2009 Toronto International Film Festival


The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 2009. The opening night gala presented the Charles Darwin biography Creation. The Young Victoria, based on the early years of Queen Victoria, closed the festival on September 19.
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About the 2009 Festival

TIFF is a non-profit organization whose goal is to change the way people look at the world through film. The festival is Canada's largest film festival, receiving 4,209 submissions in 2008. Of this total, 312 films were screened coming from 64 different countries. TIFF creates an annual economic impact of $135 million CAD. Aided by over 2,000 volunteers, 100 full-time staff members and 500 seasonal or part-time staff are responsible for organizing the festival. Two screenings of each of the invited films are presented to the public and at least one screening is provided for press and industry. The 2009 festival contained 19 different Programmes, or categories of films. After the ten days of film, the Awards reception was held at Intercontinental Hotel on Front Street in Toronto.
Perhaps the most prestigious of the awards was bestowed to Lee Daniels's Precious: based on the novel Push by Sapphire. This award was the 2009 Cadillac People's Choice Award and is based solely on votes by Festival audiences. This award carries a $15,000 cash prize and also comes with a custom made award from Cadillac. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious because it has had the greatest impact on audiences and inspires film distributors to sign the winning film for larger international releases. Last year's winner Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, went on to reap huge international spotlight which culminated at the 2009 Academy Awards where it won Best Picture. Lee Daniel's Precious was also a big Oscar contender as it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, however it lost to The Hurt Locker and its helmer Katheryn Bigelow. The First runner-up was Bruce Beresford's Mao's Last Dancer and the second runner-up was Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs.
The City of Toronto and Astral Media's The Movie Network Award for Best Canadian Feature Film went to Cairo Time directed by Ruba Nadda. Sponsored by Astral Media's the Movie Network and the City of Toronto, this award came with a cash prize of $30,000.
Future endeavors by the TIFF will be aided by the ongoing construction of TIFF Bell Lightbox, a facility with an estimated annual economic impact of over $200 million. Complete with 5 cinemas, learning studios, galleries and a rooftop lounge, this will become the hub of TIFF in 2010 when construction is scheduled to be completed.

Controversy over Tel Aviv spotlight

More than 1,500 people, including prominent filmmakers, academics, and writers signed a letter of protest directed at the Toronto International Film Festival regarding its decision to spotlight Tel Aviv and the work of 10 Israeli filmmakers. The protest leaders emphasized that it is not a call for a boycott. The original protest letter in part reads:

The signatories and supporters include Ken Loach, David Byrne, Naomi Klein, Alice Walker, Jane Fonda, Wallace Shawn, Danny Glover, John Greyson, Viggo Mortensen and the American Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace.
John Greyson's letter of protest highlighted an interview "Israeli Consul General Amir Gissin gave to Canadian Jewish News in which he described the TIFF spotlight as a culmination of his year-long Brand Israel campaign, which included ads on buses, radio and television." Greyson claims that "This isn't the right year to celebrate Brand Israel, or to demonstrate an ostrich-like indifference to the realities of the region, or to pointedly ignore the international economic boycott campaign against Israel."
The protest letter was met with condemnation by some, such as Simcha Jacobovici, "a Toronto filmmaker who recently moved with his family to Israel, noted in a statement that the Palestinian government in Gaza had recently called a U.N. proposal to teach the Holocaust in Palestinian schools a war crime." Jacobovici asked "Why does want to align himself with Holocaust deniers?" Others accused those who signed the protest letter as engaging in a boycott of Israel films.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has stated that "it is clear that the script are reading from might as well have been written by Hamas."
Patrick Goldstein, writing in the Los Angeles Times, wrote against the protest and made an analogy to actions by musician Paul Simon:
In response to the protest, a number of Hollywood stars circulated a counter-protest letter on September 15, 2009. This letter, which appeared simultaneously in the Los Angeles Times and the Toronto Star, included signatories Jerry Seinfeld, Sacha Baron Cohen, Natalie Portman, Jason Alexander, Lisa Kudrow, Lenny Kravitz, Patricia Heaton, Jacob Richler, Noah Richler, George F. Walker and Moses Znaimer. The letter said:
Anyone who has actually seen recent Israeli cinema, movies that are political and personal, comic and tragic, often critical, knows they are in no way a propaganda arm for any government policy. Blacklisting them only stifles the exchange of cultural knowledge that artists should be the first to defend and protect.

