| 2021 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Opening: | Dear Evan Hansen by Stephen Chbosky |
| Closing: | One Second by Zhang Yimou |
| Location: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Founded: | 1976 |
| Awards: | Belfast (People's Choice Award) |
| Date: | September 9–18, 2021 |
| Chronology: | TIFF |
| Main: | Toronto International Film Festival |
| Previous: | 2020 |
| Next: | 2022 |
The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.[1] Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival was staged as a "hybrid" of in-person and digital screenings.[2] Most films were screened both in-person and on the digital platform, although a few titles were withheld by their distributors from the digital platform and instead were screened exclusively in-person.
Artistic director Cameron Bailey indicated that while the 2021 festival would not fully return to the size of program that it offered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, it would be significantly bigger than the reduced lineup that was offered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.[1] Overall, the festival featured over 100 films, including a special retrospective program devoted to the work of Canadian documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.[3]
In-person screenings were held at the festival's traditional venues, including the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the Princess of Wales Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall, the latter two of which hosted the world premiere of Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, the festival's opening night gala presentation.[3] Denis Villeneuve's film Dune received an IMAX world premiere screening at the Cinesphere.[3]
As in 2020, digital screenings took place on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform.
In addition to Toronto, the festival also staged a number of satellite screenings in other Canadian cities for the first time.[3]
The festival presented the TIFF Tribute Awards, which were introduced in 2019 to honour actors and filmmakers for distinguished achievements over the course of their careers.[4] The ceremony took place on September 18; as in 2020, it was broadcast by CTV.[4]
The first two honorees announced were Alanis Obomsawin as the recipient of the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media and Denis Villeneuve as the winner of the Ebert Director Award.[4] Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch were subsequently announced as the recipient of the Actor Awards.[5] [6] Dionne Warwick received the special tribute award,[7] filmmaker Danis Goulet was named the recipient of the Emerging Talent Award,[7] and cinematographer Ari Wegner received the Variety Artisan Award.[8]
The festival's main awards were announced on September 18, some live during the Tribute Awards broadcast and others on social media following the ceremony's conclusion.[9] A few high-profile titles in the festival program, namely Dune, Last Night in Soho and Spencer, were not eligible for the People's Choice Award, as their distributors had not permitted them to be screened online on the digital platform.[10]
| Award | English Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Choice Award | Belfast | Kenneth Branagh | United Kingdom | |
| People's Choice Award, First Runner Up | Scarborough | Shasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson | Canada | |
| People's Choice Award, Second Runner Up | The Power of the Dog | Jane Campion | New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia | |
| People's Choice Award: Documentaries | The Rescue | Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | United States, United Kingdom | |
| Documentary, First Runner Up | Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner | United States | ||
| Documentary, Second Runner Up | Flee | Jonas Poher Rasmussen | Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden | |
| People's Choice Award: Midnight Madness | Titane | France, Belgium | ||
| Midnight Madness, First Runner Up | You Are Not My Mother | Ireland | ||
| Midnight Madness, Second Runner Up | Dashcam | Rob Savage | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Platform Prize | Yuni | Kamila Andini | Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia | |
| Platform Prize, Honorable Mention | Good Madam | Jenna Cato Bass | South Africa | |
| Best Canadian Feature Film | Ste. Anne | Rhayne Vermette | Canada | |
| Best Canadian Feature Film, Honorable Mention | Scarborough | Shasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson | ||
| Best Canadian Short Film | Zacharias Kunuk | |||
| Best Canadian Short Film, Honorable Mention | Nuisance Bear | Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | ||
| Best International Short Film | Displaced (Pa vend) | Kosovo | ||
| Best International Short Film, Honorable Mention | Trumpets in the Sky | Rakan Mayasi | Palestine, Lebanon, France, Belgium | |
