Six Australian films have been chosen for the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). As one of the biggest publicly attended film festivals the TIFF has close ties to the US film industry. This poses a good chance of expanding the range of Australian film making to a world-wide audience, like former Toronto premieres (e.g. The Dressmaker) have proven. The festival runs from the 6th of September until the 16th.
Traveling north is Anthony Maras’ first feature film Hotel Mumbai. Starring Armie Hammer, Dev Patel and Tilda Cobham-Hervey, the movie recreates the horror and distress of the brutal Jhadist-terror attacks on Mumbai in November of 2008. The drama is set inside the famous Taj Palace Hotel with its staff and guests fighting for survival under a daylong siege. The movie’s domestic premiere will be at the Adelaide Film Festival in October.
Directed, written and produced by multi-talent Imogen Thomas, Emu Runner tells the story of a nine-year-old girl living in a secluded indigenous environment. To cope with the loss of her mother she forges a bond with a wild emu and falls under the care of a young inexperienced social worker.
Nekrotronic, a Roache-Turner Brothers horror-sci-fi movie, brings the old tale of warding off evil spirits into the 21st Century, where the Internet is haunted by demons feasting of the souls of the smart phone addicted.
Whilst, Benjamin Gilmour’s dramatic tale Jirga follows a former soldier tracing the family of a man he shot during the war.
The 2018 Short Film Palme d’Or winning director Charles Williams presents All These Creatures, a film about an adolescent son struggling to connect with his father.
It is accompanied by an Australian short Birdie which discusses the possibly worst outcome of smiling at a stranger.
Moving into Toronto armed with a creative variety of works in different genres, these Australian filmmakers prove once again the artistic potential of this country’s film industry.
TIFF runs from 6th to the 16th of September. For more details head to their official website.