Jane Fonda, in a posting on Huffington Post, says that she now regrets some of the language used in the original protest letter and how it "was perhaps too easily misunderstood. It certainly has been wildly distorted. Contrary to the lies that have been circulated, the protest letter was not demonizing Israeli films and filmmakers." She continued writing "the greatest 're-branding' of Israel would be to celebrate that country's long standing, courageous and robust peace movement by helping to end the blockade of Gaza through negotiations with all parties to the conflict, and by stopping the expansion of West Bank settlements. That's the way to show Israel's commitment to peace, not a PR campaign. There will be no two-state solution unless this happens."

Programme

Galas

Agora by Alejandro AmenabarChloe by Atom EgoyanCoco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky by Jan KounenCooking with Stella by Dilip MehtaCreation by Jon AmielThe Damned United by Tom HooperDil Bole Hadippa by Anurag SinghDorian Gray by Oliver ParkerGet Low by Aaron SchneiderI, Don Giovanni by Carlos SauraThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by Terry GilliamMax Manus by Espen Sandberg and Joachim RoenningThe Men Who Stare at Goats by Grant HeslovMicmacs by Jean-Pierre JeunetMother and Child by Rodrigo GarcíaThe Other Woman by Don RoosPhantom Pain by Matthias EmckePrecious by Lee DanielsThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca MillerWhat's Your Raashee? by Ashutosh GowarikerThe Young Victoria by Jean-Marc Vallée

Special presentations

Baaria by Giuseppe TornatoreBad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans by Werner HerzogThe Boys are Back by Scott HicksBright Star by Jane CampionBroken Embraces by Pedro AlmodóvarCairo Time by Ruba NaddaCapitalism: A Love Story by Michael MooreCity of Life and Death by Lu ChuanCracks by Jordan ScottDefendor by Peter StebbingsAn Education by Lone ScherfigThe Front Line by Renato De MariaGlorious 39 by Stephen PoliakoffGood Hair by Jeff StilsonThe Good Heart by Dagur KariHadewijch by Bruno DumontHarry Brown by Daniel BarberThe Hole by Joe DanteHugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel by Brigitte BermanI Killed My Mother by Xavier DolanThe Informant! by Steven SoderberghThe Invention of Lying by Ricky Gervais and Matthew RobinsonThe Joneses by Derrick BorteKamui by Yoichi SaiL'affaire Farewell by Christian CarionLeaves of Grass by Tim Blake NelsonLes derniers jours du monde by Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie LarrieuLife During Wartime by Todd SolondzLondon River by Rachid BoucharebMao's Last Dancer by Bruce BeresfordMoloch Tropical by Raoul PeckMother by Bong Joon-hoMy Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done by Werner HerzogMr. Nobody by Jaco Van DormaelOndine by Neil JordanPartir by Catherine CorsiniPerrier's Bounty by Ian FitzgibbonA Prophet by Jacques AudiardThe Road by John HillcoatRoad, Movie by Dev BenegalScheherazade Tell Me a Story by Yousry NasrallahThe Secret in Their Eyes by Juan José CampanellaA Serious Man by Joel Coen and Ethan CoenA Single Man by Tom FordSolitary Man by Brian Koppelman and David LevienSoul Kitchen by Fatih AkınThe Traveller by Ahmed MaherTriage by Danis TanovicThe Trotsky by Jacob TierneyUp in the Air by Jason ReitmanValhalla Rising by Nicolas Winding RefnVengeance by Johnnie ToThe Vintner's Luck by Niki CaroThe Waiting City by Claire McCarthyWheat by He PingWhip It! by Drew BarrymoreWomen Without Men by Shirin NeshatYouth in Revolt by Miguel Arteta

