By DearCinema Desk • Aug 25th, 2008 • Filed under: Festival Reports

The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival adds twelve titles to the Vanguard and Visions programmes. Six titles join Vanguard and six films have also been added to Visions. “Visions and Vanguard films both push boundaries - Visions for form, Vanguard for content,” says Co-Director Cameron Bailey. “We find TIFF audiences love a new challenge; this is where to find it.”

These films star actors such as Evangeline Lilly, John Malkovich, Catherine Deneuve, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Béart and Rufus Sewell. Purchase online at tiff08.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or in person at the Festival Box Office at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (main floor, north entrance). Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

VANGUARD

Afterwards Gilles Bourdos, France/Canada/Germany
World Premiere
Years after a near-death experience shook his childhood, Nathan, now a successful corporate lawyer, has buried himself in his work to escape the reality of a painful divorce. Then a mysterious doctor enters his life, and suddenly Nathan must cope with the shocking news that soon he will die. Afterwards stars Romain Duris, John Malkovich, Evangeline Lilly and Reece Thompson.

Sauna Antti-Jussi Annila, Finland
World Premiere
In the year 1595, following the brutal war between Finland and Russia, brothers Knut and Erik are part of the commission marking the border between the two countries. In doing so, they commit a terrible sin and must survive the consequences. They can only find solace in a sauna where all sins are washed away. The film marks director Antti-Jussi Annila’s follow-up to the TIFF06 film, Jade Warrior.

Tears for Sale Uroš Stojanovic, Serbia
World Premiere
In the mountains of battle-scarred Serbia lies the village of Pokrp, whose men have been eradicated by generations of war. When sisters Little Boginja and Ognjenka inadvertently kill Pokrp’s sole surviving male in a futile attempt to lose their virginity, they must find a living, virile man in order to avoid a death sentence.

Universalove Thomas Woschitz, Austria/Luxembourg
World Premiere
Love stories from Brooklyn, Belgrade, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Marseille and Luxembourg play against a backdrop of music by Austrian indie band Naked Lunch, whose haunting songs serve to elaborate upon the stirring narratives.

PA-RA-DA Marco Pontecorvo, Italy/France/Romania
International Premiere
This true story of a street clown, Miloud Oukili, charts his arrival in Romania in 1992, three years after the end of Ceausescu’s dictatorship, and his encounter with the children who live on the streets, the so-called “boskettari.” Oukili teaches them circus and clown skills in order to give them hope for a better future and a dignified life.

Kisses Lance Daly, Ireland/Sweden
North American Premiere
On the fringes of Dublin, Kylie and Dylan live in a suburban housing estate devoid of life, colour and prospects of escape. Following a violent altercation with his father, Dylan decides to run away from home with Kylie. Together, they embark to the magical nighttime lights of inner-city Dublin to search for Dylan’s brother, and the possibility of a new life. As the night wears on, however, the two kids must somehow survive the darker side of Dublin.

VISIONS

Uncertainty Scott McGehee and David Siegel, USA
World Premiere
Starring up and comers Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, The Lookout), Olivia Thirlby (The Wackness, Juno) and Lynn Collins (The Merchant of Venice), this film offers two stories about the same young couple in love who find out that they are pregnant and are not sure what to do. The man flips a coin and there follows two versions of what happens next - but both stories end up with the same consequences.

Unspoken Fien Troch, Belgium
World Premiere
Five years ago, 14-year-old Lisa disappeared from the lives of her parents Lukas and Grace, with no clear reason, no goodbye. Her parents have managed to get their lives back to some semblance of normality, until Benjamin, a former friend of Lisa’s, pays them a visit and a series of strange occurrences ensue. Gradually, Lisa’s presence begins to seep back into her parents’ lives, whether they like it or not. This film marks the second feature for director Fien Troch, whose previous film, Someone Else’s Happiness, was at TIFF05.

Je veux voir Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Lebanon
North American Premiere
Their first film since the 2005 critically acclaimed A Perfect Day, filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige ask the question “what can cinema do?” and translate that into a version of reality in Je veux voir (I Want to See). Catherine Deneuve and Rabih Mroué star as themselves, traveling to Beirut and driving through the regions devastated by the 2006 war in Lebanon. This unpredictable adventure aims to reveal the beauty in an area ravaged by war.
Preceded by the short film Expectations
Expectations Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, South Korea/France
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s follow-up to the 2006 award-winning Daratt (Dry Season) charts the journey of a man fleeing his debts by attempting an arduous desert crossing.

Süt Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey/France/Germany
North American Premiere
Young Yusuf is upset when he learns that his mother Fatma is having a secret affair with the town’s railroad stationmaster. He must decide whether to behave in accordance with the traditional male-dominated culture of the town, or to develop a newly open perspective that is more modern.

Vinyan Fabrice du Welz, France/United Kingdom/Belgium
North American Premiere
Eastern spiritual themes of despair are paired with maternal concerns in du Welz’s second film after his 2004 Midnight Madness debut, Calvaire. Starring Emmanuelle Béart and Rufus Sewell, Vinyan concerns a couple who are torn after the loss of their son Joshua. Glimpsing a boy who resembles Joshua in video footage from a village of orphaned children on the Thai-Burmese border, Jeanne (Béart) becomes consumed by the belief her son was kidnapped by traffickers in the chaos that followed the 2004 tsunami.

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