| FIPRESCI Award | Anatolian Leopard (Anadolu Leoparı) | Emre Kayiş | Turkey, Poland, Germany, Denmark | |
| NETPAC Award | Costa Brava, Lebanon | Mounia Aki | Lebanon, France, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, United States | |
| Amplify Voices | The Gravedigger's Wife | Khadar Ayderus Ahmed | Somalia, France, Germany, Finland | |
| A Night of Knowing Nothing | Payal Kapadia | India, France | ||
| Changemaker Award | Scarborough | Shasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson | Canada | |
| Share Her Journey | Astel | Ramata-Toulaye Sy | Senegal, France | |
| Share Her Journey, Honorable Mention | Love, Dad (Milý tati) | Diana Cam Van Nguyen | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
The first 13 films selected for the festival were announced in June 2021. The gala and special presentation programs were announced on July 20,[11] [12] while Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery titles were announced on July 28,[13] TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths were announced on August 4,[14] Shortcuts and Platform were announced on August 11,[15] and Primetime was announced on August 13.[16]
Walt Becker's Clifford the Big Red Dog was initially selected to be one of the Gala Presentations, but was withdrawn from the festival, after US distributor Paramount Pictures pulled it from its release schedule due to the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19.[17]
The festival also announced a special event screening of an unspecified new film by Steven Soderbergh.[18] Details of the film were not announced in advance, except that it was not expected to be his known upcoming film KIMI.[18] Soderbergh ultimately premiered a reedited version of his 1991 film Kafka titled Mr. Kneff.[19]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | United Kingdom, Ireland | |||
| Bergman Island | France, Mexico, Brazil, Germany | |||
| Dear Evan Hansen | United States | |||
| The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | United Kingdom, United States | |||
| The Forgiven | ||||
| The Good House | United States | |||
| Jagged | ||||
| Lakewood | United States, Canada | |||
| Last Night in Soho | United Kingdom | |||
| The Mad Women's Ball | Le Bal des folles | France | ||
| Night Raiders | Canada, New Zealand | |||
| One Second | 一秒钟 | China | ||
| Silent Night | Camille Griffin | United Kingdom | ||
| The Survivor | United States | |||
| The Worst Person in the World | Verdens verste menneske | Norway | ||
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed's Knee | הַבֶּרֶךְ | Israel, France, Germany | ||
| Ali & Ava | United Kingdom | |||
| All My Puny Sorrows | Canada | |||
| The Box | La Caja | Mexico | ||
| Benediction | United Kingdom, United States | |||
| Charlotte | Eric Warin, Tahir Rana | Canada, France, Belgium | ||
| United States | ||||
| Drive My Car | ドライブ・マイ・カー | Japan | ||
| Encounter | Michael Pearce | United Kingdom, United States | ||
| The Eyes of Tammy Faye | United States | |||
| The Falls | 瀑布 | Taiwan | ||
| France | France, Italy, Germany, Belgium | |||
| The Guilty | United States | |||
| The Humans | ||||
| I'm Your Man | Ich bin dein Mensch | Germany | ||
| Inexorable | Belgium, France | |||
| Inu-Oh | Japan, China | |||
| Lingui, The Sacred Bonds | Lingui, les liens sacrés | France, Chad, Germany, Belgium | ||
| The Middle Man | Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway | |||
| Mothering Sunday | United Kingdom | |||
| Official Competition | Competencia oficial | Spain | ||
| Petite Maman | France | |||
| The Power of the Dog | United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Canada, New Zealand | |||
| The Starling | United States | |||
| The Story of My Wife | A feleségem története | Hungary, Germany, France, Italy | ||
| Sundown | Mexico, France, Sweden | |||
| Three Floors | Tre piani | Italy, France | ||
| Violet | United States | |||
| Where Is Anne Frank | Belgium, Luxembourg, Israel, Netherlands, France | |||
| Wolf | Ireland, Poland | |||
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dune | United States | |||
| A Hero | قهرمان | Iran | ||
| Memoria | Thailand, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, China | |||
| Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11 | United Kingdom, United States | |||
| Mr. Kneff | United States | |||
| NBA Films for Fans ("Shorty", "Inheritance", "Born Identities", "Draft Day", "The Shot") | Canada | |||
| Spencer | United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Chile | |||
| Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine | Sam Dunn, Marc Ricciardelli | Canada | ||
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Prisoners | 7 Prisioneiros | Alexandre Moratto | Brazil | |
| Are You Lonesome Tonight? | Chinese: 熱帶往事 | Wen Shipei | China | |
| Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 | Finland, Estonia, Germany, Russia | ||