City to City

Bena by Niv KlainerBig Dig by Efraim KishonBig Eyes by Uri ZoharThe Bubble by Eytan FoxA History of Israeli Cinema - Part 1 by Raphael Nadjari A History of Israeli Cinema - Part 2 by Raphael NadjariJaffa by Keren YedayaKirot by Danny LernerLife According to Agfa by Assi DayanPhobidilia by Yoav Paz and Doron Paz

Contemporary World Cinema

25 Carat by Patxi AmezcuaAdrift by Bùi Thạc ChuyênAjami by Scandar Copti and Yaron ShaniAt the End of Daybreak by Ho YuhangBackyard by Carlos CarreraBalibo by Robert ConnollyBeyond the Circle by Golam RabbanyBlessed by Ana KokkinosBran Nue Dae by Rachel PerkinsCastaway on the Moon by Lee Hae-junCell 211 by Daniel MonzónCole by Carl BessaiDeliver Us from Evil by Ole BornedalDogtooth by Yorgos LanthimosDown for Life by Alan JacobsThe Double Hour by Giuseppe CapotondiExcited by Bruce SweeneyEyes Wide Open by Haim TabakmanGiulia Doesn't Date at Night by Giuseppe PiccioniA Gun to the Head by Blaine ThurierHeiran by Shalizeh ArefpourHelp Gone Mad by Boris KhlebnikovHigh Life by Gary YatesThe House of Branching Love by Mika KaurismäkiHuacho by Alejandro Fernández AlemendrasI Am Not Your Friend by György PálfiIf I Knew What You Said by Mike SandejasJean Charles by Henrique GoldmanThe Last Days of Emma Blank by Alex van WarmerdamLike You Know It All by Hong SangsooLourdes by Jessica HausnerMen on the Bridge by Asli ÖzgeMy Year Without Sex by Sarah WattPassenger Side by Matt BissonnetteLe Père de mes enfants by Mia Hansen-LøvePolice, Adjective by Corneliu PorumboiuPrince of Tears by YonfanRabia by Sebastián CorderoSame Same But Different by Detlev BuckSawasdee Bangkok by Wisit SasanatiengThe Search by Wan Ma Cai DanShameless by Jan HřebejkSlovenian Girl by Damjan KozoleSuck by Robert StefaniukTales from the Golden Age by Hanno Höfer, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru, Răzvan MărculescuTanner Hall by Francesca Gregorini and Tatiana von FürstenbergThe Time That Remains by Elia SuleimanV.O.S by Cesc GayThe Wind Journeys by Ciro Guerra

Discovery

Angel by Margreth OlinApplause by Martin ZandvlietBare Essence of Life by Satoko YokohamaBeautiful Kate by Rachel WardA Brand New Life by Ounie Lecomte by Susanne SchneiderThe Disappearance of Alice Creed by J BlakesonEamon by Margaret CorkeryEveryday is a Holiday by Dima El-HorrFive Hours from Paris by Leon PruddovskyGigante by Adrián BiniezThe Happiest Girl in the World by Radu JudeHeliopolis by Ahmad AbdallaLe Jour Ou Dieu Est Parti en Voyage by Philippe van LeeuwKelin by Ermek TursunovLast Ride by Glendyn IvinThe Man Beyond the Bridge by Laxmikant ShetgaonkarMy Dog Tulip by Paul Fierlinger and Sandra FierlingerMy Tehran for Sale by Granaz MoussaviNorthless by Rigoberto PerezcanoLa Pivellina by Tizza Covi and Rainer FrimmelSamson and Delilah by Warwick ThorntonShirley Adams by Oliver HermanusShould I Really Do It? by Ismail NecmiLa Soga by Josh CrookToad's Oil by Kōji YakushoTogether by Matias Armand JordalThe Unloved by Samantha Morton

Future Projections

The Butcher's Shop by Philip HaasCathedral by Marco BrambillaThe Death of Tom by Glenn LigonI'm Feeling Lucky by Samuel ChowTeenager Hamlet 2006 by Margaux WilliamsonUtopia Suite by Clive HoldenWhen the Gods Came Down to Earth by Srinivas Krishna

Masters

Air Doll by Hirokazu Kore-edaAntichrist by Lars von TrierEccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl by Manoel de OliveiraHotel Atlantico by Suzana AmaralJanala by Buddhadeb DasguptaThe Legacy by Bernard ÉmondWild Grass by Alain Resnais

