröstur Leó Gunnarsson) tries to honour his mother’s dying wish to be buried in her home in a remote Icelandic village by propping her up in the back seat of his car and driving her there.
Dreamin’ Wild (Bill Pohlad, US)
In 1979, teenagers Donnie and Joe Emerson recorded an album on their family’s Washington State farm. In 2012, the world caught up to it ― forcing Donnie (Casey Affleck) to reckon with his first failed run at stardom. Walton Goggins, Zooey Deschanel, Chris Messina, and Beau Bridges co-star.
Door Mouse (Avan Jogia, CAN)
A comic-book creator (Hayley Law, Riverdale) working at a burlesque club enlists the help of a colleague (Keith Powers, The Tomorrow War) to figure out what’s behind the disappearances of young women in their circle in this oddball neo-noir.
Harka (Lotfy Nathan, US/FRA/TUN/LUX/BLG)
Ali (Adam Bessa), a young Tunisian who makes a living bootlegging gasoline, finds himself pushed to the limit when his father dies suddenly, leaving him responsible for the care of his two younger sisters in the first dramatic feature from the award-winning director of 12 O’Clock Boys.
The Listener (Steve Buscemi, US)
In the early months of the pandemic, a young helpline volunteer (Tessa Thompson, who also produced) spends her shift offering a compassionate ear to people (Logan Marshall-Green, Margaret Cho, Blu del Barrio, Alia Shawkat, and more) in their darkest hours.
Kings of the World (Laura Mora, COL/LUX/FRA/MEX/NOR)
When one of them discovers he has an ancestral claim to a patch of land under a restitution agreement, five street kids from Medellin leave the city to start a new life in the country, only to find absolutely nothing is easy for five young men of no means in modern Colombia.
Klokkenluider (Neil Maskell, UK)
In this extremely bleak comedy, two security operatives (Tom Burke, Roger Evans) escort a British whistleblower (Amit Shah) and his partner (Sura Dohnke) to a remote country home in Belgium, where they await the arrival of the high-level journalist they hope will share their secret with the world.
Salt Lake (Kasia Rosłaniec, POL/SWE)
At the age of 64, Helena (Katarzyna Butowtt) announces her intention to pursue sexual experiences with other men ― much to the shock of her husband of 40 years (Krzysztof Stelmaszyk). A powerful exploration of late-life desire and emancipation.
Without Her (Arian Vazirdaftari, IRA)
As she prepares to emigrate to Denmark from Iran, Roya (Tannaz Tabatabaei) meets a strange, silent girl (Shadi Karamroudi) and decides to take her in, introducing her to her husband and children ― entirely unaware of the existential threat she’s welcomed into her home.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More