The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008. The opening night gala was the World War I romantic epic Passchendaele from Canadian director Paul Gross.Brendan Kelly, Variety: "Toronto unveils Canadian selection" (July 15, 2008) Retrieved July 11, 2012
About the 2008 Festival The 2008 festival was heavy on Canadian fare as well as featuring prominent indie films and worldwide as well as North American debuts including: Adoration directed by Canada's own Atom Egoyan, Appaloosa the second film from Ed Harris (who directed Pollock), Blindness from screenwriter-director, Fernando Meirelles, Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and veteran filmmaker Barbet Schroeder's Inju, la bête dans l'ombre. Scheduled is The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (directed by Jodie Markell), based on a "rediscovered" Tennessee Williams screenplay. TIFF screened 312 films from 64 countries. These include 249 features, most of which were North American and/or world premieres.
Neil Burger (director of The Illusionist) world premiered The Lucky Ones a character study of U.S. soldiers on an unplanned road trip, starring Tim Robbins.
Also featured was Me and Orson Welles helmed by American "slacker" Richard Linklater, the Spike Lee-directed World War II film, Miracle at St. Anna as well as the Jonathan Demme directed film Rachel Getting Married. Other festival highlights are screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's first film, Synecdoche, New York, a slice of experimental filmmaker James Benning's Americana RR was featured in the "Wavelengths" avant-garde showcase, the four-hour-long Steven Soderbergh epic Che (playing in two parts), as well as The Wrestler lensed by Darren Aronofsky. The Brits are also well represented with Happy-Go-Lucky directed by Mike Leigh and Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle.
Despite showing fewer films than last year, among the 249 features, 116 are premieres and 61 are first features. Films from as many as 64 countries were screened, with more than 340,000 admissions expected.
"Canadian Open Vault", which always highlights a restored Canadian film, focused on Quebec filmmaker François Girard's 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould made in 1993.
Actors Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Benicio del Toro, Ethan Hawke, Laura Linney and film directors Julian Schnabel, Kathryn Bigelow and Steven Soderbergh are among the celebs the festival has invited on its 500-plus guest list, thus completing its lineup.
The festival closed on September 13, 2008 with the North American premiere of Stone of Destiny written and directed by Charles Martin Smith, the true story of four Glasgow university students who try to restore the 300-pound Stone of Scone to its rightful Scottish home.
With the film Fifty Dead Men Walking, Rose McGowan expressed support for the cause of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), with the reports of her comments being released into the media on September 11, 2008. After starring in Fifty Dead Men Walking, she was quoted as saying "I imagine had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in the IRA. My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it." Her comments were attacked by the original author Martin McCartlend. McCartland had general objections against the film, but approved of an out of court settlement, believed to be in the region of £20,000 (US$35,000 in summer 2008).
Awards Award"Awards put the wrap on Toronto Film Festival" . post-gazette, October 10, 2013. Film Director People's Choice Award Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle People's Choice Award First Runner Up More Than a Game Kristopher Belman People's Choice Award Second Runner Up The Stoning of Soraya M. Cyrus Nowrasteh Discovery Award Hunger Steve McQueen Best Canadian Feature Film Lost Song Rodrigue Jean Best Canadian Feature Film – Special Jury Citation Adoration Atom Egoyan Best Canadian First Feature Film Before Tomorrow (Le Jour avant le lendemain) Madeline Ivalu & Marie-Hélène Cousineau Best Canadian First Feature Film – Special Jury Citation Borderline Lyne Charlebois Best Canadian Short Film Block B Chris Chong Chan Fui Best Canadian Short Film – Special Jury Citation Next Floor Denis Villeneuve FIPRESCI Discovery Lymelife Derick Martini FIPRESCI Special Presentations Disgrace Steve Jacobs
Programme
Gala Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country Burn After Reading Joel Coen, Ethan Coen United States Dean Spanley Toa Fraser United Kingdom The Duchess Saul Dibb France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States Fifty Dead Men Walking Kari Skogland Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland The Girl from Monaco La Fille de Monaco Anne Fontaine France The Good, the Bad, the Weird 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 Kim Jee-woon South Korea The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond Jodie Markell United States The Lucky Ones Neil Burger United States Mesrine: Public Enemy No. One Jean-François Richet France Nothing But the Truth Rod Lurie United States One Week Michael McGowan Canada The Other Man Richard Eyre United Kingdom, United States Passchendaele Paul Gross Canada Pride and Glory Gavin O'Connor Germany, United States Rachel Getting Married Jonathan Demme United States The Secret Life of Bees Gina Prince-Bythewood United States Singh Is Kinng Anees Bazmee India Stone of Destiny Charles Martin Smith Canada, United Kingdom Who Do You Love? Jerry Zaks United States A Year Ago in Winter Im Winter ein Jahr Caroline Link Germany