Midnight Madness

Bitch Slap by Rick JacobsonDaybreakers by Michael Spierig and Peter SpierigSurvival of the Dead by George A. RomeroJennifer's Body by Karyn KusamaThe Loved Ones by Sean ByrneOng Bak 2 by Tony Jaa and Panna RittikraiREC 2| by Jaume Balagueró and Paco PlazaSolomon Kane by Michael J. BassettSymbol by Hitoshi MatsumotoA Town Called Panic by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar

Reel to Reel

The Art of the Steal by Don ArgottBassidji by Mehran TamadonCleanflix by Andrew James and Joshua LigairiCollapse by Chris SmithColony by Carter Gunn and Ross McDonnellGenius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould by Peter Raymont and Michèle HozerGoogle Baby by Zippi Brand FrankHow to Fold a Flag by Michael Tucker and Petra EpperleinL' Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot by Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra MedreaThe Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers by Judith Ehrlich and Rick GoldsmithPetropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands by Peter MettlerPresumed Guilty by Roberto Hernández and Geoffrey SmithReel Injun by Neil DiamondSchmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags by Marc LevinSnowblind by Vikram JayantiStolen by Violeta Ayala and Dan FallshawThe Topp Twins by Leanne PooleyVideocracy by Erik Gandini

Vanguard

Accident by Soi CheangThe Ape by Jesper GanslandtBunny and the Bull by Paul KingCarcasses by Denis CôtéThe Dirty Saints by Luis OrtegaEnter the Void by Gaspar NoéFish Tank by Andrea ArnoldHipsters by Valery TodorovskyThe Misfortunates by Felix Van GroeningenLeslie, My Name Is Evil by Reginald HarkemaMy Queen Karo by Dorothée van den BergheSpring Fever by Lou YeThe White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights by Emmett Malloy

Visions

Between Two Worlds by Vimukthi JayasundaraFace by Tsai Ming-liangGaia by Jason LehelHiroshima by Pablo StollIndependencia by Raya MartinI Am Love by Luca GuadagninoIrene by Alain CavalierKaraoke by Chris Chong Chan FuiLebanon by Samuel MaozNymph by Pen-Ek RatanaruangTo Die Like a Man by João Pedro RodriguesTo the Sea by Pedro González-RubioTrash Humpers by Harmony Korine

Short Cuts

5 Dysfunctional People in a Car, Pat Mills75 El Camino, Sami KhanThe Armoire, Jamie TravisBig Head, Dylan Akio SmithLa Chute, Ivan GrbovicCovered, John GreysonDanse Macabre, Pedro PiresDe Mouvement, Richard KerrDeadman, Chelsea McMullanEdge of the Desert, Lea NakonechnyFish in Barrel, Randall OkitaFound, Paramita NathA Hindu's Indictment of Heaven, Dev KhannaHomeland Security, Isaac CravitIKW, Caroline MonnetInterview with the Earth, Nicolás PeredaThe Island, Trevor AndersonLéger problème, Hélène FlorentLife Begins , Émile Proulx-CloutierM, Félix Dufour-LaperrièreMan v. Minivan, Spencer MaybeeMy Toxic Baby, Min Sook LeeNaissances, Anne ÉmondNight Mayor, Guy MaddinOn a Lonely Drive, Igor DrljacaOut in That Deep Blue Sea, Kazik RadwanskiPointless Film, Peter WellingtonRecord, Dylan ReiblingRunaway, Cordell BarkerSixty Seconds of Regret, Ed Gass-DonnellySmoke, Nikos Theodosakis and Linda TheodosakisSnow Hides the Shade of Fig Trees, Samer NajariSoap, Dusty MancinelliThe Spine, Chris LandrethSwimming Lesson, Caitriona CantillonThe Translator, Sonya Di RienzoTungijuq, Félix Lajeunesse and Paul RaphaëlUnlocked, Mio AdilmanVive la rose, Bruce AlcockVolta, Ryan MullinsVs., Ben Bruhmuller

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 2009.

Feature films

Short films