A supernatural thriller starring Daniel Radcliffe, a dark comedy about an abrasive talk-show host, and a drama about a daughter’s coming-to-terms with her late filmmaker father are the three B.C.-made features screening at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Horns, an American-produced indie feature from French director Alexandre Aja, stars Radcliffe as a man accused of murdering his girlfriend, and screens in the festival’s Midnight Madness section. Radcliffe’s character wakes up with a mysterious set of horns growing out of his forehead in the movie, which also stars Juno Temple, Max Minghella, James Remar and Vancouver actors Jay Brazeau, Alex Zahara and Meredith McGeachie.
The Dick Knost Show, the latest from Vancouver indie writer-director Bruce Sweeney, is a satire on sports-talk culture starring frequent Sweeney collaborator Tom Scholte. After dismissing the danger of concussions in hockey, the jock-talk host suffers a series of concussions himself, and faces the danger of losing his job, his friends and his identity. Also starring Gabrielle Rose.
Vancouver writer-director Terry Miles premieres his latest, Cinemanovels, about a young woman (Lauren Lee Smith) who prepares a memorial film retrospective for her late estranged father, as his work begins to influence her life in strange and significant ways. Also starring Jennifer Beals and Ben Cotton.
On Toronto’s short-film slate are: director Marie Clements’ Pilgrims, about a German tourist on a west coast tour whose dream of experiencing native culture brings him more than he expected; and Kevan Funk’s Yellowknife, about a safety inspector (Paul McGilliion) who tirelessly travels Canada’s lonely northern landscape from one big industrial operation to the next, as the cracks in his crumbling personal life widen.
Funk also has the short film Destroyer in Toronto’s RBC emerging filmmaker competition.
The festival runs Sept. 5-15.
