Posted September 7, 2021 by Raquel Stecher Film Festivals

TIFF 2021 — My Picks

I’m heading to Toronto for TIFF and am excited to be back! It’ll be a very different kind of festival with lots of digital screenings and plenty of social distancing. I’m limiting in person screenings to two a day to minimize health risks and I’ll come armed with masks and hand sanitizer. This trip is very touch-and-go due to complications with the pandemic so any coverage discussed in this post is not guaranteed.

With that said, here are my picks for the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. If you want any additional information about the films featured below, visit the official TIFF website for more details!

Julia
dir. Julie Cohen and Betsy West

RBG directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West present a touching portrait of Julia Child, whose cookbooks and TV shows revolutionized American cuisine.

Nostalgia for icons of recent history is a big thing right now with the recent documentary on Bob Ross and the upcoming one on LeVar Burton. Like many I grew up watching Julia Child on PBS so I can’t wait to watch this new doc on her life and career.

Oscar Peterson: Black + White
dir. Harry Avrich

Director Barry Avrich’s affectionate celebration of Canada’s greatest jazz musician situates the master pianist in the genre’s pantheon.

As a jazz enthusiast and a fan of Barry Avrich’s work, this selection was a no brainer. Avrich’s Blurred Lines and Prosecuting Evil are two of my favorite documentaries so I’m excited to see his latest!

Becoming Cousteau
dir. Liz Garbus

Liz Garbus dives into the archives of the undersea explorer who tried decades ago to warn the world about the climate crisis.

As a young environmentalist, Jacques Cousteau was an icon for me and I’m curious to see just how Garbus demonstrates how he tried to warn us about climate change.

Belfast
dir. Kenneth Branagh
starring Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, Jude Hill

Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, Caitríona Balfe, and Jamie Dornan star in Kenneth Branagh’s coming-of-age tale set amid the tumult of late-1960s Northern Ireland.

There’s a lot of buzz behind Branagh’s star-packed historical drama. I hope it delivers! If not, I’ll be happy to watch Judi Dench in a new film.

Benediction
dir. Terence Davies
starring Jack Lowden, Peter Capaldi, Gemma Jones, Ben Daniels, Kate Phillips, Simon Russell Beale, Jeremy Irvine, Geraldine James

Terence Davies’ latest is an equally sombre and sumptuous portrait of 20th-century English poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon.

I enjoyed Terence Davies’ A Quiet Passion and am curious about his new historical biopic!

Last Night in Soho
dir. Egdar Wright
starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Synnøve Karlsen, Pauline McLynn, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg

Edgar Wright wickedly reflects ’60s Swinging London in this kaleidoscopic psycho-thriller about two young artists entwined across time.

This looks like an absolute trip! I love the time travel element and the fact that 1960s stars Diana Rigg, Margaret Nolan and Terence Stamp all make appearances in the film.

Mothering Sunday
dir. Eva Husson
starring Odessa Young, Josh O’Connor, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Glenda Jackson, Patsy Ferran, Emma D’Arcy

Olivia Colman and Colin Firth star in this deeply affecting adaptation of Graham Swift’s bittersweet novel about secret love in post-WWI England.

You really can’t go wrong with a period piece featuring a great cast. This one is set in post WWI England and may appeal to Downton Abbey fans.

Bergman Island
dir. Mia Hansen-Løve
starring Mia Wasikowska, Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps, Anders Danielsen Lie

A melancholic meditation on love and creativity, French auteur Mia Hansen-Løve’s latest stars Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth as a filmmaking couple who go to the island of Fårö, where Ingmar Bergman spent the end of his life.

Tim Roth is in three films premiering at TIFF and two are on my must-watch list! Bergman Island is inspired by the work of Ingmar Bergman so depending on how much of the film is about the legendary filmmaker, my review may be posted on my classic film blog Out of the Past.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye
dir. Michael Showalter
starring Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio

Jessica Chastain stars as flamboyant televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in this humanizing portrait of the rise and fall of the Bakker network empire.

This biopic on controversial televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife and media personality Tammy Faye Bakker is total Oscar bait. But I’m here for it!

France
dir. Bruno Dumont
starring Léa Seydoux, Benjamin Biolay, Blanche Gardin

Stinging satire meets melodrama in Bruno Dumont’s latest, starring Léa Seydoux as a fame-obsessed TV journalist in crisis.

Media satire with Léa Seydoux? Yes! The trailer looks great so I’m excited to check this one out.

Petit Maman
dir. Céline Sciamma
starring Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, Margo Abascal

Following a girl’s journey to her mother’s childhood home, French auteur Céline Sciamma’s latest is a tender tale of intergenerational connection.

I’m a big fan of Céline Sciamma’s work especially Portrait of a Lady on Fire which I had the privilege of watching at TIFF back in 2019. Her new film is an automatic must watch.

Titane
dir. Julia Ducournau
starring Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Laïs Salameh, Garance Marillier

An automobile accident leaves disturbing consequences in this unflinching foray into human extremity from Julia Ducournau (Raw).

This Midnight Madness feature sounds absolutely wild!

The Girl and the Spider
dir. Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher
starring Henriette Confurius, Liliane Amuat

Ramon and Silvan Zürcher’s second film is a thrilling roundelay of mystery and sexual intrigue set off by a young woman’s move into a new apartment.

There isn’t much by the way of LGBTQ films on this year’s slate. I spotted this Swiss-German film on the list and am intrigued!

Sundown
dir. Michel Franco
starring Tim Roth, Iazua Larios, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Tim Roth stars in writer-director Michel Franco’s chilling drama about a wealthy Briton attempting to abandon his life while vacationing in Acapulco.

A story about escaping reality is something that will really resonate with audiences right now. I’m curious to see how this compares with Wakefield (2016).

The Starling
dir. Theodore Melfi
starring Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Kline

Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd and Kevin Kline star in Theodore Melfi’s bittersweet tale of a couple working their way toward the other side of grief.

We haven’t had a new Kevin Kline film in a hot minute and TIFF has two premiering. I really enjoyed Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? so I’m excited to see her in another dramatic role.

The Good House
dir. Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky
starring Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin

Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline play ex-flames who rekindle their romance, in this drama from directors Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky.

Kevin Kline + Sigourney Weaver + New England setting + rekindled romance = Yes please!

Other selections

Documentary:

Beba (dir. Rebeca Huntt)
Colin in Black and White (dir. Ava DuVernay, Sheldon Candis, Robert Townsend, Angel Kristi Williams, Kenny Leon)

International:

Anatolian Leopard (dir. Emre Kayiş) — Turkey
As in Heaven (dir. Tea Lindeburg) — Denmark
I’m Your Man (dir. Maria Schrader) — Germany
Kicking Blood (dir. Blaine Thurier) — Canada
Learn to Swim (dir. Thyrone Tommy) — Canada
Maria Chapdelaine (dir. Sébastien Pilote) — Canada
Medusa (dir. Anita Rocha da Silveira) — Brazil
The Middle Man (dir. Bent Hamer) — Canada
Silent Land (dir. Aga Woszczyńska) — Poland
The Story of My Wife (dir. Ildikó Enyedi) —Germany, France, Hungary, Italy
The Tsugua Diaries (dir. Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes) — Portugal