Toronto 2011

"Avalon" (Axel Petersén)

"The First Man" (Gianni Amelio)

The Toronto International Film Festival is in its 36th year this year, and its second with the lofty-ceilinged, glass-fronted TIFF Bell Lightbox as its main home. The building was filled with long, snaking lines for much of the ten days as demand for seats ran high. It's an event in thrall to stars, its Oscar-race clout drawing celebrities to the red carpet, and the rare decision to open with a documentary (Davis Guggenheim's From the Sky Down, on U2) seemed less about pushing format than angling for a rock-star glean for the evening through the attendance of Bono and The Edge. However, the calibre of films screening was no less for that, the festival's growing reputation as a rival for Venice proving its weight.
   From two large sections full of gems, FIPRESCI focused on world and international premieres to award, singling out Gianni Amelio's First Man from the Special Presentations section and Axel Petersen's Avalon from the Discovery program, in what were both rather clear decisions.
   The festival closing with a British film, David Hare's political thriller Page Eight, was fitting, given the strong year the Brits are having, films such as Steve McQueen's Shame and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights having shown in Toronto amid a storm of critical anticipation which proved altogether justified. (c.g.)

Toronto International Film Festival, Canada, September 8-18, 2011, www.tiff.net
FIPRESCI Prize, Discoveries: Avalon by Axel Petersén (Sweden). "An assured, darkly humourous portrait of an affluent class in hedonistic self-denial, "Avalon" marks the arrival of a promising new voice in Swedish filmmaking."
Prize, Special Presentations: The First Man (Le premier homme) by Gianni Amelio (France, Algeria, Italy). "Gianni Amelio's realization of an unfinished Albert Camus novel explores the legacy of colonialism with the tenderness of a memoir and the unflinching gaze of a war reporter." Details

Reports

Avalon. Set in a Swedish summer resort town, Avalon is the assured feature debut of director Axel Petersén, and turns on the amoral exploits of sixty-something Janne as he prepares to open a new high-end nightclub along with his former business partner Klas. Carmen Gray reviews the film
Canadian Films. Though there are exceptions, Canadians films (and especially English-language Canadian films) pass through the festival first, en route to establishing a foothold in the culture and dialogue of national cinema. And sometimes, these films are even secure sales. John Semley focuses on new films by Michael Dowse, Guy Maddin, David Cronenberg, Sarah Polley and others.
Kotoko. Japan's enfant terrible and cyberpunk precursor Shin'ya Tsukamoto has built quite a reputation since his debut in 1989 with experimental and breakthrough film Tetsuo: The Iron Man. This renegade filmmaker continues his obsession with human flesh and transformation with his new film Kotoko. Pascal Grenier reviews the film.

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