The Dastardly Dissenter returns as CJ teams with Bernard to bring you this week’s show, in which they discuss their favorite “directorial left turns,” which also happens to be the subject of this month’s Way Too Indie staff feature.

Also, incomparable film essayist and filmmaker Mark Rappaport joins the show to talk about his filmography, which you can find right now EXCLUSIVELY on Fandor! Mark’s two latest videos, Debra Paget, For Example and Max, James & Danielle, are available to stream as of TODAY via our friends at Fandor, so don’t waste another second! Subscribe to Fandor now and discover one of the most singular, fascinating filmmakers working today.

Topics

• Indie Picks (3:50)
• Directorial Left Turns (15:23)
• Mark Rappaport (1:07:49)

Articles Referenced

• The Battery Capsule Review
• Altman Review
• Our Favorite Directorial Left Turns

Subscribe to the Way Too Indiecast

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Subscribe on Stitcher

On March 18th, Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special hits theaters. The film, which follows a boy with supernatural abilities getting hunted down by various groups eager to study or exploit him, is a major departure from the rest of Nichols’ filmography. With Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, and Mud, Nichols showed an interest in small, modest-scaled dramas about internal (Take Shelter) and external (Shotgun Stories) battles in the Southern United States. Now, Nichols has elevated himself to a different, bigger stage: Midnight Special is a full-on, big-budget (compared to his earlier films, that is) sci-fi that has already received comparisons to Steven Spielberg’s work.

Nichols is far from the first director to make a film outside their perceived wheelhouse, and in anticipation of Midnight Special’s release, we decided to come up with our favorite examples of directors who made a successful shift into new, exciting territory. Read our eleven picks below, and let us know if you agree, disagree, or think we’re missing any directors who deserve to be on this list.

Favorite Directorial Left Turns

Babe: Pig in the City (George Miller)

Although respectable, George Miller’s post-Mad Max fare—such as The Witches of Eastwick and Lorenzo’s Oil—hardly built on the promise of his influential post-apocalyptic trilogy. In the mid-nineties, Miller’s career took an abrupt change of direction, co-writing and producing the surprise Best Picture nominee Babe (losing out to the far inferior Braveheart). The talking pig was a huge success, and a few years later Miller directed the sequel.

Babe: Pig in the City is far darker in tone than the cozy, bucolic original. Miller pulls out all the stops, creating a trippy atmosphere for his menagerie of chatty creatures, including mice, chimps, pelicans and Mickey Rooney. Ostensibly a family film, it has the bug-eyed intensity of his Nightmare at 20,000 Feet segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie and the baroque imagination of Mad Max: Fury Road. Miller’s lengthy excursion into family film continued with the hit Happy Feet and its sequel, featuring CGI dancing penguins. And just when the scorched landscape of “Mad” Max Rockatansky seemed a distant memory, Miller took another turn onto Fury Road. [Lee]

Bernie (Richard Linklater)

Richard Linklater has always been partial to his home state of Texas, but in his 2011 flick, Bernie, Linklater embraced the east Texas legend of Marjorie “Marge” Nugent’s murder. Linklater’s career is marked with a variety of genres from relatable dramas such as Boyhood and the Before Trilogy to airy comedies like Dazed and Confused, but Bernie served as his only venture into a crime-driven black comedy. Yet, Linklater’s expertise in the understanding of the human condition is manifested in his sympathetic portrayal of Bernie and the often insufferable Marge. Bernie combines many of the elements that make Linklater’s films so beloved, but the presentation is wildly unique. The film combines mockumentary with documentary and comedy with drama in a way that is coherent and captivating. And while Bernie stands out from the rest of Linklater’s work, the quirks present in Bernie are exaggerations of quirks from the rest of Linklater’s filmography, and that is what makes the film such a treat. It’s a departure from the Linklater status quo, but it also represents an artistic evolution and a love letter to rural Texas. [Tanner]

The Big Short (Adam McKay)

The ’60s had the Rat Pack, the ’80s had the Brat Pack, and the ’00s have the Frat Pack, with the likes of Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell in its ranks. One of the key architects of the Frat Pack oeuvre is Adam McKay, writer/director of the Anchorman films, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and The Other Guys. You see the pattern. Going off this previous directorial resume, McKay’s doesn’t suggest very much depth. But with his latest effort, The Big Short, he detours from the usual big-laughs-from-little-substance path and takes on material as dense as one can get for a major motion picture: the bursting of the US housing market bubble, and subsequent global economic crisis, that occurred in the mid-2000s. It’s dry, complicated stuff that is plagued by its own jargon-riddled language. McKay (who also co-wrote) presents his smartest humor to date, but also makes the material easy to understand, keeping the film moving at a brisk pace and making brilliant creative decisions—such as fourth wall-breaking and pop-up tutorials conducted by surprise celebrity cameos. The Big Short earned the accolades it received during awards season, and McKay has earned a spot on the list of directors to pay attention to for more than just silly comedies. [Michael]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón)

Alfonso Cuarón wasn’t necessarily a stranger to children’s film when he took on the third Harry Potter franchise film, nor to Warner Brothers. He’d directed 1995’s A Little Princess, also a darker toned tale of a child orphan making their way in the world. So while Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban may not have felt like a left turn for him, for those who think of Y Tu Mamá También when they hear his name, the jump from a horny coming-of-age road trip film to a beloved magical series was jolting. But it isn’t really if one thinks about it. Picking up where Chris Columbus left off in the first two films, Cuarón picked the perfect film of the series to take on. This is where Harry’s journey gets remarkably dark, with his family’s past and secrets he was formerly too young to grasp finally get revealed. He has to choose to face the threats that heretofore came looking for him, AND turn 13. Scary stuff. Cuarón gave the film much needed relevancy, having characters wear modern clothing and letting them interact more with the non-magical world. He gave the Harry Potter series the backbone it lacked and a magic that felt more enticing, simultaneously pleasing book fans and pulling in those who’d previously written the series off as kid stuff. Cuarón knows how to get hearts pumping (Gravity) and feelings flowing (Children of Men), and his approach was a huge success for what is now among the top five film franchises in history. [Ananda]

