Toronto Adds More Premieres; Highlights Black Filmmakers

By Mark Rabinowitz in Festivals | Film on August 2, 2005 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In another addition to its rapidly growing lineup The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced five films by black filmmakers from four countries including two each from the United States and South Africa and one co-production from Cameroon and France. Four of the films are world premieres.

Making his directorial debut is Wayne Beach with Slow Burn , a world premiere added to this year's Special Presentations section. The thriller stars Ray Liotta (Goodfellas ), Jolene Blalock (Enterprise), LL Cool J (Deep Blue Sea), Taye Diggs (Chicago), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually), Bruce McGill (Animal House, Cinderella Man) and Mekhi Phifer (8 Mile E.R.).

Two of the world premieres have been added to the Visions section, designed to draw attention to "work that challenges notions of mainstream film and explores new cinematic territory," according to the official TIFF release.

Les Saignantes (Cameroon/ France) from writer-director Jean-Pierre Bekolo (Quartier Mozart, Aristotle's Plot) is described as "an erotic, provocative spin on politics, sex, and magic in Cameroon, circa 2025. Conversations On A Sunday Afternoon, the first narrative film from South African documentary filmmaker Khalo Matabane (Story Of A Beautiful Country). The film is inspired by the true life story of Somalian refugee Fatima Hersi, who plays herself.

The final two films, the world premiere of Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer (USA) and the North American premiere of Gavin Hood's Tsotsi (South Africa) will screen in the Contemporary World Cinema section. Daniels' film stars Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding, Jr., with Mirren as a contract killer with a sudden crisis of conscience on her last job. Gooding plays her stepson and partner. Tsotsi is based on the novel by Athol Fugard (Master Harold and the Boys) and focuses on six days in the "lonely, violent life" of a young gang leader. During a carjacking, Tsotsi discovers an infant, and begins to care for him, in the process rediscovering his humanity.