With just six weeks to go until the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2024, the excitement is building. Known as “The Festival of Festivals” in Canada, TIFF has announced the first quarter of its film lineup. The Gala, Special Presentations, and Midnight Madness programs feature outstanding films, as evaluated by the organizers. Out of the 93 titles revealed, India is represented by three films: All We Imagine As Light by Payal Kapadia, Superboys of Malegaon by Reema Kagti, and Boong by Lakshmipriya Devi. More Indian films are hopeful for selection in the 49th edition of TIFF.
All We Imagine As Light, with the Grand Prix award from the recent Cannes International Film Festival comes as its North American premiere, stars Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridu Haroon, and Azeez Nedumangad etc. This film, a collaborative production with France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy, tells the story of two Keralite nurses living in Mumbai. Cinematographer Ranabir Das captures Payal Kapadia’s screenplay. Kapadia’s earlier film, A Night of Knowing Nothing, premiered at TIFF 2021 and won the Amplify Voices Award.
Superboys of Malegaon, a Hindi documentary by Reema Kagti, features Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, and Shashank Arora etc. The film portrays the story of amateur filmmaker Nasir Shaikh and his friends in Malegaon, Maharashtra, with a screenplay by Varun Grover.
Boong, Lakshmipriya Devi’s directorial debut, will be the first Manipuri film to premiere at TIFF. The film follows Boong, a Manipuri boy, on his journey to find his father and the unexpected discoveries he makes along the way.
This year’s lineup also includes films by renowned directors such as David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Angelina Jolie, Gia Coppola, Morgan Neville, Woo Min Ho, Mike Flanagan, David Gordon Green, Uberto Pasolini, and Cosima Spender. TIFF 2024 will open with Ben Stiller’s comedy Nutcrackers, directed by David Gordon Green, and close with Rebel Wilson’s musical comedy The Deb, set in the Australian outback.
Toronto is a significant launchpad for quality films and award hopefuls, marking the first major film festival of the fall season in the Americas. TIFF 2024 runs from September 5 to 15 and will announce over 300 more titles. Approximately 500,000 attendees are expected, supported by over 2,000 volunteers and around 1,500 media professionals from around the world.
Suresh Nellikode is a film critic