Hugo (Martin Scorsese)

Roger Ebert opened his review of Martin Scorsese’s 2011 film with the line, “Hugo is unlike any other film Martin Scorsese has ever made.” As a director who’s known for his gritty gangster films (Goodfellas, The Departed, Gangs of New York), Scorsese threw a curveball at audiences by making a big-budget family film. In his extensive filmography, the director has only made a handful of PG-rated films, and none (that I can recall) featuring young children as lead characters. But the main reason why Hugo marked such a huge departure for Scorsese was that it was filmed in 3D, a medium often thought to be gimmicky, especially for a filmmaker who is such a strong advocate for preserving traditional film. But it’s easy to see why he made Hugo considering it’s a love letter to cinema, featuring storylines involving early pioneers of film like Georges Melies and the Lumiere brothers. Scorsese shows how those directors experimented with special effects during the early years of film, and it suddenly dawns on you why he decided to make Hugo in 3D. And to top it off, he adds a great message about the importance of preserving film. It’s rare that a filmmaker can make a film like this; one that’s so close to their heart, so much different than their previous work, and yet be easily accessible to every age group. Hugo is that film. [Dustin]

Li’l Quinquin (Bruno Dumont)

Early on in his career, Bruno Dumont was labelled as an enfant terrible for several reasons: showing unsimulated sex scenes in his films, using sudden, brutal violence, a rigid form that can drive people mad or put them to sleep, and an ability to generate provocative questions about hot button issues like religion and spirituality. Since 2011, after his underrated Hors Satan flopped with critics and audiences, he underwent a bit of a change. His follow-up, Camille Claudel 1915, starred Juliette Binoche, a surprise given his preference to work with unprofessional actors. But it wasn’t until 2014 that Dumont would make his biggest shift yet with Li’l Quinquin, a TV miniseries about detectives trying to find a serial killer in the French countryside. The series marks Dumont’s first attempt at making an outright comedy, and it works like gangbusters (some sequences in here are so unhinged it’s impossible not to choke from laughter). But the biggest surprise of all was that Li’l Quinquin turned out to be Dumont’s biggest success to date, smashing TV rating records in France and getting renewed for a second season. While it’s a definitely left turn for the director, it’s the furthest thing from a compromise, and Quinquin will hopefully mark the beginning of a new, more exciting phase in Dumont’s career. [C.J.]

Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine)

Before the release of the star-studded and fluidly structured Spring Breakers, Harmony Korine wasn’t well-known to general audiences. His filmography had been comprised of works like the deeply strange Gummo, the minimalist but bigger-budgeted Mr. Lonely and the chaotic, dadaist Trash Humpers. Korine wouldn’t go on to direct another film until almost half a decade later, and when he would, he wouldn’t be returning to execute Spring Breakers with the deceptively simple formal qualities of his previous three features. Instead, he hired Benoit Debie (primarily known for his collaborations with Gaspar Noé) as his cinematographer, gathered composer Cliff Martinez and popular dubstep artist Skrillex to work on the score, and cast household celebrities such as James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens & Ashley Benson to co-star alongside his wife, Rachel Korine. The end result is a pure sensory overload, constituted by a rich color palette, a free-flowing camera and editing style, and some of the sharpest social commentary to emerge from the American film scene in years, if not decades. [Eli]

The Straight Story (David Lynch)

David Lynch has cemented himself as one of the most idiosyncratic filmmakers of our time, tainting our eyeballs with visions of severed ears in the grass, people-sized rabbits doing chores, and Dennis Hopper spitting and spluttering like a loon. Lynch’s films are about as weird as they come, but when asked, the director called his G-rated 1999 heartland drama The Straight Story his “most experimental film.” While it sounds strange at first listen, in the context of the nightmarish sprawl that is his larger oeuvre, the assertation rings loud and true. Nearly every aspect of the film is antithetic to the core concepts of his other works: instead of smashing Americana to pieces, he celebrates it; rather than delivering shocks of violence and sex, the movie is squeaky clean and has no artsy tricks up its sleeve. Richard Farnsworth, in his Oscar-nominated final performance, plays Alvin Straight, an aging man who travels 320 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin on his John Deere (only in Lynchian context is this part bit considered “not weird”) to see his dying brother. Lynch’s broodiness is eschewed here, his visual flair instead working in support of a sweeping road story of love and devotion set along the cornfields and foothills of the good ol’ U.S. of A. Surprisingly, the film has Lynch’s fingerprints all over it despite the conventional tone and narrative. For a one-time affair, the wavy-haired madman plays it straight, and it works astonishingly well. [Bernard]

The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki)

Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of films such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro, is best known for his beautiful depictions of fantasy and ability to bring imaginary worlds to life on screen. Therefore, The Wind Rises comes as an unusual project from the Japanese animator, acting as a realistic piece of fiction whilst enfolding historical events into its narrative. It’s a fictional biography of Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the Japanese Zero fighter plane in World War II, and yet it focuses mostly on Jiro’s dreams of flying, rather than the grim realities of his creations. From its terrifying rendering of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 to its frequent references to Japan’s involvement in the Second World War, the film is never unaware of its exact place in history. However, The Wind Rises never allows this history to overshadow its message about inventions and possibilities. All the more interesting is the film’s place as Miyazaki’s final feature film, inevitably creating a parallel between himself and the young Jiro, both of whom are artists at their core; men with creative aspirations, but whose works are bound to be consumed in ways they did not intend. Reviews suggest that The Wind Rises is not critical enough of a man who designed machines for war, and yet Miyazaki’s films—often considered children’s tales—have always had a moral message. It seems his final film is a reminder that, once a creation leaves its author’s hands, its fate is as much our responsibility as it is theirs. [Pavi]

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky)

Prior to 2008, Darren Aronofsky had established a consistently heady, kaleidoscopic aesthetic in his work. From the Lynchian surrealism of Pi to the hyperkinetic chaos and visceral impact of Requiem for a Dream to the ambitious, centuries-spanning spiritual epic that was The Fountain, one might’ve thought they had him pegged down as a filmmaker. However, while The Wrestler certainly carries a few subtle hallmarks of Aronofsky’s style and thematic interests, it’s a more stripped-down, genuinely gritty picture than anything the director has attempted before (or since).

