The fourth edition of the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival takes over TIFF Bell Lightbox this weekend. Youth aged 14 to 18 can experience the world of cinema through film and by taking part in emerging talent competition and industry-led initiatives.
This year, the lineup includes films from Poland, France, Germany, Taiwan, Netherlands, Canada, USA, and several other countries. TIFF Next Wave Film Festival is led by the TIFF Next Wave Film committee, a voluntary advisory team of 12 young film fans, whose purpose is t bring quality programming and film-related events to young people across Toronto.
I am a fan of TIFF Next Wave because, although it is aimed at a younger audience, the films are still high calibre, which means any one of us film fans would enjoy watching them. I am also a fan of bringing the joy of cinema to people of all age groups, especially in the teen years, a time of much discovery.
Speaking of discovery, I have taken a look at the festival’s lineup and found My Top Three Films. One I had discovered at a previous festival, and the other two are new discoveries, which I think you will enjoy as well.
52 Tuesdays
Director: Sophie Hyde, Australia 2014, 14A
A 16 yr old high-school student deals with her mother’s female-to-male gender transition while struggling with her own identity.
I came across 52 Tuesdays at the Inside Out LGBT Film Festival last year. As sensitive as the topic at hand may be, the film depicts it with such a natural feel. We feel the tension between the young woman and her mother (soon to become her 2nd father) build up. The idea of her mother transition into a male body is something that the teen accepts and negates at the same time. It also how her mother chooses to deal with her transition that makes the teen confused about their relationship, and about her own identity.
This may not be an easy film to watch, for some, but it is so vital in our current times. The tension between parents and teens is real, compounded with other themes at hand, 52 Tuesdays is a moving story of a teenage girl who is trying to find herself, while at the same time, trying to be supportive for her mother during a difficult time in her life. The use of non-actors, filmed over the course of 52 weeks, and the script being revealed each week, gives the film a real-life feel. This also helps in making the film more outstanding. It is one that stays with you for many reasons; reasons worth discussing post screening.
Boy 7
Director: Lourens Blok, Netherlands 2014
Dutch with English subtitles, 14A
After awaking on a subway train with no memory of who he is, a young man in dystopian police state uses the contents of his backpack to piece together his past as a rogue government agent and computer hacker.
The synopsis and its similarity to the Bourne films of the past few years, made Boy 7 stand out from the list. A young man gets caught hacking into a government site while trying to impress a cute girl… no big surprise. To his surprise, however, he is sent to a training institute where young, intelligent men and women are trained to become government agents. Once there, Boy 7 (as he is called) realizes not everything is as it seems. This is not an institute where you will earn your freedom, and thus, he begins to plan a way to escape.
Some of the elements in the film may be predictable at times, especially if you have seen the Bourne films aforementioned. Nonetheless, the story is well executed with some interesting twists and turns. I like how the younger actors portray their individual characters. The use of science and technology as a positive and negative makes for an entertaining story as well. And honestly, who doesn’t like the ‘smart’ guys and gals getting their time on-screen? In Boy 7, you get this and an entertaining plot too. Definitely a film that engaged my attention from beginning to end.
No Cameras Allowed
Director: James Marcus Haney, USA 2014, PGThe debut documentary from twenty-something James Marcus Hainey, and traces the director’s own rise from college dropout to ambitious concert photographer he walks his way into photo pits at major music festivals.
A documentary in the list is bound to get my attention. A documentary that comes to Toronto from other festivals with some ‘hype’ will also raise my curiosity. This film also comes to us with a bit of a controversy around it, which I will not get into here. The film shows us Hainey being able to ‘sneak into’ some major music festivals, including Coachella, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, and many others. He then gets invited to go on-tour with Mumford & Sons.
We see how Hainey is able to use his camera to gain access to the festivals, and get some very candid photos while there. That he has talent, there is no doubt. What is evident is Hainey’s passion for music and photography. He risks college, a girlfriend, and the unknown of living on the road, in order to tour with one of his favourite bands. It is certainly a cool look into these various music festivals. It is also a close look at these from the keen eye of 25 yr old Hainey, someone who made it into the ‘pit’ and made a career out of it.
These 3 films screen at TIFF Next Wave tomorrow, Sunday, February 15th at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. For screening times, box office information, and details about the festival itself, please go to tiff.net/festivals/nextwave15.
