John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The Toronto Film Festival is awash with international titles. Led by Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed Of The Sacred Fig” and Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” the festival’s huge Centrepiece spread alone has 38 titles from outside Canada and the U.S.
The Discovery section has another 18. Not all Toronto international titles are world premieres, however. Here are 16 which are sparking good word of mouth.
Variety isn’t claiming they are the best. The buzz might not be justified. But they are certainly worth tracking. “Sunshine,” (Antoinette Jadaone, Philippines) Anima, the Filipino studio behind Erik Matti’s Venice winner “On The Job 2: The Missing 8” and Sundance winner “Leonor Will Never” Die, joined Project 8 Projects to co-produce Antoinette Jadaone’s teenage pregnancy drama “Sunshine.” It turns on a young gymnast who discovers she is pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts.
On her way to a seller of illegal abortion drugs, she meets a mysterious girl who eerily talks and thinks like her. A follow-up to Jadaone’s “Fan Girl” (2020), which played at Tokyo International Film Festival and in Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival’s main competition. “Crocodile Tears,” (Tumpal Tampubolon, Indonesia, France) The feature debut from the writer of martial arts adaptation “212 Warrior,” set up at Fox International Productions.
Read more on variety.com