A tale of has-beens and former glory is concentrated in the figure of Randy “the Ram” Robinson, a once-famous professional wrestler who has fallen into obscurity. He lives in a trailer, works a menial, unfulfilling job and only finds consolation in his small-time weekend wrestling gigs or in the sympathetic arms of a similarly broken-down stripper. Such a familiar type of story is imbued with refreshing nuance by Mickey Rourke’s unflinching, honest performance and Aronofsky’s neorealist approach. If there was any doubt that the director could make a film expressing unglamorous realities and raw human truths without the stimulation of technical dazzle and flamboyant flourishes, this movie surely puts those concerns to rest. Despite it being a bit of an anomaly in Aronofsky’s career, The Wrestler might just be his greatest work to date. [Byron]

X-Men (Bryan Singer)

Since Jeff Nichols’ latest studio venture has inspired this feature, I’ve chosen another all-American director, who was also in his mid-30s when he made the quantum leap from small scales and modest budgets by hitting the sci-fi switch. Bryan Singer’s big break came with cult classic crime thriller The Usual Suspects in 1995 where an award-winning screenplay and unforgettable performances bolstered the director’s work enough for 20th Century Fox to have a meeting about it. The character-driven student-teacher Stephen King drama Apt Pupil came next in 1998, but Fox had reportedly already approached Singer for X-Men. He turned it down, made Apt Pupil instead, was courted again—this time by good friend Tom DeSanto—only to finally sign on and set the course for the modern film age of superhero dominance we’re currently (suffering) in.

For the first time in his career, Singer worked with special effects, a budget of $75 million, and in the Sci-Fi sandbox where comic book fandom reigns. And boy did he make it work. It’s near-impossible to measure the magnitude of the aftershock this movie created, after grossing over $200 million at the box-office. Hugh Jackman became a star, studios realized that comic book property was a gold mine they could finally tap into, and Singer made such a triumphantly left turn from chamber dramas to splashy blockbusters, he’s never hard to turn right again. By no means the best superhero film, X-Men is still a perfectly entertaining spectacle that turned its director into one of the best comic book helmers working today. I very much doubt Nichols will make the same impact. [Nik]

Another week, another slew of TIFF announcements. And while the full line-up is yet to be revealed (that’ll be next week), TIFF certainly brought out the big guns today. Thomas McCarthy (Win Win, The Station Agent) will premiere his newest film The Cobbler at the festival, while early festival favorites Lynn Shelton‘s (Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister) Laggies and Olivier Assayas‘ (Summer Hours, Carlos) Clouds of Sils Maria will play as well.

But we’re just scratching the surface on today’s announcements. Contemporary World Cinema, one of the biggest programs in the festival, was also announced. Included in that line-up are Jessica Hausner’s Amour Fou and Bruno Dumont’s P’Tit Quinquin, two films we thought highly of back when we caught them at Cannes. Also included are films by Melanie Laurent, Celine Sciamma, Naomi Kawase and plenty more.

Wavelengths, the program dedicated to experimental and avant-garde cinema, also got announced today. Jauja, a film we went nuts over back in May, will have its North American premiere. Also included are new films by Pedro Costa, Lav Diaz, Eugene Green, Matias Pineiro, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Sergei Loznitsa, just to name a few of the heavy hitting names in the line-up.

Read on below for films playing in Galas, Special Presentations, Contemporary World Cinema, City to City (this year focuses on Seoul, South Korea), and Wavelengths. Be sure to keep an eye out on the international shorts program as well, as Claire Denis will be unveiling her latest work. The Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 4 to 14, 2014. To find out more about what’s playing, including how to buy tickets, go to www.tiff.net/thefestival.

Galas

Boychoir François Girard, USA
An orphaned 12-year-old boy is sent to prestigious music school where he struggles to join an elite group of world-class singers. No one expects this rebellious loner to succeed, least of all the school’s relentlessly-tough conductor who wages a battle of wills to bring out the boy’s extraordinary musical gift. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Josh Lucas, Kevin McHale, Eddie Izzard, Debra Winger and Garrett Wareing.

The Connection (La French) Cédric Jimenez, France/Belgium World Premiere

Marseille, 1975. Pierre Michel, a young police magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help crack down on the city’s organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a Mafia-run operation that exports heroin all over the world. Not paying heed to any warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against Mafia kingpin Gaëtan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of all. But Pierre Michel soon discovers that to get results he will have to change his methods. Starring Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche, Céline Sallette and Benoît Magimel.

Escobar: Paradise Lost Andrea Di Stefano, France World Premiere

Young surfer Nick thinks all his dreams have come true when he visits his brother in Colombia. Against an idyllic backdrop of blue lagoons and white beaches, he falls madly in love with Maria, a beautiful Colombian girl. It all seems perfect until he meets her uncle, Pablo Escobar. Starring Benicio del Toro, Josh Hutcherson and Claudia Traisac.

The Forger Philip Martin, USA World Premiere

A former art prodigy and second generation petty thief buys his way out of prison to spend time with his ailing son. To do so, he must team up with his father for one last job to pay back the syndicate that arranged his release. Starring John Travolta, Christopher Plummer, Tye Sheridan, Jennifer Ehle, Marcus Thomas, Anson Mount, Abigail Spencer and Travis Wade.

Infinitely Polar Bear Maya Forbes, USA Canadian Premiere

Set in the late ’70s, a manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by taking responsibility of their two young daughters. The spirited girls don’t make the overwhelming task any easier. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide, Beth Dixon and Keir Dullea.

