As we head into the final weekend of TIFF, we at Seventh Row suggest that you take a Weekend with Women: spend the next 3 days seeing exclusively films directed by women. If you can’t swing that, make sure you add at least some of our highly recommended films (in purple) to your viewing schedule. The pain of tetris-ing will be worth it. We promise.
Less than 15% of the features in this year’s festival (287 features total) are directed by women, and yet many of these films have been among the best films I’ve seen at the festival. Festivals like TIFF are crucial for getting work by under-funded female directors out there to an audience. Vote with your dollars and time by seeing their films and be a part of helping films by women reach their audience. Sadly, this may be your only chance to catch some of these wonderful films on the big screen, with an audience, the way they were meant to be seen.
At The Seventh Row, we’ll be providing a daily dose of suggested schedules (including travel time estimates) for how to make your weekend a Weekend with Women.
Women at TIFF, Friday, Sept. 18
9:00 a.m. Campo Grande (TIFF 1, tickets available, 108 mins) OR
9:30 a.m. Murmur of the Hearts (Scotia 4, tickets available, 119 mins)
Though I haven’t had a chance to see either of these yet, I’m excited about both. “Campo Grande” will take you to Brazil, where a middle-aged wealthy woman finds herself taking care of a pair of siblings. “Murmur of the Hearts” is also family story, this time from Taiwan, about two estranged sisters whose shared memories of their mother’s fairy tales bring them together. If you can’t decide, choose “Murmur” as it’s one of the few Asian films directed by a woman playing at TIFF (and this weekend).
Travel time needed: none from Murmur; 10 minutes to walk from Campo
12:15 p.m. Women He’s Undressed (Scotia 2, 100 mins)
Gillian Armstrong’s terrific doc “Women He’s Undressed” tells the untold story of Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly who created such legendary costumes as those for “Casablanca,” “Some Like It Hot,” and “Oklahoma.” Though the film is a biography, it’s also an insightful look at the craft of costume design: how a costume made both for a character and the actor playing that character can transform how the actors looks and moves. One of Kelly’s greatest collaborators was Bette Davis, and I can assure you that after watching this film, you’ll never be able to take your eyes off her breasts again. Beautifully shot and full of great wit, this is a must-see on the big screen. Check back for our interview with Gillian Armstrong, to be published soon.
Plan B:
12:30 p.m. Granny’s Dancing on the Table (Scotia 12, tickets available, 85 minutes)
If the title isn’t enough to grab you, this Swedish film finds a young girl trapped under her father’s tyrannical hand, but finding solace in the memory of her rebellious grandmother.
Travel time needed: 20 minutes by public transit
3 p.m. Disorder (Elgin Theatre, tickets available, 100 minutes)
Easily one of my favourite films of the Cannes Film Festival, Alice Winocour’s heartpounding home invasion thriller is an exploration of damaged bodies, class, and paranoia. It’s a great character study with a wonderful central performance by Mattias Schoenaerts. Read our full review here.
Plan B: check out “Thank You for Bombing” at 3:15p.m. in Scotia 14 by Austrian filmmaker Barbara Eder, which follows three international war correspondents on assignment in Afghanistan.
Break for dinner or if you’re really adventurous, catch the Short Cuts Programme 4 at Scotia 11 for Caroline Ingvarsson’s “Beneath A Spaceship” about a girl’s unconventional relationship with her neighbour one summer.
9:15 p.m. “25 April” at Scotia 2 (85 mins) — Tickets available
Raised in Winnipeg and educated at Ryerson in Toronto, Leanne Pooley’s animated documentary “25 April” tells the story of New Zealand’s role in the Battle of Gallipoli in World War II. The campaign was completely mismanaged by the British, and many lives were lost for naught. I’m still not 100% sure the film works, but using stylized animation, inspired by graphic novels, to re-enact events, and overlaying them with voice-overs by each of the six real characters the film follows in talking head interviews, makes for an exciting exercise in documentary form and a fascinating history lesson. Check back soon for our interview with director Pooley.
Plan B: Catch the London soul music coming-of-ager “Northern Soul” at 9 p.m. at Ryerson. Tickets are still available.
