TIFF is back, and celebrating its 50th anniversary!

The Toronto Internation Film Festival has always been at the forefront of avantgarde programming, challenging the norm with provocative and disruptive film screenings, and that bold initiative continues through to today, which is why its one of the top international film festivals in the world. We’ve compiled some of the queer offerings this year to check out…if you can snag tickets that is. Happy TIFFing!

Dead Man’s Wire

In films like To Die For, Elephant, and Milk, Oscar nominee queer film director, Gus Van Sant, has used cinema as a means of mirroring American life in all its extremes and complexities. Graced with captivating performances from Bill Skarsgård, Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, and Oscar winner Al Pacino (also at the Festival in Easy’s Waltz), Dead Man’s Wire finds Van Sant returning to that based-on-real-events mode, tapping into the culture’s hunger for outlaw folk heroes who seek to wrest control from the privileged elite.

It is February, 1977. Having fallen behind on his mortgage and, as a result, lost the commercial property he’d dreamed of developing, aspiring Indianapolis entrepreneur Tony Kiritsis (Skarsgård) shows up for a meeting with Meridian Mortgage Company president Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery). Tony expected to meet Hall Sr. (Pacino), but the Meridian founder is enjoying a luxury vacation in Florida, a fact that only stokes Tony’s ire.

The feature screenwriting debut of Austin Kolodney (Funny Or Die), Dead Man’s Wire resonates powerfully with present-day class resentments. It’s also darkly funny, wildly entertaining, and rife with appealing supporting characters, especially Domingo’s beloved local disc jockey, who Tony manages to rope into the negotiations.

More Info here.

Between Dreams and Hope

Between Dreams and Hope is a story about a young, queer Iranian couple – Azad (Fereshteh Hosseini), a trans man and his partner Nora (Sadaf Asgari) – who are grappling with the way their country restricts their ability to love each other out loud.

Lucky to have a group of like-minded friends, the couple have a safe place where they can express themselves and feel accepted, even in the bustling Iranian capital of Tehran. However, Azad hits a roadblock when he seeks out support to begin medically transitioning, finding that he must receive permission from his estranged dad.

When they return to Azad’s family to seek permission, the couple is not welcome, and eventually Azad disappears, leaving Nora on a mission to find her partner without the help of authorities, who dismiss her concerns.

The movie, directed by Farnoosh Samadi, highlights the real-life existing tension between Iran’s so-called radical youth and revolutionaries, and the restrictive violence of conservative generations supported by the overarching regime.

More Info here.

Julian

Based on an incredible true story, Julian tells the story of two women in love who set out to do something remarkable.

At the beginning of the film, Fleur (Nina Meurisse) and Julian (Laurence Roothooft) meet at a concert, falling in love after catching each other’s attention during the show.

As their bond deepens, the duo consider marriage, leading them to an interesting idea: Project 22. The idea included tying the knot in every country that recognizes same-sex marriage in a campaign to raise awareness about all the places in the world where queer couples cannot tie the knot.

But their adventure is not without trials and tribulations, as the couple run into roadblocks on their quest to raise awareness about the lack of marriage equality around the world.  Adapted from Fleur Pierets’ acclaimed memoir, the movie is a warm, compelling depiction of a real-life love story.

More Info here.

    The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo

    Set in a rural Chilean mining town, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo follows Lidia, an 11-year-old girl being raised in a queer community, which includes mother-figure (Paula Dinamarca) and Flamingo (Matías Catalán).

    Set in the early 1980s, this supernatural thriller sees other residents in the town killed by a mysterious plague that seems to be transferred through eye contact.

    The young girl experiences ignorance and fear from the locals, including miners in the town. Eventually, things take a turn for the worse when the men in this small town exercise control over the bodily agency of transgender women within the community.

    More Info here.

    Erupcja

    Pop star Charli XCX is hitting the big screen in this sapphic love story, which tells the story of two friends with undeniable chemistry and how their friendship evolves after rekindling their connection.

    amed for the Polish word for eruption, Erupcja, the story centres on a friendship between Nel, a florist from Poland (Lena Góra), and Bethany, a tourist from the U.K. (Charli XCX). Bethany is visiting Poland on what is meant to be a romantic trip with her boyfriend Rob (Will Madden), worrying that he will soon ask her to marry him.

    Breaking away from her travel itinerary, she finds an old friend, Nel, and their relationship transitions from friendly to romantic, while Rob seeks out Bethany for answers.

    In addition to starring in the movie, the British popstar is also a co-writer and producer on the project.

    More Info here.

    Steal Away

    From director Clement Virgo, Steal Away is part fairytale, part thriller, part mystery.

    The movie focuses on a pair of young women, Fanny (Angourie Rice) and Cécile (Mallori Johnson).

    Fanny is a sheltered teenager whose knowledge of the world barely extends beyond the glamorous manor house belonging to her mother, Florence (Lauren Lee Smith). Meanwhile, visitor Cécile is seeking asylum from the conflicts that consume this shadowy, mysterious country, which is described as a blend between occupied Europe, Algiers, and the American Antebellum South.

    The movie sees Virgo’s blend of the sociopolitical and psychosexual through a narrative that sees the two women eventually form a bond centring on their mutual curiosity, which becomes vital to their survival through the plot of the film.

    More Info here.

    About the Author

    Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.