Laggies Lynn Shelton, USA International Premiere

Overeducated and underemployed, 28-year-old Megan is in the throes of a quarter-life crisis. Squarely into adulthood with no career prospects or motivation to think about her future, Megan is comfortable lagging a few steps behind while her friends check off milestones and celebrate their new grown-up status. When her high-school sweetheart proposes, Megan panics and — given an unexpected opportunity to escape for a week — hides out in the home of her new friend, 16-year-old Annika, and her world-weary single dad Craig. A romantic coming-of-age comedy about three people who find their lives intertwined in the most unconventional of ways. Starring Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell and Chloë Grace Moretz.

Ruth & Alex Richard Loncraine, USA World Premiere

Based on Jill Ciment’s novel, Heroic Measures. Ruth & Alex is set over a weekend where a couple (Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton) must decide whether or not to sell their Brooklyn walk up of 40 years. The story takes a comedic turn when the dynamic couple have to contend with eccentric open house guests, their pushy realtor niece, and the health of their beloved family dog — all while navigating a New York on edge from what turns out to be an media-generated terror threat.

Special Presentations

Beyond the Lights Gina Prince-Bythewood, USA
Noni is the music world’s latest superstar, but the pressures of fame have her on edge — until she meets Kaz Nicol, a young cop and aspiring politician. Can Kaz’s love give Noni the courage to find her own voice and become the artist she was meant to be? Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Colson “MGK” Baker and Danny Glover.

Clouds of Sils Maria Olivier Assayas, France/USA North American Premiere

At the peak of her international career, Maria Enders is asked to perform in a revival of the play that made her famous 20 years ago. But back then she played the role of Sigrid, an alluring young girl who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide. Now she’s asked to step into the role of the older Helena. She departs with her assistant to rehearse in Sils Maria, a remote region of the Alps. A young Hollywood starlet with a penchant for scandal is to play the role of Sigrid, and Maria finds herself on the other side of the mirror, face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is, in essence, an unsettling reflection of herself. Starring Juliette Binoche, Chloë Grace Moretz, Kristen Stewart and Lars Eidinger.

The Cobbler Thomas McCarthy, USA World Premiere

Max Simkin repairs shoes in the same New York shop that has been in his family for generations. Disenchanted with the grind of daily life, Max stumbles upon a magical heirloom that allows him to step into the lives of his customers and see the world in a new way. Sometimes walking in another man’s shoes is the only way one can discover who they really are. Starring Adam Sandler, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Ellen Barkin, Melonie Diaz, Dan Stevens, Fritz Weaver, Yul Vazquez, Steve Buscemi and Dustin Hoffman.

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2 (Dan Shen Nan Nu 2) Johnnie To, Hong Kong/China World Premiere

After losing his girl in a love triangle, Shen Ran falls in love with another woman, only to find himself still attached to his old flame. Meanwhile, his new love also finds herself torn between him and another young man. Starring Louis Koo, Miriam Yeung, Gao Yuanyuan and Vic Chou.

Gemma Bovery Anne Fontaine, France World Premiere

Martin, an ex-Parisian well-heeled hipster passionate about Gustave Flaubert who settled into a Norman village as a baker, sees an English couple moving into a small farm nearby. Not only are the names of the new arrivals Gemma and Charles Bovery, but their behaviour also seems to be inspired by Flaubert’s heroes. Starring Gemma Arterton, Fabrice Luchini, Jason Flemyng and Niels Schneider.

Gentlemen Mikael Marcimain, Sweden World Premiere

Beaten, bruised and afraid, young author Klas Östergren hides out in a Stockholm apartment, writing the story of its vanished inhabitants: the flamboyant, charismatic, enigmatic Morgan brothers. Gentlemen simultaneously celebrates and mourns the post-WWII era — its liberation, wild jazz music and poetry, economic boom and rampant corruption. Starring David Dencik, Ruth Vega Fernandez, David Fukamachi Regnfors, Sverrir Gudnason, Boman Oscarsson and Pernilla August.

Gomorrah Stefano Sollima, Italy North American Premiere

This is the inside story of the Camorra, the fierce Neapolitan crime organization, told through the eyes of 30-year-old Ciro, the right hand of the clan’s godfather, Pietro Savastano.

Human Highway (Director’s Cut) Bernard Shakey and Dean Stockwell, USA World Premiere

The road to the ’80s is reflected through the hi-tech, fantasy lens of Neil Young’s 1982 film, Human Highway. This absurdist comedy- musical deals with one of the most serious issues of our time: the threat of nuclear destruction. Starring Dean Stockwell, Neil Young, Devo, Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, Charlotte Stewart, Sally Kirkland and Geraldine Baron.

Madame Bovary Sophie Barthes, United Kingdom/Belgium World Premiere

In 19th-century France, Emma Bovary, the wife of a dull country doctor, embarks on a series of love affairs and spends well beyond her means. Although the affairs provide moments of perceived bliss, Emma’s idealized notions of love evade her and leave her in ruinous debt. Starring Mia Wasikowska, Laura Carmichael, Ezra Miller, Paul Giamatti, Rhys Ifans, Logan Marshall-Green and Henry Lloyd- Hughes.

Maggie Henry Hobson, USA World Premiere

A Midwestern farmer stays by the side of his beloved teenage daughter even as she slowly turns into a cannibalistic zombie, in this daring, genre-bending debut feature from director Henry Hobson. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin and Joely Richardson.

Pride Matthew Warchus, United Kingdom

North American Premiere Inspired by an extraordinary true story, Pride follows a group of gay and lesbian activists who come together to support the families of striking mine workers in 1984 England. As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes the strongest union of all. Starring Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Andrew Scott, Joseph Gilgun, George MacKay and Ben Schnetzer.

Revenge of the Green Dragons Andrew Lau and Andrew Loo, USA World Premiere

In the vein of crime classics like Mean Streets and Infernal Affairs, this film follows two immigrant friends, Sonny and Steven, who survive the hard streets of New York in the 1980s by joining Chinatown gang The Green Dragons. Sonny and Steven quickly rise up the ranks, drawing the unwanted attention of the city’s police force. Starring Ray Liotta, Justin Chon, Kevin Wu, Harry Shum Jr., Shuya Chang and Geoff Pierson.

