Filmmaker Ava DuVernay will return to the Toronto International Film Festival with her latest offering, Origin. DuVernay’s film will have a gala screening at Roy Thomson Hall on Monday, September 11. DuVernay will be in attendance.
Written, produced, and directed by Academy Award nominee DuVernay, Origin chronicles the remarkable life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson (played by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as she investigates the genesis of injustice and uncovers a hidden truth that affects us all.
Origin stands as a unique account of the intimacy within a writer’s quest for truth. DuVernay creates powerful cinematic images from the stories that Wilkerson brought to light in her non-fiction work “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” as well as the tragic moments of her personal life which framed her writing. It results in a deeply moving portrait of grief and healing–both personally and in the world.
“Ava DuVernay’s Origin is a brilliantly crafted showcase of her talent as a writer, producer, and director. This is audacious filmmaking on a grand, global scale,” said TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, “DuVernay deftly weaves Isabel Wilkerson’s big idea about how we live into a beautiful narrative of passion and discovery. I can’t wait for Toronto audiences to feel its power.”
Paul Garnes and DuVernay produced Origin under her ARRAY Filmworks banner, and Thane Watkins serves as co-executive producer.
Along with Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal, Origin stars Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, Connie Nielsen, Emily Yancy, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Finn Wittrock, Victoria Pedretti, Isha Blaaker, and Myles Frost. The team of artists behind Origin was led by cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd, ASC, production designer Ina Mayhew, editor Spencer Averick A.C.E, composer Kris Bowers, costume designer Dominique Dawson, and casting director Aisha Coley.
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More