The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival presented by Rogers has set their Wavelengths and Classics section. Wavelengths includes 11 movies, and 3 short programs and a special in-cinema looped presentation with diverse works from established auteurs and emerging talent.
Of note this year are the North American premieres of Roberto Minervini‘s Civil War epic The Damned, Miguel Gomes‘ Black and White period movie Grand Tour, and the completion of Wang Bing’s docu trilogy, Youth (Hard Times) and Youth (Homecoming) about Chinese sweatshop workers, the filmmaker’s chronicling which began in Youth (Spring) which played at Cannes and TIFF in 2023.
Jessica Sarah Rinland returns to the sidebar with Collective Monologue, alongside the North American Premiere of the queer Viêt and Nam, by first-time Wavelengths filmmaker Trương Minh Quý. The 14-hour, compulsively watchable exergue – on documenta 14 from Greek filmmaker Dimitris Athiridi will be presented in three screenings.
Short film highlights include the world premieres of Archipelago of Earthen Bones — To Bunya
by Malena Szlam, and A Black Screen Too by Sobey Prize–nominated Rhayne Vermette, as well as the North American Premiere of Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s The Diary of a Sky.
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There’s also a pairing of cinematic works of the late Jean-Luc Godard and John Smith, which includes the former’s final film Scénarios, completed just before Godard’s death, and the World Premiere of Smith’s wry, moving Being John Smith.
Rounding out the section is Egyptian artist Wael Shawky’s Drama 1882, which is also playing this year’s
Venice Biennale. The pic (re)stages an anti-colonial uprising as a libretto across eight chapters and 45 hypnotic minutes. Drama 1882 will be presented looped in-cinema on Saturday, Sept 7, and admission will be free.
This year’s Wavelengths program was curated by Senior Curator Andréa Picard and Associate
Curator Jesse Cumming, with contributions by Giovanna Fulvi, Nataleah Hunter-Young, and June
Kim.
TIFF runs from Sept. 5–15.
Wavelengths Features 2024 (in alphabetical order):
Collective Monologue [Monólogo colectivo] Jessica Sarah Rinland | Argentina/United Kingdom
North American Premiere
Sales Title
exergue – on documenta 14 Dimitris Athiridis | Greece
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Grand Tour Miguel Gomes | Portugal/Italy/France/Germany/Japan/China
North American Premiere
Lázaro at Night [Lázaro de noche] Nicolás Pereda | Canada/Mexico
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Pepe Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias | Dominican Republic/Germany/France/Namibia
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Perfumed with Mint [Moattar binanaa] Muhammed Hamdy | Egypt/France/Tunisia/Qatar
North American Premiere
Sales Title
The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich | USA
Canadian Premiere
Sales Title
The Damned Roberto Minervini | Italy/USA/Belgium
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Viêt and Nam Trương Minh Quý |
Philippines/Singapore/France/Netherlands/Italy/Germany/Vietnam
North American Premiere
Youth (Hard Times) [Qing Chun (Ku)] Wang Bing | France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
North American Premiere
Luminaries
Youth (Homecoming) [Qing Chun (Gui)] Wang Bing | France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
North American Premiere
Luminaries
Wavelengths Special Presentation 2024:
Drama 1882 Wael Shawky | Egypt
Festival Premiere
Wavelengths Shorts 2024:
WAVELENGTHS 1: EYE & EAR CONTROL
Revolving Rounds Johann Lurf, Christina Jauernik | Austria
North American Premiere
The Diary of a Sky Lawrence Abu Hamdan | Lebanon
North American Premiere
Sales Title
October Noon [Octubre al mediodía] Francisco Rodríguez Teare | Chile/France
World Premiere
Sales Title
A Black Screen Too Rhayne Vermette | Canada
World Premiere
Sales Title
Archipelago of Earthen Bones — To Bunya Malena Szlam | Canada/Australia/Chile
World Premiere
WAVELENGTHS 2: RIDE THE WAVE
Someplace in Your Mouth Beatrice Gibson, Nick Gordon | Italy
International Premiere
Sales Title
Notes of a Crocodile Daphne Xu | Cambodia/China/Canada
World Premiere
Sales Title
Adrift Potentials [Potenciais à deriva] Leonardo Pirondi | Brazil/USA
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Go Between Chris Kennedy | Canada/Australia
World Premiere
Sales Title
The Sojourn [暫棲] Tiffany Sia | USA
Canadian Premiere
Sales Title
WAVELENGTHS 3: EXPOSÉ(S) – JEAN-LUC GODARD/JOHN SMITH
Scénarios Jean-Luc Godard | France/Japan
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Exposé du film annonce du film “Scénario” Jean-Luc Godard | France/Japan
North American Premiere
Sales Title
Being John Smith John Smith | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Sales Title
Classics Programme 2024 (in alphabetical order):
Awāra Raj Kapoor | India
Bona Lino Brocka | Philippines
Essene Frederick Wiseman | USA
Masala Srinivas Krishna | Canada
The Sweet Hereafter Atom Egoyan | Canada
Time of Maturity [Reifezeit] Sohrab Shahid Saless | Germany