| Costa Brava, Lebanon | Mounia Aki | Lebanon, France, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, United States | ||
| The Daughter | La hija | Spain | ||
| The Gravedigger's Wife | Khadar Ayderus Ahmed | France, Somalia, Germany | ||
| The Hill Where Lionesses Roar | La colline où rugissent les lionnes | France, Kosovo | ||
| Întregalde | Romania | |||
| Jockey | Clint Bentley | United States | ||
| Kicking Blood | Canada | |||
| La Soga 2 | United States | |||
| Maria Chapdelaine | Canada | |||
| Medusa | Brazil | |||
| Murina | United States, Brazil, Croatia, Slovenia | |||
| Nobody Has to Know | France, Belgium, United Kingdom | |||
| The Odd-Job Men | Sis dies corrents | Spain | ||
| The Other Tom | El otro Tom | Rodrigo Plá, Laura Santullo | Mexico, United States | |
| Out of Sync | Tres | Spain, Lithuania, France | ||
| Small Body | Piccolo Corpo | Laura Samani | Italy, France, Slovenia | |
| Terrorizers | Chinese: 青春弒戀 | Taiwan | ||
| True Things | United Kingdom | |||
| Unclenching the Fists | Разжимая кулаки | Kira Kovalenko | Russia | |
| Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash | Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas | Indonesia | ||
| The Wheel | United States | |||
| Whether the Weather Is Fine | Kun Maupay Man it Panahon | Philippines | ||
| Program | Title | Year | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighting the Fire 1 | The Canoe | 1972 | Canada | |
| 1993 | ||||
| Lighting the Fire 2 | Amisk | 1977 | ||
| Incident at Restigouche | 1984 | |||
| Moose Call | 1972 | |||
| Portraits 1 | Mother of Many Children | 1977 | ||
| Puberty, Part 1 | 1975 | |||
| Puberty, Part 2 | 1975 | |||
| Portraits 2 | No Address | 1988 | ||
| 1986 | ||||
| The Dignity of Children 1 | Our People Will Be Healed | 2017 | ||
| Snowshoes | 1972 | |||
| Walking Is Medicine | 2017 | |||
| The Dignity of Children 2 | Children | 1972 | ||
| Christmas at Moose Factory | 1971 | |||
| Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair | 2021 | |||
| Mount Currie Summer Camp | 1975 | |||
| Sigwan | 2005 | |||
| When All the Leaves Are Gone | 2010 |
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attica | United States | |||
| Burning | Australia | |||
| Beba | Rebecca Huntt | United States, Mexico | ||
| Becoming Cousteau | United States | |||
| Comala | Gian Cassini | Mexico | ||
| The Devil's Drivers | Mohammed Abugeth, Daniel Carsenty | Qatar, France, Lebanon, Germany | ||
| Flee | Jonas Poher Rasmussen | United States, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark | ||
| Hold Your Fire | United States | |||
| Julia | Julie Cohen and Betsy West | |||
| Listening to Kenny G | ||||
| Canada | ||||
| The Rescue | United States, United Kingdom | |||
| Three Minutes: A Lengthening | Bianca Stigter | Netherlands, United Kingdom | ||
| Heather Hatch | Canada | |||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aloners | Hon-ja-sa-neun Sa-ram-deul | Hong Sung-eun | South Korea | |
| Anatolian Leopard | Anadolu Leoparı | Turkey, Germany, Poland, Denmark | ||
| As in Heaven | Du som er i himlen | Tea Lindeburg | Denmark | |
| A Banquet | Ruth Paxton | United Kingdom | ||
| Dug Dug | Ritwik Pareek | India | ||
| Farha | Jordan, Sweden, Saudi Arabia | |||
| The Game | Ana Lazarevic | Serbia, United States | ||
| Learn to Swim | Canada | |||
| Lo Invisible | Javier Andrade | Ecuador, France | ||
| Quickening | Haya Waseem | Canada | ||
| PAKA (River of Blood) | Paka | India | ||
| Scarborough | Canada | |||
| Snakehead | United States | |||
| To Kill the Beast | Matar a la Bestia | Agustina San Martín | Argentina, Brazil, Chile | |
| Tug of War | Vuta N'Kuvute | Amil Shivji | Tanzania, South Africa, Germany, Qatar | |
| Wildhood | Canada | |||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| After Blue (Dirty Paradise) | After Blue (Paradis Sale) | France | ||
| Dashcam | Rob Savage | United Kingdom, United States | ||
| Saloum | Senegal | |||
| Titane | France | |||
| You Are Not My Mother | Ireland | |||
| Zalava | Arsalan Amiri | Iran | ||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Capacity for Adequate Anger | Vika Kirchenbauer | Germany | ||
| Dear Chantal | Querida Chantal | Mexico, Spain | ||
| Daïchi Saïto | Canada | |||
| Futura | Italy | |||
| The Girl and the Spider | Das Mädchen und die Spinne | Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher | Switzerland | |
| Inner Outer Space | Spain | |||
| Neptune Frost | United States, Rwanda | |||
| A Night of Knowing Nothing | India, France | |||
| Polycephaly in D | Michael Robinson | United States | ||
| the red filter is withdrawn | Le-deu-pil-teo-ga Cheol-hoe-doeb-ni-da | Minjung Kim | South Korea | |
| Ste. Anne | Canada | |||
| Train Again | Peter Tscherkassky | Austria | ||
| The Tsugua Diaries | Diários de Otsoga | Portugal | ||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Rambo | France | |||
| Drunken Birds | Les oiseaux ivres | Canada | ||
| Earwig | United Kingdom, France, Belgium | |||
