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TORONTO 2016 France

French cinema has all bases covered at Toronto

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- 30 majority and 34 minority productions are being showcased, including films by Bercot, des Pallières, Ozon, Bonello, Quillévéré, Zlotowski, Assayas and countless others

French cinema has all bases covered at Toronto
150 Milligrams by Emmanuelle Bercot

The incredible diversity of French film production and its openness to the international scene are once again clearly on display on the line-up of the 41st Toronto Film Festival (8-18 September 2016), with a staggering 64 features produced or co-produced by the country. The huge number of French international sales agents will no doubt be taking full advantage of this tidal wave behind the scenes, while their slates also include films from other countries, to boot.

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Standing out particularly on the gargantuan Toronto menu are the hotly anticipated world premieres of 150 Milligrams [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Emmanuelle Bercot and Orphan [+see also:
film review
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interview: Arnaud des Pallières
film profile
]
by Arnaud des Pallières, which will be unveiled in the Special Presentations programme.

Also enjoying the limelight are three French titles that will be taking part in the Platform competition. The majority French production Daguerrotype [+see also:
film review
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]
by Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa will be world-premiered there, the fascinating Nocturama [+see also:
film review
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interview: Bertrand Bonello
film profile
]
by Bertrand Bonello will have its international premiere, and the moving Heal the Living [+see also:
film review
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interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile
]
by Katell Quillévéré will be rocking up fresh from Venice.

Another title coming straight from the Venice Film Festival is Planetarium [+see also:
film review
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interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile
]
by Rebecca Zlotowski (with actress Natalie Portman as its main attraction), which will enjoy a Gala screening at Toronto. Also hailing from the Lido is the sublime Frantz [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: François Ozon
film profile
]
by François Ozon, which has been selected in Special Presentations, as has the Berlin-awarded Things to Come [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile
]
by Mia Hansen-Love. Meanwhile, the Cannes-awarded Personal Shopper [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Artemio Benki
interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile
]
by Olivier Assayas and Never Ever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victória Guerra
film profile
]
by Benoît Jacquot will be on the line-up of the Masters section, and the up-and-coming generation of female French directors will be present thanks to the Cannes Caméra d'Or winner Divines [+see also:
film review
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interview: Houda Benyamina
film profile
]
by Ouda Benyamina in Discovery and Raw [+see also:
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interview: Julia Ducournau
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]
by Julia Ducournau in Midnight Madness. Lastly, the Contemporary World Cinema programme will offer audiences Heaven Will Wait [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar (highly popular at Locarno) and TIFF Kids will shine the spotlight on the excellent animated film My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
film review
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interview: Claude Barras
film profile
]
by Claude Barras (a parity French-Swiss production) and the gripping Miss Impossible [+see also:
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]
by Emilie Deleuze.

Standing out among the 15 other majority French productions being showcased are the world premieres of Foreign Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Tunisian director Raja Amari (Special Presentations) and La caja vacía [+see also:
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]
by Mexican filmmaker Claudia Sainte-Luce (Discovery), in addition to the international premieres of Wulu [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Malian director Daouda Coulibaly and Jesús [+see also:
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]
by Chile's Fernando Guzzoni in Discovery. We should also note the presence of the Cannes-awarded The Salesman [+see also:
film review
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]
by Iran's Asghar Farhadi and Elle [+see also:
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]
by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven in Special Presentations, while The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez [+see also:
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]
by Germany's Wim Wenders and the documentary Hissein Habré, A Chadian Tragedy [+see also:
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]
by Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun have been accepted into Masters. The animated film The Red Turtle [+see also:
film review
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film profile
]
by Dutch-British filmmaker Michael Dudok de Wit will be screened in Discovery, Death in Sarajevo [+see also:
film review
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interview: Danis Tanovic
film profile
]
by Bosnian director Danis Tanovic in Contemporary World Cinema, the French-Greek feature Blind Sun [+see also:
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trailer
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]
by Joyce A Nashawati in Vanguard and Last Days of Louis XIV [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile
]
by Spaniard Albert Serra in Wavelengths.

Twelve world premieres will be on the cards for the 34 minority French co-productions on the programme. The Fixer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrian Sitaru
interview: Tudor Aaron Istodor
film profile
]
by Romania's Adrian Sitaru, Clair Obscur [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Turkey's Yesim Ustaoglu, Marie Curie, The Courage of Knowledge [+see also:
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interview: Marie Noëlle
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]
by French-German filmmaker Marie Noëlle, In Between [+see also:
film review
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interview: Maysaloun Hamoud
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]
by Israel's Maysaloun Hamoud, Santa & Andres [+see also:
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film profile
]
by Cuba's Carlos Lechuga and The Wedding Ring by Nigeria's Rahmatou Keïta will be revealed in Contemporary World Cinema, and the British executive production Message from the King [+see also:
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interview: Fabrice du Welz
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]
by Belgium's Fabrice du Welz in Vanguard. I Am Not Your Negro [+see also:
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film profile
]
 by Haitian director Raoul Peck and Off Frame aka Revolution Until Victory by Palestinian filmmaker Mohanad Yaqubi have been selected in TIFF Docs, Jeffrey by Yanillys Perez (co-produced with the Dominican Republic) in Discovery, and last of all, the Canadian-French-US feature (re)Assignment by Walter Hill and Sing by British director Garth Jennings will be shown in Special Presentations.

Some of the other minority French titles on the line-up of the Masters section are the Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire at Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
by Italy's Gianfranco Rosi and the Cannes competitor The Unknown Girl [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
film profile
]
by Belium's Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. Seven titles will be showcased in Special Presentations: the Cannes Palme d'Or winner I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
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]
by British director Ken Loach, Souvenir [+see also:
trailer
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]
by Luxembourg's Bavo Defurne, It's Only the End of the World [+see also:
film review
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]
by Canada's Xavier Dolan, Brimstone [+see also:
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Q&A: Martin Koolhoven
film profile
]
by Dutch director Martin Koolhoven, Salt and Fire [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Germany's Werner Herzog, Neruda [+see also:
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trailer
film profile
]
by Chile's Pablo Larraín and Harmonium [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Japan's Koji Fukada.

Minority French productions also have a very strong presence on the Contemporary World Cinema programme, with After Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile
]
by Belgium's Joachim Lafosse, Aquarius [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Brazil's Kleber Mendonça Filho, We Are Never Alone [+see also:
film review
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interview: Petr Vaclav
film profile
]
by the Czech Republic's Petr Vaclav, Zoology [+see also:
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interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
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]
by Russia's Ivan I Tverdovski, The Road to Mandalay [+see also:
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interview: Midi Z
film profile
]
by Burma's Midi Z and Apprentice [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Singapore's Boo Junfeng. Finally, Noces [+see also:
film review
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interview: Stephan Streker
film profile
]
by Belgium's Stephan Streker and Godless [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ralitza Petrova
film profile
]
by Bulgaria's Ralitza Petrova have been selected in the Discovery section, The Untamed [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Mexico's Amat Escalante in Vanguard and four features in Wavelengths: The Ornithologist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Pedro Rodrigues
film profile
]
by Portugal's Joao Pedro Rodrigues, Mimosas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Oliver Laxe
film profile
]
by Spaniard Oliver Laxe, the documentary Ta'ang by China's Wang Bing and By the Time It Gets Dark [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Thailand's Anocha Suwichakornpong.

Lastly of note in TIFF Cinematheque are the documentary Lumière!, co-directed by Thierry Frémaux, One Sings, the Other Doesn't by Agnès Varda and Irma Vep by Olivier Assayas.

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(Translated from French)

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