by Nicole Rubacha
It’s time for the Toronto International Film Festival and the biggest challenge at the Festival is picking which films to see. And because this year the Festival is featuring a large selection of films focused on women’s issues I’d like to share my top picks from this list. I hope this guide to the Festival’s women-centric films will help you in planning your TIFF experience.
For films with social commentary check out Dark Girls, a documentary about the skin colour bias and how it continues among people of African descent. Through interviews and testimonies the film examines how skin colour affects the lives of women on the receiving end of this discrimination. A Simple Life tells the story of Ah Tao, an amah (servant and nanny), who has worked for the Leung household for four generations. After suffering a stroke she believes herself to be a burden and resigns to move into a retirement home. Through Ah Tao’s story the film looks at how the elderly are treated and the multilayered relationship of an amah and the family that they care for.
Themes of female sexuality can be found in Elle, Pariah, and Whore’s Glory. Elle stars Juliette Binoche as Anne, a journalist researching student prostitution for a French magazine article. She becomes drawn to two women who entered the profession for different reasons. Pariah, focuses on seventeen-year-old Alike (pronounced A-leekay), a young woman who lives two lives. In one she is an obedient daughter who does well in school and lives with her middle class, conservative parents. In the other she embraces her lesbian identity and seeks her first serious girlfriend. Everything changes when her two worlds collide. Whore’s Glory is a documentary about prostitution in Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico. Here the issue of prostitution is investigated by talking with the women involved in this intense profession.
What people will do to avoid turmoil as strife threatens to come into their village is the theme of Where Do We Go Now? The women defy conventions and taboos by distracting the men with schemes, including Ukrainian casino showgirls and hash cookies at the dance party.
If science fiction is more up your alley you will enjoy UFO in Her Eyes. It tells of Kwok Yun, who on her way home see’s a strange stone and picks it up. Everything around her turns white and she passes out, waking up to the sight of a giant man with hairy legs. She reports this incident to the village leader as a UFO sighting, who in turn decides to use the story to boost the economy. Has a flying saucer come to disrupt life in the village or is it simply one woman’s fantasy?
Girl Model gives viewers an inside look at the dark side of the fashion industry. The film follows young Russian girls who join a modeling agency to seek work in Japan, but get caught up in an unregulated system that seeks to exploit them.
Themes of family are prevalent in both A Happy Event and Union Square. A Happy Event explores Barbara and her boyfriend, Nicolas, as they approach the birth of their first child. Barbara struggles to bond with her child as the film follows the highs and lows of motherhood, showing that nothing can prepare you for this life changing event. Union Square, brings us into the lives of two sisters; Mira Sorvino as Lucy, who is close to having a nervous breakdown, and Tammy Blanchard as Jenny, who is about to tie the knot. The sisters are complete opposites and estranged until Lucy decides she needs Jenny.
With so many wonderful films being shown at TIFF this year I hope this guide to the Festivals women-centric films helps you plan a schedule based on your interests. Happy watching!
For a chance to win a pair of tickets to one of these films click here.
Single tickets on sale starting Saturday, September 3rd.
For more information visit tiff.net/festival or call 416-599-TIFF or 1-888-599-8433.
Comments
Post new comment