Today, TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) announced their 2019 Platform lineup. Will one of these films emerge as a breakout awards contender? It’s possible. Previous films to emerge from this group include Her Smell, Moonlight, Death Of Stalin, and Jackie.
Here’s what we’re most excited to check out from the Platform lineup when we go north of the border next month.
Anne at 13,000 ft
Anne — played by Deragh Campbell, in one of the year’s most staggering performances — is a volatile young woman challenged by everyday social and professional encounters, in the latest from Kazik Radwanski (Tower, How Heavy This Hammer).
There’s not a ton to go off of yet, but I often find the most riveting films the ones where it seems mundane and then becomes something more extreme. A contained story like this with the right performance has a chance to be a breakout hit.
Proxima
Alice Winocour (Disorder, Augustine) builds on her meticulously crafted body of work with this incisive drama, in which an astronaut and mother (Eva Green) grapples with her commitment to her daughter as she undergoes grueling physical training for a one-year stint in space.
This has been under the radar for a while. First, it’s a space movie. Then you add in Eva Green and Matt Dillon with a seriously compelling crux. It feels somewhat similar to First Man from last year, but without the true story to go off, hopefully it can explore a more exciting angle. This feels like a perfect fit for the TIFF Platform lineup.
Rocks
British director Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane, Suffragette) returns with this intimate, honest portrait of a teenage girl who suddenly finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother.
This British coming of age story is going to hit me right in the feels. I’ll tell you that right now. Again, not a lot to go off of, but I’m really liking the style and vibes from the stills and plot summary.
Sound Of Metal
Darius Marder establishes a strong cinematic voice with his debut feature, about a heavy-metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) who starts to lose his hearing and consequently begins to re-evaluate his place in the world.
Heavy metal isn’t my thing, but neither is punk and I loved Her Smell. Buff Riz Ahmed should be in everything probably. A man who loses the thing that makes him who he is? Having to figure out what you are outside of the thing that’s defined you for so long? Sign me up. If I had to put money on it, this is what I think will really get some buzz coming out of the TIFF platform lineup.
See the full 2019 TIFF Platform Lineup here.
Don’t miss part 1 and part 2 of our TIFF preview as well as our NYFF Main Slate preview.