Dystopian themes, real-world issues spotlighted in Canadian films at TIFF

TORONTO — Dystopian themes and real-world dilemmas reflecting the anxieties of our time take centre stage in the Canadian offerings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

R.T. Thorne’s post-apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres,” Ann Marie Fleming’s population-control drama “Can I Get A Witness?” and political satire-meets-zombie outbreak comedy “Rumours” by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson are among the 59 Canadian films premiering at TIFF.

The lineup’s world-ending themes speak to the pandemic years we’ve lived through and the environmental challenges facing us today, said TIFF’s Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee as filmmakers and actors gathered Thursday at a pre-festival event touting homegrown fare.

“I think it reflects the world around us. What’s really interesting is that this dystopian theme is represented through comedy, musical and horror,” she said. “There is a real look at the future and what that may bring, and artists are really thinking about what that means for us as a human race and the world at large.”

“40 Acres” stars U.S. actress Danielle Deadwyler as an ex-military matriarch navigating a famine-ravaged future. As she struggles to protect her children, they face the relentless threat of a marauding band of cannibals determined to overtake their home.

Thorne said his debut feature was inspired by the “existential fears” the world has faced over the past couple of years.

“The pandemic hit, our infrastructure shut down and people were stockpiling toilet paper and trying to get fruit. Those things were inspirations for the story,” said the Calgary-born filmmaker who began his career directing music videos for artists including Sean Paul, Keshia Chanté and Shawn Desman.

“I started looking at the world like it doesn’t really seem as stable as we all want to believe it is. Are we really that safe?”

Thorne said the bleak themes among this year’s Canadian films reflect the current zeitgeist.

“There’s been a lot of things that have been happening in the world that are causing a lot of people worry. You’re thinking about your future and genre films are a great way to projecting a lot of that worry that we have and tell stories … but also making them entertaining and fun.”

Since Canadian filmmakers don’t operate within the same “massive commercial ecosystem” as Hollywood, they have more freedom to reflect “the world that we’re living in right now,” added festival CEO Cameron Bailey.

“It’s a system here that is publicly funded to some degree, to the extent that Canadian filmmakers have a kind of independence that really allows them to tell the story they truly want to tell,” he said.

“When you watch Canadian films, you’re seeing what’s genuinely on the minds and in the hearts of the artists here as opposed to what they think is simply going to sell.”

Bailey said there are several Canadian films this year about the pressures on youth, pointing to Sophie Deraspe’s “Shepherds,” which follows a young Montreal copywriter who uproots his life to become a shepherd in France after having a medical wake-up call.

Meanwhile, Halima Elkhatabi’s documentary “Living Together,” about young Montrealers looking to share living quarters, offers a look at millennials and gen Z against the backdrop of the housing crisis.

While Ali Weinstein’s documentary “Your Tomorrow” follows the fight to save Toronto waterfront venue Ontario Place amid redevelopment plans, the director says the film deals with more universal themes of gentrification.

“We’re all dealing with public spaces being privatized and a lack of third places for people to go in increasingly densifying cities,” said the Toronto filmmaker.

Sook-Yin Lee’s “Paying For It,” meanwhile, is an adaptation of her ex-boyfriend Chester Brown’s 2011 graphic novel about his experiences with sex workers after the end of their relationship.

Star Andrea Werhun said the dramedy, which takes place in the late ’90s, offers a portrait of Toronto “that barely exists anymore.”

“It is so at risk of complete eradication in a city that is not only gentrifying, but in a severe affordability crisis,” she said.

“Artists are pushed out, indie places are continuously priced out. We don’t have places to make art anymore. This film is a historical record of a Toronto that is at real threat of being lost.”

“Taking Care of Business,” Tyler Measom’s film about the life and career of Canadian rock icon Randy Bachman, will also make its world premiere at TIFF, Bailey announced during Thursday’s event.

The festival returns this year with the star power sorely missed last year due to the Hollywood strikes.

Movie stars Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett and Will Ferrell, as well as Pharrell Williams, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John, are among the celebrities expected to walk the red carpet at this edition.

Among the buzziest titles are Adams’ feral dark comedy “Nightbitch,” Hugh Grant’s Mormon horror “Heretic” and Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded $120-million passion project, “Megalopolis,” starring Adam Driver.

Other Canadian offerings include the North American premiere of David Cronenberg’s metaphysical horror “The Shrouds,” as well as the global debuts of Durga Chew-Bose’s “Bonjour Tristesse” and Johnny Ma’s “The Mother and the Bear.”

“Nutcrackers,” David Gordon Green’s new dramedy starring Ben Stiller, will open the festival, while Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut “The Deb” will close it.

TIFF runs from Sept. 5 to 15.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2024.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press