12 films added to TIFF programme line-up

Aug 10, 2005 by Ian Evans

With less than thirty days until the 30th Toronto International Film Festival unspools on September 8th the programmers over at the festival have announced 12 more films that will be added to the festival’s various programmes. Six of the films will be world premieres, while the other six will be North American premieres.

The world premieres (and programme areas) are:

• Bee Season (Special Presentations) Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel and based on Myla Goldberg’s best-selling novel, the film follows a young girl (Flora Cross) whose unexpected success at spelling competitions disrupts the equilibrium of her family, including her father (Richard Gere), mother (Juliette Binoche), and older brother (Max Minghella).

• Breakfast on Pluto (Masters) Directed by Neil Jordan and set in the 1970s, the film follows the exploits of Patrick Braden (Cillian Murphy). Abandoned as a baby in his small Irish hometown and aware from a very early age that he is different, Patrick survives this harsh environment with the aid of his wit and charm, plus a sweet refusal to let anyone or anything change who he is. Also starring Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea.

• The Notorious Bettie Page (Special Presentations) Directed by Marry Harron, the film offers a provocative exploration of the real character and many facets of a successful pin-up girl (played by Gretchen Mol) whose deep religious beliefs and cheerful naiveté contrasted sharply with her iconic image. The film also stars Lili Taylor and David Strathairn.

• Opa! (Contemporary World Cinema)Udayan Prasad’s film tells the story of an American archeologist (Matthew Modine) who arrives on the Greek island of Patmos in search of a lost Biblical artifact that his late father had searched for in vain. He falls in love with a woman (Agni Scott) who owns the village taverna, under which the artifact may be buried.

• Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (Special Presentation) Michael Winterbottom’s post-modern take on the construction of a film, from an intricate, hilariously complex autobiographical novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. The film stars Steve Coogan, Jeremy Northam, Stephen Fry, and Gillian Anderson.

• The World’s Fastest Indian (Special Presentation) Roger Donaldson directs Anthony Hopkins in this true story of New Zealander Burt Munro. After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt set off from the bottom of the world to test his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the 1960s. With all the odds against him, he set a new speed record and captured the spirit of his times. Diane Ladd and Paul Rodriguez round out the cast.

The North American premieres:

• Bubble (Masters) In Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble, a bizarre love triangle is born at a doll factory in a small town fallen on hard times. Featuring a cast of non-professional actors from the Ohio location, Soderbergh brings this tragic story to life with startling realism.

• Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (Special Presentations) Directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton and set in a 19th century European village, this stop-motion, animated feature follows the story of Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp), a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride (voiced by Helena Bonham-Carter) while his real bride, Victoria (voiced by Emily Watson), waits bereft in the Land of the Living. Other voices include Albert Finney and Richard E. Grant.

• Everything is Illuminated (Special Presentations) Liev Schreiber directs this film based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film tells the story of a young man’s (Elijah Wood) quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that was wiped off the map by the Nazi invasion. A journey to piece together one family’s history under the most absurd circumstances becomes a surprisingly meaningful journey with a powerful series of revelations.

• Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Special Presentations) Director Shane Black’s film stars Robert Downey Jr. as a petty thief who inadvertently stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood detective movie and is flown to Los Angeles for a screen test. When he is teamed with a tough-guy private eye (Val Kilmer) in preparation for this screen test, he decides to try out his acting skills by passing himself off as a real detective.

• Mary (Visions) In Abel Ferrara’s Mary, an independent director (Matthew Modine) casts himself as Jesus Christ in his film. The actress (Juliette Binoche) playing Mary Magdalene travels alone to Jerusalem after the shoot to continue her spiritual journey inspired by her role. A year later in Manhattan, a superstar network journalist (Forest Whitaker) investigates the life and times of Jesus Christ. While his show receives high ratings, he and his wife (Heather Graham) face a crisis for which they are spiritually unprepared.

• Romance & Cigarettes (Special Presentations) Actor John Turturro directs this down-and-dirty musical love story stars James Gandolfini as Nick, a New York ironworker who is married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), a strong but gentle woman with whom he has three grown daughters. He is secretly carrying on a torrid affair with the flame-haired Tula (Kate Winslet). When his wife catches him and Tula wants a commitment, Nick finds himself a prisoner of his primal urges. Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, and Christopher Walken round out the cast.

The 30th Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th to the 17th, 2005. Stick with DigitalHit.com for all your coverage.