| Good Madam | Mlungu Wam | South Africa | ||
| Huda's Salon | Palestine, Egypt, Netherlands, Qatar | |||
| Montana Story | United States | |||
| Silent Land | Cicha Ziemia | Aga Woszczyńska | Poland, Italy, Czech Republic | |
| Yuni | Indonesia, Singapore, France, Australia | |||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin in Black & White | United States | |||
| Hellbound | South Korea | |||
| The Panthers | Tom Hern, Halaifonua Finau | New Zealand | ||
| Sort Of | Canada | |||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | ||||
| Anxious Body | Yoriko Mizushiri | France, Japan | ||
| Astel | France, Senegal | |||
| Beity | Isabelle Mecattaf | Lebanon, United States | ||
| Boobs | Lolos | Marie Valade | Canada | |
| Brothers | Bhai | Canada, Pakistan | ||
| Charlotte | Zach Dorn | United States | ||
| Defund | Canada | |||
| Displaced | Pa Vend | Kosovo | ||
| Dust Bath | Canada | |||
| Fanmi | Canada | |||
| A Few Miles South | Ben Pearce | United Kingdom | ||
| The Future Isn't What It Used to Be | Adeyemi Michael | United Kingdom | ||
| Hanging On | Alfie Barker | United Kingdom | ||
| I Gotta Look Good for the Apocalypse | France | |||
| I Would Never | Kiran Deol | United States | ||
| The Infantas | Las Infantas | Andrea Herrera Catalá | Spain | |
| Little Bird | Tim Myles | Canada | ||
| Love, Dad | Milý tati | Czech Republic, Slovakia | ||
| Masquerade | Egúngún | Olive Nwosu | United Kingdom, Nigeria | |
| Canada | ||||
| Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit | Al motociclista no le cabe la felicidad en el traje | Gabriel Herrera | Mexico | |
| Nuisance Bear | Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Canada | ||
| Ousmane | Canada | |||
| Saturday Night | Rosana Matecki | Canada | ||
| Shark | Australia | |||
| Soft Animals | Renee Zhan | United Kingdom | ||
| Some Still Search | Algunos Siguen Buscando | Nesaru Tchaas | United States | |
| Srikandi | Canada, Indonesia | |||
| Successful Thawing of Mr. Moro | Lyckad upptining av herr Moro | Jerry Carlsson | Sweden | |
| Sycorax | , | Portugal, Spain | ||
| The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night | Canada | |||
| Together | Canada, South Korea | |||
| Trumpets in the Sky | Rakan Mayasi | Palestine, Lebanon, France, Belgium | ||
| Twelve Hours | Canada | |||
| White Devil | Benjamin Dickinson, | United States | ||
| You and Me, Before and After | Madeleine Gottlieb | Australia | ||
| Zero | Nula | Canada, Serbia | ||
A new program which saw classic films that screened at TIFF in past years made available for streaming on Crave, paired with talks by actors or filmmakers involved in the production.[20]
Special screenings of selected Gala or Special Presentations films in other communities across Canada.[21]
| Film | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan | September 13 |
| Dune | Montreal, Quebec | September 12 |
| The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Summerside, Prince Edward Island | September 13 |
| I'm Your Man | Markham, Ontario | |
| Night Raiders | Collingwood, Ontario | |
| Night Raiders | Saint John, New Brunswick | |
| Official Competition | Prince Rupert, British Columbia |
As in 2020 the Industry Selects program screened films for industry professionals, acting as a film market due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic having impacted the ability of filmmakers and critics to travel to international film festivals, but was not made available for the general public.[22]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 107 Mothers | Cenzorka | Slovakia | ||
| America Latina | Italy, France | |||
| Cadejo Blanco | Justin Lerner | Guatemala, United States, Mexico | ||
| Carmen | Malta, Canada | |||
| La Civil | Teodora Ana Mihai | Belgium, Romania, Mexico | ||
| Cool Abdoul | Jonas Backeland | Belgium | ||
| Domingo | Raúl López Echeverría | Mexico, Austria, France | ||
| The Hole in the Fence | El hoyo en la cerca | Joaquín del Paso | Mexico, Poland | |
| The King of All the World | El Rey de Todo el Mundo | Mexico, Spain | ||
| The Last Mark | Canada | |||
| My Night | Ma nuit | Antoinette Boulat | France | |
| Night Blooms | Canada | |||
| Nightride | Stephen Fingleton | United Kingdom | ||
| Nr. 10 | Netherlands, Belgium | |||
| Old Henry | Potsy Ponciroli | United States | ||
| Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle | France, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Italy | |||
| The Pink Cloud | A Nuvem Rosa | Iuli Gerbase | Brazil | |
| Quake | Iceland | |||
| Reflection | Відблиск | Ukraine | ||
| The Score | Malachi Smyth | United Kingdom | ||
| Shankar's Fairies | Irfana Majumdar | India | ||
| A Tale of Love and Desire | Une histoire d'amour et de désir | France | ||
The festival's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list, collecting the films named as the top Canadian films of the year by critics and film festival programmers from across Canada, was released on December 6, 2021.[23]