Kurosawa, Larrain and Denis Anchor The TIFF Platform Competition

The addition of the Platform competitive program at the Toronto International Film Festival - a festival which had, until that point, refused any sort of official competition throughout its entire lifespan - shook things up a little bit at the giant film event and the section returns in 2016 with an intriguing selection of titles. Competition sections have the ability to shape the perception and personality of a festival to a very large degree and so it's interesting to pick apart the choices here and try to work out what TIFF is trying to tell us about themselves but one thing is immediately clear: While there are certainly some familiar names present they're not just gunning for name value here or making the obvious choices to make a splash. This could be quite interesting. Check the full announcement and selection below.

REVOLUTION, REVENGE , AND RAW REALITIES REVEALED IN PLATFORM LINEUP AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The juried programme returns for its second year , highlighting 12 visionary and artistically bold films by Bertrand Bonello, Fien Troch, Zacharias Kunuk, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Ivan Sen, Katell Quill é v é r é , Khyentse Norbu, Pablo Larraín, William Oldroyd, Mijke de Jong , Barry Jenkins, Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie

TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival ® revealed a n artistically stimulating and thought - provoking lineup for Platform , the juried programme that champions director’ s cinema from around the world. In its second year, the international lineup includes two Canadian features as well as selections from Australia, France, Bhutan, Belgium, USA, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands .

This year, Platform takes on complex and bold narratives that range from a dark, twisted fantasy, a dramatic crime thriller , an existential illusion to the reinterpretation of a satirical tragedy, a raw coming - of - age story , and tales of revolutions, radicals, and revenge. The programme will open with the international pre miere of the powerful and topical drama Nocturama from critically acclaimed director - writer Bertrand Bonello.

“A multicultural epicentre, Toronto is one of the most diverse and inclusive cities in the world, and it is the perfect home for Platform to live and grow as a world - class programme,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “ The line up this year aims to shine the spotlight on fearless, artistic films that will inspire a global dialogue around issues that affect us all, and we are thrill ed to honour the next generation of filmmakers who are capturing the evolving discourse with their transformative visions. "

“ In its inaugural year in 2015 , Platform succes sfully established itself as fundamental to the Festival, and we’re proud to present a dramatically thrilling and daring programme for its second year,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “This year’s group of bold and brilliant filmmakers brought forth narratives that are provocative, persona l, and will challenge conventional forms of expression and redefine the art of storytelling. The lineup will give our audiences a window into the minds of some of the most masterful and exploratory directors of our time.”

Platform films will screen from Thursday, September 8 to Thursday, September 15 . Each film will have its first screening for public, press and industry at the Winter Garden Theatre .

Platform titles are eligible for the Toronto Platform Prize ($25,000 CAD) , which goes to the best film in the programme as selected by a three - person international jury, and will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on September 18, 2016 .

The Platform Jury will be announced in the coming weeks. The 41st Toronto International F ilm Festival runs from September 8 to 18, 2016. Films screening as part of the Platform programme include:

Daguerrotype ( Le Secret de la chambre noire), Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Japan/Belgium    World Premiere

Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes his first film outside Japan with this French - language ghost romance fantasy, about an aging photographer whose obsession with an archaic technique draws his young assistant and beautiful daughter into a dark and mysterious world. St arring Tahar Rahim, Constance Rousseau, Olivier Gourmet, and Mathieu Amalric. ***

Goldstone, Ivan Sen, Australia      International Premiere

Indigenous d etective Jay Swan arrives in the Austra lian outback town of Goldstone investigating a missing persons enquiry. What seems like a simple light duties case opens into a web of crime and corruption. Jay must pull his life together and bury his personal diffe rences with young local cop Josh , so together they can bring justice to Goldstone. Starring Aaron Pede rsen, Alex Russell, Pei Pei Cheng, David Gulpilil, David Wenham , and Jacki Weaver.

Heal the Living ( Réparer les vivants ), Katell Quillé v é r é , France /Belgium     North American Premiere

It all starts at daybreak, three young surfers on the raging seas. A few hours later, on the way home, an accident occurs. No w entirely dependent upon life - support in a hospital in Le Havre, France , Simon’s existence is little more than an illusion. Meanwh ile, in Paris, a woman awaits the organ transplant that will give her a new lease on life. Starring Tahar Rahim, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Dorval, Bouli Lanners, Kool Shen, Monia Chokri, Alice Taglioni, Karim Leklou, Alice de Lencquesaing, Finnegan Oldfield , Théo Cholbi, Gabin Verdet, and Dominique Blanc .

Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait ( he - mà he - mà ), Khyentse Norbu , Bhutan/Hong Kong       North American Premiere

The new film from Bhutanese lama and filmmaker Khyentse Norbu chronicles a sacred jungle ritual wh ere masked, anonymous participants seek complete self - knowledge — or descend into thievery, violation, and murder. Starring Tshering Dorji, Sadon Lhamo, Thinley Dorji, and Xun Zhou.

Home, Fien Troch, Belgium      North American Premiere

Home portrays the struggle between two generations : teenagers who explore a thin line between trust, friendship , and loyalty , and adults who seem alienated from their past younger selves. Both find it difficult to communicate and understa nd each other’s closed - off world. The clash can be more brutal than expected. Starring Sebastian Van Dun, Mistral Guidotti, Loïc Batog, Lena Suijkerbuij k, Karlijn Sileghem, Els Deceukelier, Robby Cleiren, Yavuz Saçikara , and Els Dottermans.

Jackie, Pablo Larraín, United Kingdom      North American Premiere

After US President John F. Kennedy is murdered, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband's historic legacy. Starring Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard , Greta Gerwig, Billy Crud up , and John Hurt .

Lady Macbeth, William Oldroyd , United Kingdom      World Premiere

Rural England, 1865. Katherine is stifled by her loveless marriage to a bitter man twice her age and his cold, unforgiving family. When she embarks on a passionate affair with a young worker on her husband’s estate, a force is unleashed inside her so powerful t hat she will st op at nothing to get what she wants. Starring Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton, Naomi Ackie , and Christopher Fairbank.

Layla M., Mijke de Jong, Netherlands/Belgium/Germany/Jordan      World Premiere

Eighteen year - old Layla, a Dutch girl with Moroccan ro ots, joins a group of radical Muslims. She encounters a world that nurtures her ideas initially, but finally confronts her with an impossible choice. Starring Nora El Koussour and Ilias Addab .

Maliglutit (Searchers), Zacharias Kunuk , Canada       World Premiere

Nunavut, Canada circa 1913. Kuanana returns from a caribou hunt to discover his wife and daughter kidnapped, and the rest of his family slaughtered. His father's spirit helper, the loon Kallulik , sets him on course to overturn fate and reunite his family. Starring Benjamin Kunuk, Karen Ivalu , and Jonah Qunaq.

Moonlight, Barry Jenkins, USA      International Premiere

Moonlight is the tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality. Anchored by the sing ul ar vision of filmmaker Barry Jenkins, Moonlight is a n exploration of male masculinity — a sensual, intoxicating piece of cinema that uncovers deep truths about the moments that define us, the people who shape us most, and the ache of love that can last a l ifetime. Starring Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Alex Hibbert, and Jaden Piner .

Nocturama, Bertrand Bonello, France/Germany/Belgium      International Premiere

Bertrand Bonello directs this provocative account of a group of young, multiracial radicals whose terrorist attacks on Paris lead to a massive manhunt. Starring Finnegan Oldfield, Vincent Rottiers, Hamza Meziani, Manal Issa, Martin Guyot, Jamil Mc Craven, Rabah Nait Oufe lla, Laure Valentinelli, Ilias Le Doré, Robin Goldbronn, Luis Rego, Hermine Karagheuz , and Adèle Haenel.

Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves, Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie, Canada      World Premiere ( Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau )

Klas Batalo, Giutizia, Tumulto , and Ordine Nuovo, four twenty - somethings from Québec, reject the world in which they live. Three years after the collapse of the Maple Spring protest movement, they resort to a form of vandalism that gradually leads them c loser to terrorism. But their revolutionary avant - garde is far from societ y’s prevailing aspirations and threatens to blow up in their faces. Starring Charlotte Aubin, Laurent Bélanger, Emmanuelle Lussier - Martinez, and Gabrielle Tremblay .

* ** Previously announced as a Special Presentation, Daguerrotype ( Le Secret de la chambre n oire ) now screens in Platform.