The Search Michel Hazanavicius, France North American Premiere

The Second Chechen War, 1999. The Search recounts a powerful story of conflict told through four lives that will be brought together by a shocking twist of fate. Starring Bérénice Bejo, Annette Bening, Maxim Emelianov, Abdul-Khalim Mamatsuiev and Zukhra Duishvili.

Shelter Paul Bettany, USA World Premiere

Hannah and Tahir come from two different worlds. But when their lives intersect, they’re at the same place: homeless on the streets of New York. A love letter to the great New York dramas of the 1970s, Shelter is an unsparing story of loss, love, sacrifice, redemption and ultimately, hope. Starring Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie.

Three Hearts (3 Coeurs) Benoît Jacquot, France North American Premiere

One night in a French provincial city, Marc meets Sylvie. They wander the streets until morning and set a date to meet in Paris a few days later. When Marc doesn’t show up on time a twist of fate leaves him romantically torn between two sisters. Starring Benoît Poelvoorde, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve.

Two Days, One Night (Deux jours, une nuit) Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium/France Canadian Premiere

Sandra has only one weekend to visit her colleagues and — with the help of her husband — convince them to sacrifice their bonuses so she can keep her job. Starring Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Pili Groyne and Simon Caudry.

Welcome to Me Shira Piven, USA World Premiere

A woman with Borderline Personality Disorder wins the Megamillions lottery, quits her meds and buys herself a talk show on an infomercial channel where she talks and creates segments exclusively about herself. This movie is a dark comedic look at our obsession with celebrity and narcissism. Starring Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Wes Bentley, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack and Linda Cardellini.

Contemporary World Cinema

Aire Libre Anahí Berneri, Argentina International Premiere

Even though they refuse to admit it, Lucía and Manuel no longer have dreams in common. Maybe for love or perhaps as a remedy for something that is beyond repair, they plan on rebuilding their life together out of town. Their shared passion for architecture seems to bring them together, as they plan on renovating a house with a garden, selling their apartment and moving in with Lucía’s mother. But living with his wife’s family is suffocating Manuel, and he decides to take a break from cohabitation and moves to his parents’ house. As Lucía and Manuel begin to live separate lives trying to fulfill their own personal dreams, they forget what brought both of them together. Building a place to meet is very hard for them, discovering what they have destroyed is hard as well.

Amour Fou Jessica Hausner, Austria/Luxembourg/Germany North American Premiere

Berlin, the Romantic Era. Young poet Heinrich wishes to conquer the inevitability of death through love, yet is unable to convince his skeptical cousin Marie to join him in a suicide pact. It is while coming to terms with this refusal, ineffably distressed by his cousin’s insensitivity to the depth of his feelings, that Heinrich meets Henriette, the wife of a business acquaintance. Heinrich’s subsequent offer to the beguiling young woman at first holds scant appeal… until Henriette discovers she is suffering from a terminal illness. Amour Fou is a romantic comedy based loosely on the suicide of the poet Henrich von Kleist in 1811.

Behavior (Conducta) Ernesto Daranas, Cuba Canadian Premiere

Chala is an 11-year-old with an attitude problem and a difficult life. When his teacher Carmela, the only person who Chala respects, takes a short leave of absence, her substitute sends the boy to a rehab centre. Upon her return, Carmela tries to correct the situation, but her commitment will put them both at risk.

Bird People Pascale Ferran, France North American Premiere

In a Paris airport zone, two strangers try to make sense out of their lives: an American engineer under great professional and emotional pressure who decides to radically change the course of his existence, and a young hotel chambermaid who goes through a life-altering supernatural experience.

Black Souls (Anime Nere) Francesco Munzi, Italy International Premiere

The story of a criminal family from the Southern region of Calabria plays out like a contemporary western, where the call to blood law and an emphasis on revenge are commonplace and acceptable notions of justice.

Breathe (Respire) Mélanie Laurent, France North American Premiere

Charlie is a 17-year-old girl tortured by doubt, disillusionment and solitude. When the beautiful and self-confident Sarah arrives and the two become inseparable, Charlie is thrilled to feel alive, fulfilled and invincible in their intense friendship. But as Sarah tires of Charlie and begins to look elsewhere for a new friend, their friendship takes an ominous turn.

Charlie’s Country Rolf de Heer, Australia North American Premiere

The great Australian actor David Gulpilil won the Best Actor prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival for his engaging performance in this semi-autobiographical drama about an Aboriginal man who journeys into the Outback to live in the traditional ways of his ancestors.

Cut Snake Tony Ayres, Australia International Premiere

Set in Melbourne in the mid-1970s, Cut Snake tells the story of Sparra Farrell (Alex Russell), a very private young man who is trying to make a life for himself in a new city. He has found honest work and becomes engaged to the outgoing and charismatic Paula (Jessica De Gouw). But the prospect of his new life is challenged when the charismatic Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) tracks him down. Sparra finds himself drawn back into a world that he thought he had left behind.

The Dark Horse James Napier Robertson, New Zealand International Premiere

The Dark Horse is an inspiring true story based on the life of a charismatic, brilliant but little-known New Zealand chess champion, Genesis Potini. It’s a provocative, emotionally-charged drama about a man who searches for the courage to lead, despite his own
struggles — finding purpose and hope in passing on his gift to the children of his community.

Don’t Breathe (La Faille) Nino Kirtadze, France World Premiere

This subtly comic blend of fact and fiction follows a middle-aged married couple in Tbilisi, Georgia, as they deal with the fallout from an unclear, potentially fatal prognosis.

The Farewell Party (Mita Tova) Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit, Germany/Israel North American Premiere

The Farewell Party is a compassionate dramatic comedy about friendship and saying goodbye. A group of friends at a Jerusalem retirement home build a machine for self-administered euthanasia in order to help their terminally-ill friend. But as rumours of the secret machine begin to spread, more and more people ask for their help.

