2007 Toronto International Film Festival


The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, the 32nd annual edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from September 6, 2007 to September 15, 2007.
The lineup consisted of 349 films from 55 countries, selected from 4,156 submissions. The selection included 275 mid- to feature-length films, of which 234 were premieres, with 71 by first-time directors.
The festival opened with the world premiere of Jeremy Podeswa's Fugitive Pieces, a film based on the international bestselling novel by Anne Michaels, and closed with Paolo Barzman's Emotional Arithmetic, marking the first time in the festival's history that the opening and closing slots were both held by Canadian films in the same year.
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Film reception

Critical favourites included No Country for Old Men, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days which were equally well received at the Cannes Film Festival, plus the Joy Division biopic Control which, along with the eponymously titled documentary on the band, Joy Division, was picked up by The Weinstein Company. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star named Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead a major Oscar contender. The audience favourite, David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, won the top prize at the festival. The New York Times pointed out that two previous winners had gone on to win Best Picture Oscars.
Highly discussed but divisive films among the public and critics include comedies Juno and Margot at the Wedding, the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There and Brian De Palma's Iraq War documentary Redacted. Films expected to stir controversy for their transgressive sexual content, such as Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, Alan Ball's Nothing Is Private and Martin Gero's Young People Fucking, did divide audiences but without fanfare. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Across the Universe both won their share of supporters despite previous reports of shooting delays and director-studio clashes.

Awards

In addition, film director and historian Peter Bogdanovich was given a special award by the International Federation of Film Archives for his contribution towards film preservation. The award was presented at a screening of Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion which Bogdanovich selected to illustrate the importance of film restoration.

Programme

Gala Presentations

Gala Presentations spotlights prestige films of Canadian, American and foreign-language origins in equal measure. They are often world or North American premieres and are screened at the Roy Thomson Hall. Twenty films were selected.
David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises received the Cadillac People's Choice Award.

Contemporary World Cinema

The Contemporary World Cinema programme features films from around the world. It included premieres and prize-winning films from other festivals. Sixty-two films were selected, including eight from Canada.

Masters

The Masters programme features films by world-renowned filmmakers. Twenty films were selected.

Discovery

The Discovery programme features the work of new film directors from around the world. Fourteen films were selected. Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán's feature debut Cochochi won the DIESEL Discovery Award and a CDN$10 000 bursary. The International Federation of Film Critics returned to the festival for the 16th year and awarded Rodrigo Plá's La Zona the FIPRESCI Prize.

Canada First!

The Canada First! programme features first or second time Canadian film directors and established Canadian filmmakers who have not previously appeared in the festival. Eight films were selected to appear in the festival.
Stéphane Lafleur's directorial debut Continental, a Film Without Guns won the Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film and a CDN$15 000 bursary.

Canadian Retrospective

The Canadian Retrospective programme features a section of films representing an aspect of the history of Canadian cinema. It was the seventh year the festival has held the retrospective.

Canadian Open Vault

The Canadian Open Vault programme features a recently restored and iconic Canadian film.
English titleOriginal titleDirectorProduction country
Good RiddanceLes Bons débarrasFrancis MankiewiczCanada

Events

Mavericks

Mavericks features discussions with film industry and other professionals. Four events were held on a variety of socio-political topics. Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter discussed their activist work after his presidential term. Comedians Bill Maher and Larry Charles tackled religion. Mira Nair brought together three other Indian filmmakers who covered HIV/AIDS and screened four new short films on the subject. Finally, the conflict in Sudan was discussed by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and a panel of filmmakers.Everything to Gain: A Conversation with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter; moderated by Allan GreggMira Nair Presents: Four Views on AIDS in India with Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan, Vishal Bhardwaj and Farhan Akhtar; moderated by Mira Nair and Ashok Alexander Religulous: A Conversation with Bill Maher and Larry Charles with Bill Maher and Larry CharlesThe Time Is Now: A Conversation About Darfur with Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Don Cheadle, Adam Sterling, Ted Braun, Mark Jonathan Harris and Cathy Schulman

Dialogues: Talking With Pictures

The Dialogues: Talking With Pictures series features a selection of classic films which are chosen and introduced by well-known directors or artists who have found a given film influential or pivotal throughout the course of their own career. Eight films were selected between nine filmmakers and artists.Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore directed by Martin Scorsese; introduced by actress Ellen BurstynThe Best Years of Our Lives directed by William Wyler; introduced by director Sidney LumetBucking Broadway directed by John Ford; introduced by director Peter BogdanovichClosely Watched Trains directed by Jiří Menzel; introduced by director Ken LoachLa jetée directed by Chris Marker; introduced by architect Bruce KuwabaraOh! What a Lovely War directed by Richard Attenborough; introduced by Lord Richard AttenboroughRodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song directed by Henry Koster; introduced by actress Nancy Kwan and director Arthur DongThe Virgin Spring directed by Ingmar Bergman; introduced by actor Max von Sydow

Doc Talks

The Doc Talk series features discussions with various documentary filmmakers on topics such as the future of the medium and their work and its subject matter. Clips from their new and upcoming documentaries are screened. The series was opened to the public for the first time. Topics included biography films, Michel Brault, war and democracy.Biography: Complicated Lives with Scott Hicks, Peter Raymont and Peter Askin Canadian Retrospective: Michel Brault with Denys Arcand and Michel Brault; moderated by André LoiselleCovering War with Michael Tucker, Phil Donahue and Ellen SpiroWhy Democracy? with Nick Fraser

Future Projections

The Future Projections programme features non-theatrical installations in various mediums. This marked the programme's inaugural run. Nine installations were curated by the Toronto International Film Festival Group and other Torontonian cultural institutions. Admission was free for all exhibitions, with the exception of the exhibit at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery which was free only to festival passholders.Best Minds Part One — created by Jeremy Shaw; curated by Wayne BaerwaldtDarfur/Darfur — created by various artists; curated by Leslie ThomasDeath in the Land of Encantos — created by Lav Diaz; curated by Cameron BaileyFrancesco Vezzoli: A True Hollywood Story! — created by Francesco Vezzoli; curated by Gregory BurkeInto the Pixel — created by various artists; organized by Nick PageeLate Fragment — directed by Daryl Cloran, Anita Doron and Mateo Guez; produced by Anita Lee and Ana SerranoThe Soft Revolution — directed by Brian Johnson and Anthony RobertsTyranny — created by Ryan Sluggett; organized by Wayne BaerwaldtWildflowers of Manitoba — created by Noam Gonick and Luis Jacob; curated by Wayne Baerwaldt

Canada's Top Ten

TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list, its national critics and festival programmers poll of the ten best feature and short films of the year, was released in December 2007. For the first time, separate lists of feature and short films were announced.

Feature films

Short films