Midnight Madness, Documentaries & Short Films at TIFF 2018

The Predator

Two Hollywood franchises getting reimaged by Shane Black and David Gordon Green will screen as part of the Midnight Madness programme at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival.  “To complement some of the buzziest provocations on the festival circuit, I have sought to curate an eccentric array of World Premieres that demonstrate the dexterity of genre cinema as a canvas for both sublime satisfaction and stunning subversion,” stated TIFF Midnight Madness Programmer Peter Kuplowsky in a press release.  “That includes the section’s two much-anticipated sequels, The Predator and Halloween, each of which boldly and brilliantly builds upon its mythic iconography to thrilling and surprising effect.”  Attendees at the late-night celebration of genre movies that are “guaranteed to either terrorize and mesmerize” will also get to watch the World Premieres of The Standoff at Sparrow Creek by Henry Dunham, Nekrotronic by Kiah Roache-Turner, The Man Who Feels No Pain by Vasan Bala and In Fabric by Peter Strickland.

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek

True stories and social issues get the documentary treatment courtesy of Michael Moore, Errol Morris, Alexis Bloom, Rashida Jones & Alan Hicks, Werner Herzog & André Singer, E. Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin, Vitaly Mansky, Rithy Panh, and Janus Metz & Sine Plambech.  Topics featured in the 27 documentaries from 19 countries include music icon Quincy Jones being profiled in Quincy by Rashida Jones and Alan Hicks, the works and influence of a film legend are examined in Searching for Ingmar Bergman by Margarethe von Trotta, Michael Moore satirically explores America under the presidential rule of Donald Trump in Fahrenheit 11/9, sexual harassment in the workplace gets highlighted in Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes by Alexis Bloom, and Maiden by Alex Holmes recounts the first all-women sailing crew to take participate in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Maiden

Short films take on an international flavour with contributions from 32 countries and in 19 different languages.   A mixture of live-action narrative films, documentaries and animation are brought together with contributions from Reed Van Kyk, A.V. Rockwell, Héctor Silva Núñez, Theresa Traore Dahlberg, Jayisha Patel, Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels, Anca Damian, and Donato Sansone.  “Short Cuts is the place to see films that will not only entertain, but also challenge and inspire, from filmmakers who push the boundaries of their craft,” remarked TIFF Short Cuts Programmers Lisa Haller and Jason Anderson.  “We are proud to continue showcasing work by filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, and this year’s programme has an especially high number of new works from South and East Asia.”

This Magnificent Cake!

For more information visit the official website for TIFF.  The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.