Frailer (Brozer) Mijke de Jong, Netherlands World Premiere

A woman diagnosed with terminal lung cancer gathers her three dearest friends together to make the most of the time she has left.

Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (Gett, le procès de Vivane Amsalem) North American Premiere Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz, France/Germany/Israel

This film tells the story of Viviane Amsalem’s five-year fight to obtain her divorce in front of the only legal authority for divorce cases in Israel, the Rabbinical Court. Viviane and her lawyer must face the uncompromising attitude of her husband, Elisha, who isn’t responsive to the rabbi’s convocations. Witnesses are called, the procedure drags on, while Viviane is still unable to recover her dignity.

Girlhood (Bande de filles) Céline Sciamma, France North American Premiere

Oppressed by her family situation, dead-end school prospects and having to live by the boys’ rules in the neighbourhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of three free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her dress code, and quits school to be accepted into the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.

The Grump (Mielensäpahoittaja) Dome Karukoski, Finland World Premiere

A stubbornly traditional 80-year-old farmer whose social attitudes verge on the prehistoric raises hell when he is forced to move in with his sad sack, city-dwelling son and domineering daughter-in-law, in this hilarious social satire based on the wildly popular novel by Finnish author Tuomas Kyrö.

High Society (Le beau monde) Julie Lopes Curval, France International Premiere

Twenty-year-old Alice lives in Normandy. Passionate about embroidery, she invents and creates, trying to find her own path. Contemplating what to do with her innate talent, she meets Agnes, a rich Parisian lady who helps her get into a prestigious school. Without hesitation, Alice leaves everything behind to start a new life in Paris. When she meets Antoine, Agnes’ son, they fall passionately in love. Antoine finds in Alice a sincerity and simplicity that frees him from the bourgeois environment he hates, while Alice risks losing herself in a fascinating new world.

Impunity Jyoti Mistry, South Africa World Premiere

When the mauled body of Zanele Majola, a minister’s daughter, is discovered in the forest of an exclusive safari lodge the morning after her engagement party to a rising political star, Dingande Fakude, a Special Crimes Unit detective is dispatched from Pretoria to oversee the investigation and bring swift closure. He is teamed with the local detective, Naveed Khan, a self-styled outcast. When two young lovers, Derren and Echo, working as waiters at the party, are taken in for questioning, their complicity seems obvious. But as more crimes are uncovered, what looks like an open and shut case presents the two policemen with the complicated challenge of protecting the political elite. Behind the intertwining stories of a couple on a killing rampage and the corruption of politics in South Africa, filmmaker Jyoti Mistry weaves a provocative portrayal of a society permeated with violence and its spectacle, where the notion of justice has gone awry.

In the Crosswind (Risttuules) Martti Helde, Estonia International Premiere

Without warning, Erna and her family are removed from their home and without a trial she is deported to Siberia. Fighting starvation and humiliation, her soul seeks and finds freedom in the letters she sends to her husband, who has been sentenced to a separate prison camp. Based on a true story, In the Crosswind tells a visually extraordinary, heart-wrenching tale of the fate of tens of thousands of people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during the purge of native inhabitants of the Baltic countries ordered by Joseph Stalin in 1941.

Itsi Bitsi Ole Christian Madsen, Denmark/Sweden World Premiere

In 1962, a young generation rebels against the establishment. Peace activist Eik Skaløe meets Iben and falls head over heels in love, but Iben refuses to commit herself to one man only. Desperately, Eik tries to win her over by transforming from poet to writer, nomad, junkie, and eventually lead singer in the destined-to-become-legendary band Steppeulvene.

Justice (Hustisya) Joel Lamangan, Philippines International Premiere

Biring (Nora Aunor) works for her kapwa Bicolano Vivian, who operates a human trafficking agency controlled by a powerful syndicate. But Biring sees no evil, hears no evil, caring only about her survival. When she is accused of murder, she is forced to fight for her soul in the belly of the city. Written by the celebrated Ricky Lee, who is also known for his work with Lino Brocka.

Kabukicho Love Hotel (Sayonara Kabukicho) Ryuichi Hiroki, Japan World Premiere

Over one day at this love hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo — where guests have the choice of staying for a short time or overnight — the dreams and desires of these characters intersect and collide in a bittersweet portrait of modern Japan as they try to get through the day while aspiring for something greater.

Kill Me Three Times Kriv Stenders, Australia World Premiere

A mercurial assassin (Simon Pegg) discovers he isn’t the only person trying to kill the siren (Alice Braga) of a sun-drenched surfing town. In this darkly comedic thriller, the hit man finds himself unravelling three tales of mayhem, murder, blackmail and revenge.

Labyrinth Of Lies (Im Labyrinth des Schweigens) Giulio Ricciarelli, Germany World Premiere

Frankfurt 1958: young prosecuting attorney Johann Radmann comes across documents that help to initiate the trial against members of the SS who served in Auschwitz. Both the horrors of the past and the hostility against his work bring Johann to the point of meltdown. It is nearly impossible for him to find his way through this maze; everybody seems to have been involved.

Leopardi (Il giovane favoloso) Mario Martone, Italy International Premiere

Giacomo Leopardi is a prodigious kid raised under the supervision of his implacable father. Giacomo’s mind runs free in his house, his prison, while outside revolutions begin and he chases connections to the world. When he finally leaves, Italian high society opens its doors to him and the tormented poet struggles to adapt.

The Lesson (Urok) Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, Bulgaria/Greece World Premiere

In a small Bulgarian town, Nadezhda, a young teacher, is looking for the robber in her class so she can teach them the difference between right and wrong. But when she finds herself in debt to loan sharks, can she find the right way out herself?

Li’l Quinquin (P’tit Quinquin) Bruno Dumont, France North American Premiere

An improbable, screwball and slapstick police investigation focusing on bizarre crimes on the outskirts of a small town in the north of France that has fallen prey to evil and to a band of young scoundrels led by Li’l Quinquin and his beloved Eve.

