TIFF came and went in a whirlwind… This year, I had the opportunity to screen various films from Canada and around the world. I enjoyed the energy of the festival again and also meeting new filmmakers and other artists bringing their work to us.
Once the festival ends after 10 days, I always find it difficult to create a list of ‘favourites’. Nonetheless, sharing the breakdown of my final tally of films seen and a list of my personal faves, as I like to call them.
Final Tally and Breakdown
As is the case every year, there are always way too many films one wants to see. This year I screened a total of 31 films, which include 4 short films plus 27 feature narrative and documentaries. Some of these, I screened just before the festival. Others, I screened with the public or at industry screenings during the festival. Overall, another year with some interesting films for sure.
My Personal Faves
In no particular order here is the list of films that stood out for me and have stayed with me since the festival.
| Film Title | Director |
| welima’q | shalan joudry (Short Cuts Programme 01) |
| Paying For It | Sook-Yin Lee |
| Ernest Cole: Lost and Found | Raoul Peck |
| Superboys of Malegaon | Reema Kagti |
| Aberdeen | Ryan Cooper, Eva Thomas |
| Pedro Páramo | Rodrigo Prieto |
| The Freedom of Fierro (La Libertad de Fierro) | Santiago Esteinou |
| Universal Language | Matthew Rankin |
| So Surreal: Behind the Masks | Neil Diamond & Joanne Robertson |
| Quota | Job Roggeveen, Joris Oprins, Marieke Blaauw (Short Cuts Programme 05) |
| The Life of Chuck | Mike Flanagan |
| Paul Anka: His Way | John Maggio |
| The Gesuidouz | Kenichi Ugana |
| Went Up the Hill | Samuel Van Grinsven |
| Beloved Tropic (Querido Trópico) | Ana Endara |
Honourable Mentions
Here are a few extra films I would recommend to you and hope they get wider distribution as wel.
| Film Title | Director |
| The Damned | Roberto Minervini |
| The Wolves Always Come at Night | Gabrielle Brady |
| Viktor | Olivier Sarbil |
| Freedom Way | Afolabi Olalekan |
As part of my TIFF coverage, I also completed about 10 interviews. You can find them all via my SoundCloud and YouTube channels.
Film images courtesy of TIFF.
