| 2008 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Host: | Toronto International Film Festival Group |
| Number: | 312 films |
| Opening: | Passchendaele |
| Location: | Toronto, Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Date: | – |
The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008. The opening night gala was the World War I romantic epic Passchendaele from Canadian director Paul Gross.[1] [2]
The 2008 festival was heavy on Canadian fare as well as featuring prominent indie films and worldwide as well as North American debuts including: Adoration directed by Canada's own Atom Egoyan, Appaloosa the second film from Ed Harris (who directed Pollock), Blindness from screenwriter-director, Fernando Meirelles, Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and veteran filmmaker Barbet Schroeder's Inju, la bête dans l'ombre.[3] [4] [5] Scheduled is The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (directed by Jodie Markell), based on a "rediscovered" Tennessee Williams screenplay. TIFF screened 312 films from 64 countries. These include 249 features, most of which were North American and/or world premieres.[6]
Neil Burger (director of The Illusionist) world premiered The Lucky Ones a character study of U.S. soldiers on an unplanned road trip, starring Tim Robbins.[6] [7]
Also featured was Me and Orson Welles helmed by American "slacker" Richard Linklater, the Spike Lee-directed World War II film, Miracle at St. Anna as well as the Jonathan Demme directed film Rachel Getting Married. Other festival highlights are screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's first film, Synecdoche, New York, a slice of experimental filmmaker James Benning's Americana RR was featured in the "Wavelengths" avant-garde showcase, the four-hour-long Steven Soderbergh epic Che (playing in two parts), as well as The Wrestler lensed by Darren Aronofsky. The Brits are also well represented with Happy-Go-Lucky directed by Mike Leigh and Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle.[3] [4] [5]
Despite showing fewer films than last year, among the 249 features, 116 are premieres and 61 are first features.[6] [8] Films from as many as 64 countries were screened, with more than 340,000 admissions expected.[8]
"Canadian Open Vault", which always highlights a restored Canadian film, focused on Quebec filmmaker François Girard's 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould made in 1993.[2]
Actors Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Benicio del Toro, Ethan Hawke, Laura Linney and film directors Julian Schnabel, Kathryn Bigelow and Steven Soderbergh are among the celebs the festival has invited on its 500-plus guest list, thus completing its lineup.[7]
The festival closed on September 13, 2008 with the North American premiere of Stone of Destiny written and directed by Charles Martin Smith, the true story of four Glasgow university students who try to restore the 300-pound Stone of Scone to its rightful Scottish home.[9]
With the film Fifty Dead Men Walking, Rose McGowan expressed support for the cause of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), with the reports of her comments being released into the media on September 11, 2008. After starring in Fifty Dead Men Walking, she was quoted as saying "I imagine had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in the IRA. My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it." Her comments were attacked by the original author Martin McCartlend. McCartland had general objections against the film, but approved of an out of court settlement, believed to be in the region of £20,000 (US$35,000 in summer 2008).
| Award[10] | Film | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People's Choice Award | Slumdog Millionaire | Danny Boyle | |
| People's Choice Award First Runner Up | More Than a Game | Kristopher Belman | |
| People's Choice Award Second Runner Up | The Stoning of Soraya M. | Cyrus Nowrasteh | |
| Discovery Award | Hunger | Steve McQueen | |
| Best Canadian Feature Film | Lost Song | Rodrigue Jean | |
| Best Canadian Feature Film – Special Jury Citation | Adoration | Atom Egoyan | |
| Best Canadian First Feature Film | Before Tomorrow (Le Jour avant le lendemain) | Madeline Ivalu & Marie-Hélène Cousineau | |
| Best Canadian First Feature Film – Special Jury Citation | Borderline | Lyne Charlebois | |
| Best Canadian Short Film | Block B | Chris Chong Chan Fui | |
| Best Canadian Short Film – Special Jury Citation | Next Floor | Denis Villeneuve | |
| FIPRESCI Discovery | Lymelife | Derick Martini | |
| FIPRESCI Special Presentations | Disgrace | Steve Jacobs |
TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list, its national critics and festival programmers poll of the ten best feature and short films of the year, was released in December 2008.[12]