Lulu Luis Ortega, Argentina World Premiere

Lucas and Ludmilla are two street kids in love with each other and with the city they live in. They move through it as if it was their own board game. Lucas works with his truck driver friend, Hueso, picking up cow and pig bones from the city butcher shops. In his spare time with Ludmilla he shoots at monuments and sculptures with his gun and commits small crimes for amusement.

Margarita, with a Straw Shonali Bose, India World Premiere

Laila is a young romantic, a secret rebel in a wheelchair. Undeterred by cerebral palsy, she embarks on exhilarating adventures of self discovery, which cause a rift both within and with those she is closest to. Ultimately, it is in the intensity of these bonds where she must find the strength to truly be herself.

Meet Me in Montenegro Alex Holdridge and Linnea Saasen, USA/Germany/Norway World Premiere

Finding himself in a career roadblock, Anderson (Alex Holdridge) begins to feel nostalgic about a blissful but brief romantic tryst he had several years ago in Montenegro, and heads to Berlin to rediscover what might have been. He visits his friends Stephen (Rupert Friend) and Friederike (Jennifer Ulrich), a couple floundering between commitment and conclusion. Berlin nestles these couples in her outstretched streets, while they wrestle with the perennial challenge of finding love, recognizing it and keeping it alive.

Men Who Save The World (Lelaki Harapan Dunia) Liew Seng Tat, Malaysia/Netherlands/Germany/France North American Premiere

In a quaint Malay village, the villagers unite to help Pak Awang carry an abandoned house from the jungle into the village as a gift for his daughter, who is getting married. What they don’t know is that an illegal African immigrant who is on the run found the house by accident and decided to hide in it. When the village drug addict mistakes the black shadow he saw in the house as a ghost, the villagers fear that the relocation of the house has enraged the devil. The house moving comes to a halt as a series of wild mishaps befalling the village lead to false accusations, hilarious situations and ingenious actions meant to protect the village from danger.

Mirage (Délibáb) Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary/Slovakia World Premiere

Francis Boyo is an African substitute forward for a Second League football team in a small town in Romania. After a lost match, he is caught in the middle of a match-fixing scandal and has to flee. Albert, an underworld acquaintance, convinces Francis to go to a farm deep in the Hungarian Puszta, run by a Romanian stockman called Cisco, to find refuge. But when he arrives, he realizes that the farm might not be such a safe haven after all.

Modris Juris Kursietis, Latvia/Germany/Greece World Premiere

Modris is a normal 17-year-old who goes to school, has a girlfriend and some good friends. However, his gambling addiction makes his relationship with his mother difficult, especially since she constantly reminds him that his father is in prison and that Modris has a bad gene. Their relationship boils over when, in the middle of the Nordic winter, Modris pawns his mother’s electric heater to try to squeeze a win from a slot machine. When she betrays him to the police he is sentenced to two years probation, and as he begins his adventures with the Latvian justice system, his relationship to the outside world changes and he becomes determined to find the father he has never met. A story based on true events.

Not My Type (Pas son genre) Lucas Belvaux, Belgium/France Canadian Premiere

Clément, a young Parisian philosophy professor, is transferred to Arras for a year. Far from Paris and its nightlife, he doesn’t quite know what to do with his free time. Then he meets Jennifer, a pretty hairdresser who becomes his lover. While Clément’s life revolves around Kant and Proust, Jennifer’s is punctuated with chick lit, tabloids and karaoke evenings with her girlfriends. Free love and free hearts, they could live a beautiful romance together, but is it enough to bridge the social gap and cultural divide between them?

Out of Nature (Mot naturen) Ole Giæver, Norway World Premiere

Out of Nature is a journey inside Martin’s head and out into the wild nature. Martin is alone on a hiking trip in the mountains and we hear all of his uncensored thoughts and brutally honest observations about himself and the people around him. With thoughts and fantasies ranging from the trivial and infantile to the existential and profound, Out of Nature is an honest and funny portrait of a young man wanting to break the mold.

The Owners Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Kazakhstan North American Premiere

Twenty-five-year-old John, his teenage brother Yerbol, and their sickly 12-year-old sister Aliya, are forced to leave their house in the Kazakh city of Almaty when they become orphaned. By luck, their mother left them a house in a remote village but when they arrive, they find themselves battling with a corrupt local police chief whose alcoholic brother has been living in the house illegally for 10 years. Through the alembic of the absurd, this tragicomedy depicts routine injustice growing to unexpected cruelty, against a background of hilarious indifference.

Partners in Crime (Kong Feng) Chang Jung-Chi, Taiwan
When a girl who is loved by her entire school commits suicide, everyone tries to understand why. A good student, a bad student, and a weird student happen to discover her body on their way to school, and their lives become fatefully intertwined in their search for the truth behind the girl’s death.

The Reaper (Kosac) Zvonimir Jurić, Croatia/Slovenia International Premiere

Three fateful encounters over the course of a single night exposes the gloomy picture of Ivo’s life and of the small Croatian village where he lives, which is as stuck and imprisoned by war as Ivo is by his dark past.

Red Rose Sepideh Farsi, France/Greece/Iran World Premiere

A politically complacent middle-aged man and a young pro-democracy activist debate about the future of their country while hiding from the police in this fascinating drama that blends scripted scenes with on-the-ground footage from Iran’s 2009 Green Revolution.

Sand Dollars (Dólares de Arena) Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, Dominican Republic/Argentina/Mexico World Premiere

Noelí and her boyfriend earn their living from the tourists in a beach town in the Dominican Republic. When Noelí meets Anne, a mature French woman who promises to take her to Europe, she must decide whether to stay with her loved one or to leave in the hope of a better future.

Still the Water (Futatsume no mado) Naomi Kawase, Japan/France/Spain North American Premiere

On the subtropical Japanese island of Amami-shima, traditions about nature remain eternal. During the full-moon night of traditional dances in August, 16-year-old Kaito discovers a dead body floating in the sea. His girlfriend Kyoko will attempt to help him understand this mysterious discovery.

