Toronto 2016 Preview: 10 to Watch from Masters, Discovery, Platform, & More

Daguerrotype (aka The Woman in the Silver Plate)
Kurosawa Kiyoshi's (Journey to the Shore, Tokyo Sonata, Bright Future) first non-Japanese language film is not in English, it's in French. With an incredible cast that includes Tahar Rahim, Constance Rousseau, Olivier Gourmet, and Mathieu Amalric, this ghost-romance-fantasy plot about a photographer sounds right up KK's alley.

Platform

The Red Turtle
Some movies are just lovely experiences. This animated allegory devoid of dialog is directed by Michael Dudok de Wit in a co-production with Studio Ghibli. Check out my Cannes review for more.

Discovery

Safari
Ulrich Seidl's latest is another awesomely difficult film, this time about big game hunting in Africa. Tom reviewed it at Venice and called it "deliciously repulsive." Love Seidl.

Masters

The Dreamed Path
Orly, Afternoon and Marseille director Angela Schanelec is a fave around these parts. Her latest is the story of two couples suffering the failure of their relationships some 30 years apart.

Wavelengths

nirvana the band the show
The Dirties and Operation Avalanche director Matt Johnson teams up with Jay McCarrol for this new TV show about a Toronto band trying to book a gig at their favorite city venue. I can't wait to see how this one shakes out.

Primetime

Sand Storm
Israeli Elite Zexer's debut feature Bedouin marriage drama won her the top prize in the World Cinema Dramatic program at Sundance earlier this year.

Discovery

93 Days
This year's City to City program brings us to Lagos, Nigeria for a tour of eight filmmakers working in the city. One of those filmmakers is Steve Gukas whose second feature (after A Place in the Stars) is this story of a struggling college student embarking on a criminal enterprise.

City to City: Lagos

Moonlight
Barry Jenkins's much-anticipated follow-up to Medicine for Melancholy is this story of a black man's struggle with his sexuality. It's already received rave reactions from Telluride. The film stars Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, and Ashton Sanders.

Platform

Kati Kati
Mbithi Masya's poetic fantasy tells the story of a Kenyan woman who wakes up to find herself dead and in the afterlife.

Discovery

The Net (aka Geumul)
South Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk hasn't exactly had a string of hits with Stop and One on One. He looks to rebound with this story of a North Korean fisherman turned spy. Pierce reports it's "more coherent than his last two outings but a far cry from his best work." Hmm.

Masters