Last week, TIFF announced their first waves of film and we were right here to tell you all about them. And again today, TIFF continued their announcements for this year’s festival by announcing their Canadian slate to the programming. This programming features newcomers, alumni and is more diverse than ever. Let’s first look at everything that was announced and then let’s take a deep dive into what TIFF has in store for us.

GALAS 2019

American Woman / Semi Chellas | Canadian Premiere

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band / Daniel Roher | World Premiere

The Song of Names / François Girard | World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2019

Clifton Hill / Albert Shin | World Premiere

Guest of Honour / Atom Egoyan | North American Premiere

SPECIAL EVENTS 2019

David Foster: Off the Record / Barry Avrich | World Premiere

One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk / Zacharias Kunuk | North American Premiere

MASTERS 2019

Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger / Alanis Obomsawin | World Premiere

TIFF DOCS 2019

Coppers / Alan Zweig | World Premiere

This Is Not a Movie / Yung Chang | World Premiere

There’s Something in the Water / Elliot Page, Ian Daniel | World Premiere

DISCOVERY 2019

Black Conflux / Nicole Dorsey | World Premiere

Easy Land / Sanja Zivkovic | World Premiere

Kuessipan / Myriam Verreault | World Premiere

Murmur / Heather Young | World Premiere

Raf / Harry Cepka | World Premiere

The Rest of Us / Aisling Chin-Yee | World Premiere

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA 2019

And the Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux) / Louise Archambault | World Premiere

Antigone / Sophie Deraspe | World Premiere

The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open / Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn | North American Premiere

Castle in the Ground / Joey Klein | World Premiere

The Last Porno Show / Kire Paputts | World Premiere

Tammy’s Always Dying / Amy Jo Johnson | World Premiere

White Lie / Calvin Thomas, Yonah Lewis | World Premiere

MIDNIGHT MADNESS 2019

Opening Midnight Madness Film.

Blood Quantum / Jeff Barnaby | World Premiere

The Twentieth Century / Matthew Rankin | World Premiere

SHORT CUTS 2019

Delphine / Chloé Robichaud | North American Premiere

The Depths / Ariane Louis-Seize | World Premiere

Flood / Joseph Amenta | World Premiere

God’s Nightmares / Daniel Cockburn | World Premiere

Highway To Heaven / Sandra Ignagni | World Premiere

Hot Flash / Thea Hollatz | World Premiere

I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain / Sofia Banzhaf | World Premiere

I’ll End Up in Jail / Alexandre Dostie | North American Premiere

It’s Nothing / Anna Maguire | World Premiere

Jarvik / Emilie Mannering | World Premiere

Life Support / Renuka Jeyapalan | World Premiere

Measure / Karen Chapman | World Premiere

No Crying At The Dinner Table / Carol Nguyen | World Premiere

Now is the Time / Christopher Auchter | World Premiere

Oracle / Aaron Poole | World Premiere

Please Speak Continuously And Describe Your Experiences As They Come To You / Brandon Cronenberg | North American Premiere

The Physics of Sorrow / Theodore Ushev | World Premiere

Rebel / Pier-Philippe Chevigny | World Premiere

This Ink Runs Deep / Asia Youngman | World Premiere

Volcano / Karen Moore | World Premiere

WAVELENGTHS 2019

2008 / Blake Williams | World Premiere

Book of Hours / Annie MacDonell | World Premiere

Hrvoji, Look at You From the Tower / Ryan Ferko | World Premiere

My Skin, Luminous (Mi Piel, Luminosa) / Gabino Rodríguez, Nicolás Pereda | North American Premiere

Second Generation / Miryam Charles | North American Premiere

Now, I will be honest I don’t know I lot about most of those films since most of them don’t get the same attention as the big American movies but I do recognize a few names from before. But what stands out at first glance is the diversity of it all. So many women are directing in this slate of films and it makes me excited. Already, TIFF has been killing it with their female directors’ announcements and after they made a promise last year to increase the number of female directors, it seems like they are keeping true to that promise. 50% of the feature announced in this year’s slate are directed by women. Not only are there more female directors but also five titles are made by Indigenous filmmakers and teams.

And the same thing with the shorts which are all diverse, showcasing those who for far too long have been under-represented. If 50% of the features are directed by women, 56% of the shorts are which is even better.

While it will be interesting to see what will stand out in the Festival. I personally can’t wait to see some of these and go deeper into trying to find gems in others. While I don’t have a list just yet of which film I want to see in the Canadian section, I know I always try and catch a few. After all, making sure to support our filmmakers is the best thing to do.

More films are sure to be announced soon and we can’t wait to be right there when they announce even more film. So until then, start making your list because TIFF is right around the corner.