Toronto Film Festival Bolsters Slate, Adds Angelina Jolie, Javier Bardem, Helen Mirren, Gael Garcia Bernal To Speakers Roster

The Toronto International Film Festival has bolstered its lineup of speakers with Angelina Jolie, Javier Bardem, Helen Mirren and Gael Garcia Bernal joining its In Conversations With… roster. The fest also added more films to next month’s program, in the Next Wave and Discovery programme lineup, latter of which highlights up and comers around the world from 35 countries. The Jolie-directed Cambodian film First They Killed My Father is coming to the festival, while Bardem has two films with exclamation points — Loving Pablo! and mother! — coming to Toronto. Mirren will be there with The Leisure Seeker, and Bernal will be there with the Joan Chemla-directed If You Saw His Heart.

On the Discovery additions, TIFF director/CEO Piers Handling said: “Uncovering new talent is one of the key roles of the Festival. The Discovery programme allows us to carve out a space for emerging filmmakers to be seen by the international film industry and has helped launch the careers of award-winning filmmakers like Maren Ade, Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Christopher Nolan, and Dee Rees.”

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The fest also added a title to its Documentary roster: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart Tracy Heather Strain, USA, World Premiere.

Here are the Next Wave Films, some of which were previously announced Galas:

 AVA
Sadaf Foroughi, Iran/Canada/Qatar, World Premiere (Discovery)

Call Me By Your Name
Luca Guadagnino, Italy/France, Canadian Premiere (Special Presentations)

Dark Germany, 2 episodes
Showrunners: Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese, Director: Baran bo Odar, World Premiere (Primetime)

High Fantasy
Jenna Bass, South Africa, World Premiere (Discovery)

Killing Jesus (Matar a Jesús)
Laura Mora, Colombia/Argentina, World Premiere (Discovery)

Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig, USA, International Premiere (Special Presentations)

Scaffolding (Pigumim)
Matan Yair, Israel/Poland, North American Premiere (Discovery)

Sheikh Jackson (Al Sheikh Jackson)
Amr Salama, Egypt, World Premiere (Special Presentations)

The Rider
Chloé Zhao, USA, Canadian Premiere (Special Presentations)

Unicorn Store
Brie Larson, USA, World Premiere (Special Presentations)

What Will People Say (Hva vil folk si)
Iram Haq, Norway/Germany/Sweden, World Premiere (Contemporary World Cinema)

Youth (Fāng Huá)
Feng Xiaogang, China, World Premiere (Special Presentations)

Discovery Programme Films:

1%
Stephen McCallum, Australia, World Premiere

¾ (Three Quarters)
Ilian Metev, Germany/Bulgaria, North American Premiere

A Fish Out Of Water (上岸的魚)
Lai Kuo-An, Taiwan, World Premiere

A Worthy Companion
Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez, Canada,World Premiere

All You Can Eat Buddha
Ian Lagarde, Canada, World Premiere

Apostasy
Daniel Kokotajlo, United Kingdom, World Premiere

AVA
Sadaf Foroughi, Iran/Canada/Qatar, World Premiere

Black Cop
Cory Bowles, Canada, World Premiere

The Butterfly Tree
Priscilla Cameron, Australia, International Premiere

Cardinals
Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley, Canada, World Premiere

Disappearance (Napadid Shodan)
Ali Asgari, Iran/Qatar, North American Premiere

Five Fingers For Marseilles
(Menoana e Mehlano ea Marseilles) Michael Matthews, South Africa, World Premiere

The Future Ahead (El futuro que viene)
Constanza Novick, Argentina, World Premiere

The Garden (Sommerhäuser)
Sonja Maria Kröner, Germany, International Premiere

The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯)
Huang Hsin-Yao, Taiwan, International Premiere

Messi And Maud
Marleen Jonkman, Netherlands/Germany, World Premiere

Gutland
Govinda Van Maele, Luxembourg/Germany/Belgium, World Premiere

High Fantasy
Jenna Bass, South Africa, World Premiere

Human Traces
Nic Gorman, New Zealand, North American Premiere

I Am Not A Witch
Rungano Nyoni, United Kingdom/France, North American Premiere

I Kill Giants
Anders Walter, United Kingdom, World Premiere

Indian Horse
Stephen Campanelli, Canada, World Premiere

Killing Jesus (Matar a Jesús)
Laura Mora, Colombia/Argentina, World Premiere

Kissing Candice
Aoife McArdle, Ireland, World Premiere

Luk’Luk’I
Wayne Wapeemukwa, Canada, World Premiere

Mary Goes Round
Molly McGlynn, Canada, World Premiere

Miracle (Stebuklas)
Egle Vertelyte, Lithuania/Bulgaria/Poland, World Premiere

Montana
Limor Shmila, Israel, World Premiere

Never Steady, Never Still
Kathleen Hepburn, Canada, World Premiere

Oblivion Verses (Los Versos del Olvido)
Alireza Khatami, France/Germany/Netherlands/Chile, North American Premiere

Oh Lucy!
Atsuko Hirayanagi, USA/Japan, North American Premiere

The Poet And The Boy (Si-e-nui Sa-rang)
Kim Yang-hee, South Korea, International Premiere

Princesita
Marialy Rivas, Chile/Argentina/Spain, World Premiere

Ravens
Jens Assur, Sweden, World Premiere

Scaffolding (Pigumim)
Matan Yair, Israel/Poland, North American Premiere

Shuttle Life (分貝人生)
Tan Seng Kiat, Malaysia, North American Premiere

Simulation
Abed Abest, Iran, North American Premiere

Soldiers. Story from Ferentari (Soldaţii. Poveste din Ferentari)
Ivana Mladenovic, Romania/Serbia/Belgium, World Premiere

Suleiman Mountain
Elizaveta Stishova, Kyrgyzstan/Russia, World Premiere

The Swan (Svanurinn)
Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir, Iceland, World Premiere

Tigre
Silvina Schnicer, Ulises Porra Guardiola, Argentina, World Premiere

Valley Of Shadows (Skyggenes Dal)
Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen, Norway, World Premiere

Village Rockstars
Rima Das, India, World Premiere

Waru
Briar Grace-Smith, Ainsley Gardiner, Renae Maihi, Casey Kaa, Awanui Simich-Pene, Chelsea Cohen, Katie Wolfe, Paula Jones, New Zealand, International Premiere

Winter Brothers (Vinterbrødre)
Hlynur Pálmason, Denmark/Iceland, North American Premiere