Tales (Ghesseha) Rakhshan Banietemad, Iran North American Premiere

Tales is an honest and courageous story of seven passionate Iranian filmmakers, workers, intellectuals and state employees, and demonstrates their daily struggles. Will the light of love and hope lighten their lives?

*Ron Levi, Director of the Master of Global Affairs at the Munk School, is an expert on global justice, and human rights regimes. He will speak about Tales in an extended Q&A session following the second screening of the film.

Today (Emrouz) Reza Mirkarimi, Iran International Premiere

In this delicate, deceptively small-scale drama from award-winning Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi, Youness, an ageing taxi driver, takes a young woman to a hospital at the end of his working day not knowing what awaits him there.

Tokyo Fiancée Stefan Liberski, Belgium/Canada/France World Premiere

Her head filled with dreams, Amélie, 20, goes back to Japan, where she spent her childhood. To earn a living, she decides to give private classes in French and meets Rinri, her first and only student, a young Japanese man with whom she soon begins an intimate relationship. Between surprises, happy times and the pitfalls of a culture shock that is both poetic and amusing, she discovers a side of Japan she had never seen before.

Tour de Force (Hin und weg) Christian Zübert, Germany

Belgium, of all places! Why visit, if not for the French fries and chocolates? But it is Hannes and his wife Kiki’s turn to decide on the destination of their annual bike trip with their closest friends, so the group sets out with the spirit of adventure. It is only once they are on their way that their friends learn of Hannes’ terminal illness. This trip is to be his last. Initially, the group is at a loss, but then they turn their trip into a wild and unique tour. Through Hannes, they realize how precious life really is, celebrating it like never before.

Two Shots Fired (Dos disparos) Martin Rejtman, Argentina/Chile/Germany/Netherlands North American Premiere

When 16-year-old Mariano finds a gun in his house, he has a thoughtless impulse and shoots himself twice. Immediately, we learn that he survives and he is in perfect condition. Two Shots Fired is the story of how his family copes with this event.

The Valley (Al-Wadi) Ghassan Salhab, France/Germany/Lebanon/QatarWorld Premiere

Following a car accident on a lone mountain road, a middle-aged man loses his memory. Drenched in blood, he continues to walk along the deserted path. Further down the road, he encounters people with engine trouble and helps them get their car running again. They are reluctant to leave him stranded and take him home to their large estate in the Bekaa valley, a place where production is not only agricultural, and a place he may never leave again.

Venice (Venecia) Kiki Álvarez, Cuba/Colombia World Premiere

Havana, summer of 2012. Mayelín, Mónica and Violeta are three friends employed in a hairdressing salon. On payday they spend a night out on the town together, and at dawn they share a common dream: Venice.

Voice Over (La Voz en Off) Cristián Jiménez, Chile World Premiere

Sofia, 35, lives in Valdivia. She’s beautiful and vegan. She has two kids she loves, but still everything seems to go wrong. In need of peace since her recent separation from her husband, she decides to take a reversed veil of silence: no more cell phone, tv, internet or reading for a year. But peace doesn’t occur. Following her example, her father leaves her mother. Her nasty sister comes back to Chile. Her kids become obsessed by meat. And Sofia discovers a disturbing secret about her dad. A southern familial drama-comedy.

Where I Am King (Hari ng Tondo) Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Philippines International Premiere

When his fortune is wiped out, an arrogant, self-made tycoon is forced to return to the slum tenement where he grew up, in this vibrant, socially-aware comedy from Filipino master Carlos Siguion-Reyna.

Xenia Panos H. Koutras, Greece/France/Belgium North American Premiere

After the death of their mother, 16-year-old Dany, leaves Crete to join his older brother, Odysseas, who lives in Athens. Born from an Albanian mother and a Greek father they never met, the two brothers, strangers in their own country, decide to go to Thessaloniki to look for their father and force him to officially recognize them. In Thessaloniki they discover that auditions are being held for the cult show, Greek Star, and Dany dreams that his brother, a gifted singer, could become the new star of the contest in a country that refuses to accept them.

Previously announced Contemporary World Cinema titles include Felix and Meira (Félix et Meira) by Maxime Giroux, Heartbeat by Andrea Dorfman, Love in the Time of Civil War (L’amour au temps de la guerre civile) by Rodrigue Jean, Teen Lust by Blaine Thurier, and Tu Dors Nicole by Stéphane Lafleur.

I’ve yet to get a full grasp of Bruno Dumont’s style, so if you’re a hardened Dumont fan take the following thoughts with a grain of salt. They come from someone whose introduction to the notoriously dramatic director was a comedy. But, as P’Tit Quinquin was featured on our most anticipated Cannes list, a few capsuled thoughts are in order. The picture was designed for television, split into four episodes with titles that don’t exactly sound like a barrel of laughs (“The Human Beast”, “The Heart Of Evil”) but that’s the most fascinating thing with P’Tit Quinquin; its use of comedy. While bordering on slapstick a few times too many, the film is a genuine riot and satirical with a purpose of exposing and exploring the darker sides of human nature. Take “The Human Beast” title; it’s played around with because of how corpses are cut up and disposed of inside cow stomachs. So when a character first says the words, it’s funny like you’d never expect. Much of the humor is carried by Bernard Pruvost, who plays Captain van der Weyden as a fumbling mix of Peter Seller’s Pink Panther and what you’d imagine Cervantes’ Don Quixote would be if adapted by the Marx Brothers. His facial ticks alone deserve a Palme D’Or. The two kids Alane Delhayne and Lucy Caron, the heart of the film, are excellent as well.

While some scenes drag, and others aren’t as funny as they’d like to be, the French audience I watched this with ate everything up and roared with approval. The rustic slang and expressions will no doubt be lost in translation for those of us who don’t speak French, but the dark symbolism, the glorious cinematography (do everything you can to see this in its theatrical, scope, version no matter how sore you’ll be) and masterful direction makes P’Tit Quinquin well worth its epic three and a half hour running time.