Special Presentations English title Original title Director(s) Production country 35 Shots of Rum 35 Rhums Claire Denis France, Germany Adoration Atom Egoyan Canada Appaloosa Ed Harris United States Ashes of Time Redux Wong Kar-wai Hong Kong Blindness Fernando Meirelles Brazil, Canada, Japan The Brothers Bloom Rian Johnson United States The Burning Plain Guillermo Arriaga United States Che Steven Soderbergh Spain, Germany, France, United States A Christmas Tale Un conte de Noël Arnaud Desplechin France The Class Entre les murs Laurent Cantet France Disgrace Steve Jacobs Australia Il Divo Paolo Sorrentino Italy, France Easy Virtue Stephan Elliott United Kingdom Empty Nest El nido vacío Daniel Burman Argentina, France, Italy, Spain Every Little Step James Stern, Adam Del Deo United States Flash of Genius Marc Abraham United States Genova Michael Winterbottom United Kingdom Ghost Town David Koepp United States Gomorrah Matteo Garrone Italy Good Vincente Amorim United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary Happy-Go-Lucky Mike Leigh United Kingdom Heaven on Earth Deepa Mehta Canada, India The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow United States I've Loved You So Long Il y a longtemps que je t'aime Philippe Claudel France, Germany Inju: The Beast in the Shadow Inju, la bête dans l'ombre Barbet Schroeder France Is Anybody There? John Crowley United Kingdom It's Not Me, I Swear! C'est pas moi, je le jure! Philippe Falardeau Canada Kanchivaram Priyadarshan India Last Stop 174 Última Parada 174 Bruno Barreto Brazil Management Stephen Belber United States Me and Orson Welles Richard Linklater United States Miracle at St. Anna Spike Lee United States New York, I Love You Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Randy Balsmeyer, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Scarlett Johansson, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner, Jiang Wen, Andrey Zvyagintsev United States Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Peter Sollett United States Paris 36 Faubourg 36 Christophe Barratier France A Perfect Day Un giorno perfetto Ferzan Özpetek Italy Plastic City Dangkou Yu Lik-wai Brazil, Hong Kong, China, Japan One Day You Will Understand Plus tard, tu comprendras Amos Gitai France, Germany Religulous Larry Charles United States RocknRolla Guy Ritchie United Kingdom, United States, France The Sea Wall Un Barrage contre le Pacifique Rithy Panh France, Cambodia, Belgium Séraphine Martin Provost France, Belgium Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle United Kingdom Still Walking Aruitemo aruitemo Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman United States Valentino: The Last Emperor Matt Tyrnauer United States Waltz with Bashir Vals im Bashir Ari Folman Israel With a Little Help from Myself Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera François Dupeyron France A Woman in Berlin Anonyma – Eine Frau in Berlin Max Färberböck Germany, Poland The Wrestler Darren Aronofsky United States Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi United States Zack and Miri Make a Porno Kevin Smith United States
Contemporary World Cinema English title Original title Director(s) Production country 33 Scenes from Life 33 sceny z życia Małgorzata Szumowska Poland Acne Acné Federico Veiroj Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Spain Adela Adolfo Alix Jr. Philippines Adhen Dernier maquis Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche France, Algeria All Around Us Gururi no koto Ryōsuke Hashiguchi Japan The Blind Sunflowers Los girasoles ciegos José Luis Cuerda Spain Cloud 9 Wolke Neun Andreas Dresen Germany The Country Teacher Venkovský učitel Bohdan Sláma Czechia Country Wedding Sveitabrúðkaup Valdís Óskarsdóttir Iceland Fear Me Not Den du frygter Kristian Levring Denmark A Film with Me in It Ian Fitzgibbon Ireland Firaaq Nandita Das India Five Dollars a Day Nigel Cole United States Flame & Citron Flammen & Citronen Ole Christian Madsen Denmark The Ghost Domovoi Karen Oganesyan Russia Goodbye Solo Ramin Bahrani United States El Greco Yannis Smaragdis Greece Horn of Plenty El cuerno de la abundancia Juan Carlos Tabío Cuba, Spain In the Shadow of the Naga Nak prok Phawat Panangkasiri Thailand Jerichow Christian Petzold Germany Katia's Sister Het zusje van Katia Mijke de Jong Netherlands Khamsa Karim Dridi France, Germany, Tunisia Knitting Niú lán zhī nǔ Yin Lichuan China Laila's Birthday Eid Milad Laila Rashid Masharawi Palestine, Tunisia, Netherlands Linha de Passe Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas Brazil Lion's Den Leonera Pablo Trapero Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, Spain Lost Song Rodrigue Jean Canada Machan Uberto Pasolini Italy, Sri Lanka Mark of an Angel L'Empreinte de l'ange Safy Nebbou France Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's Maman est chez le coiffeur Léa Pool Canada Middle of Nowhere John Stockwell United States Mothers & Daughters Carl Bessai Canada My Mother, My Bride and I Die zweite Frau Hans Steinbichler Germany The Narrows François Velle United States Native Dancer Baksy Gulshat Omarova Kazakhstan, Russia, France, Germany A No-Hit No-Run Summer Un été sans point ni coup sûr Francis Leclerc Canada O' Horten Bent Hamer Norway, France, Germany, Denmark Once Upon a Time in Rio Era uma Vez... Breno Silveira Brazil Pandora's Box Pandora'nın Kutusu Yeşim Ustaoğlu Turkey Patrik, Age 1.5 Patrik 1,5 Ella Lemhagen Sweden Pedro Nicholas Oceano United States Radio Love Leonardo de Armas Spain The Rest of the Night Il Resto della notte Francesco Munzi Italy Restless Amos Kollek Israel, France, Canada, Germany, Belgium Return to Hansala Retorno a Hansala Chus Gutiérrez Spain Revanche Götz Spielmann Austria Skin Anthony Fabian South Africa, United Kingdom Summer Hours L'Heure d'été Olivier Assayas France Sugar Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck United States Teza Haile Gerima Ethiopia Three Wise Men Kolme viisasta miestä Mika Kaurismäki Finland Toronto Stories David Weaver, Sudz Sutherland, Aaron Woodley, Sook-Yin Lee Canada Treeless Mountain Namueopneun San So Yong Kim South Korea Two-legged Horse Asbe du-pa Samira Makhmalbaf Iran Under the Tree Di Bawah Pohon Garin Nugroho Indonesia Wendy and Lucy Kelly Reichardt United States White Night Wedding Brúðguminn Baltasar Kormákur Iceland The Window La Ventana Carlos Sorin Argentina, Spain
Discovery