World premieres include Durga Chew-Bose's "Bonjour Tristesse," Cรฉsar Augusto Acevedo's "Horizonte," Kโnaan Warsame's "Mother Mother," Laura Carreira's "On Falling," and Jasmin Gordon's "The Courageous"
The Toronto International Film Festival, which will run from Sept. 5-15, has set this year’s Discovery program lineup, in which audiences will uncover hidden cinematic gems from around the globe. The Discovery program premieres debut and sophomore films from emerging filmmakers, showcasing the best of contemporary international cinema.
This yearโs robust program encompasses 24 titles, with 20 world premieres, representing more than 25 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Denmark, Greece, India, Italy, Kosovo, Nigeria, Romania, Somalia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and Ukraine. From its opening night film Bonjour Tristesse, Durga Chew-Boseโs adaptation of Franรงoise Saganโs novel, to other anticipated titles such as Afolabi Olalekanโs Freedom Way, Egil Pedersenโs My Fathersโ Daughter, Laura Carreiraโs On Falling, and Pavlo Ostrikovโs U Are The Universe, this yearโs Discovery lineup promises a blend of tour-de-force performances and captivating storytelling.
This program has notably been a launching ground for filmmakers, many of whom have gone on to great acclaim. Discovery alumni include award-winning filmmakers such as Ildikรณ Enyedi, Alfonso Cuarรณn, Christopher Nolan, Maren Ade, Yorgos Lanthimos, Barry Jenkins, and Emma Seligman.
The 2024 Discovery selection has been programmed by Dorota Lech, Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Nataleah Hunter-Young, June Kim, Jason Ryle, and Norm Wilner.
2024 Discovery Program (in alphabetical order):
Aberdeen Ryan Cooper, Eva Thomas | Canada
World Premiere
Bonjour Tristesse Durga Chew-Bose | Canada/Germany (opening night)
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Boong Lakshmipriya Devi | India
World Premiere
Diciannove Giovanni Tortorici | Italy
International Premiere
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Do I Know You From Somewhere? Arianna Martinez | Canada
World Premiere
Freedom Way Afolabi Olalekan | Nigeria
World Premiere
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Gรผlizar Belkฤฑs Bayrak | Turkey/Kosovo
World Premiere
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Horizonte Cรฉsar Augusto Acevedo | Colombia/France/Luxembourg/Chile/Germany
World Premiere
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Ink Wash Sarra Tsorakidis | Romania/Greece/Denmark
World Premiere
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Linda Mariana Wainstein | Argentina/Spain
World Premiere
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Meat Dimitris Nakos | Greece
World Premiere
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Mother Mother Kโnaan Warsame | Kenya/Somalia
World Premiere
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My Fathersโ Daughter Egil Pedersen | Sรกpmi (Norway/Sweden/Finland)
World Premiere
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On Falling Laura Carreira | United Kingdom/Portugal
World Premiere
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Really Happy Someday J Stevens | Canada
World Premiere
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Saba Maksud Hossain | Bangladesh
World Premiere
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Sad Jokes Fabian Stumm | Germany
International Premiere
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Seeds Kaniehtiio Horn | Canada
World Premiere
Shook Amar Wala | Canada
World Premiere
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The Courageous Jasmin Gordon | Switzerland
World Premiere
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The Paradise of Thorns Boss Kuno | Thailand
International Premiere
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The Partyโs Over Elena Manrique | Spain
World Premiere
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The Quiet Ones Frederik Louis Hviid | Denmark
World Premiere
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U Are the Universe Pavlo Ostrikov | Ukraine/Belgium
World Premiere
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Keaton and Kunis Play Father and Daughter In Writer-Director Meyers-Shyer’sย “Goodrich”
Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis went from strangers to father and daughter in short order for the new film "Goodrich."
Before cameras started rolling, they were essentially only able to meet once. It was a dinner with their writer-director Hallie Meyers-Shyer, who just had a feeling they'd be great together.
And before they knew it they were off to the races, embodying two people with a lifetime of hurt behind them, wondering if a real relationship is even possible at this point: He's attempting to reconcile his absence in her youth and find a place in her life now, while parenting young twins from his second marriage; She's preparing to have a child of her own and wondering if she can trust her dad to be there this time.
But neither were particularly worried. The script, they said, was just that good.
"Hallie's writing was so honest and genuine and never felt forced," Kunis said. "It never felt fake and never felt anything other than the story of these people. Everything made sense. The dynamic was real. The relationships felt real."
Meyers-Shyer is the daughter of filmmakers Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, who not only got a film education at home, but also frequented her mother's sets and even appeared in several films as an extra. She made her directorial debut in 2017 with the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy "Home Again" and started writing "Goodrich" soon after. She'd been thinking about a lot of things, about parenting in different decades and what that's like for an older father with young and adult kids, and about a complicated father-daughter relationship.
"In my personal life, my father remarried and had a second set of kids. And that was complicated for me," Meyers-Shyer said. "I felt like if that was something... Read More