Discovery at TIFF

Toronto – Nineteen feature films from 18 countries complete the Discovery lineup for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, running September 4 through 13, 2008. “Discovery is the place at TIFF to find this year’s most exciting debuts in cinema,” says Co-Director Cameron Bailey. “This is your one-stop shop for new filmmaking talent.”

All 26 feature-length Discovery titles are eligible for the Diesel Discovery Award, chosen by the Festival press corps which consists of over 1000 accredited media from around the world.  Purchase online at tiff08.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or in person at the Festival Box Office at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (main floor, north entrance).  Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

$9.99 Tatia Rosenthal, Israel/Australia

World Premiere

Unemployed and still living at home at 28 years old, Dave Peck discovers a booklet claiming to answer the meaning of life for the low price of only $9.99. In his struggle to share his amazing find with the world, Dave’s surreal path crosses with those of his unusual neighbours, including an old man and his disgruntled guardian angel, a magician in debt and a bewitching woman who likes her men extra smooth. A stop-motion animated film, $9.99 features the voices of Geoffrey Rush and Anthony LaPaglia.

Gigantic Matt Aselton, USA

World Premiere

Smart and well-educated, Brian (Paul Dano) feels adrift in his life and his job at an upscale mattress store. The one thing he knows is that he wants to adopt a Chinese baby, and is on a wait list to do so. When he meets Happy (Zooey Deschanel), an odd and feisty rich girl sent to pick up a mattress for her father (John Goodman), he falls head over heels. But Happy has deep reservations about dating a guy who could become a dad at any time. As they negotiate their increasing intimacy, Brian awaits the call from the adoption agency.

Lovely, Still Nik Fackler, USA

World Premiere

With the approach of Christmas causing him to feel lonely in life and love, Robert Malone (Martin Landau) returns home from his job at a grocery store to find a stranger (Ellen Burstyn) in his house. What begins as an odd encounter quickly blossoms into a full-blown love affair, leaving the two struggling with the baggage attached to their late-in-life romance. Also starring Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) and Adam Scott, Lovely, Still features original music by Conor Oberst and a score by members of Bright Eyes.

Lymelife Derick Martini, USA

World Premiere

From the filmmaking team behind Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire (TIFF 1999) comes an examination of first love, family dynamics and the American Dream in late 1970s Long Island, as seen through the innocent eyes of a 15-year-old. Scott Bartlett (Rory Culkin) is a gentle boy – a direct contrast to his blustery father, Mickey (Alec Baldwin). After an outbreak of Lyme disease hits their suburban community, the lives of the Bartletts and their neighbours begin to crumble in the wake of illness, confrontation and paranoia. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Lymelife co-stars Jill Hennessey, Timothy Hutton, Kieran Culkin, Emma Roberts and Cynthia Nixon.

Rain Maria Govan, Bahamas

World Premiere

In hopes of reconciling with the mother who abandoned her, Rain leaves her simple, sheltered life on rural Ragged Island for the big city of Nassau. But her dream of a loving reunion is quickly shattered when she meets Glory, a scarred, angry woman who bears no resemblance to the mother she had hoped for. Driven by a passion for running and the support of a caring track coach, Rain must find the inner strength to build a new life. 

The Stoning of Soraya M.  Cyrus Nowrasteh, USA

World Premiere

In a remote Iranian village, a woman stands falsely accused of adultery – a moral crime for which the punishment is death by stoning. Voiceless women, armed with only their innocence and dignity, are no match for the overwhelming primal forces that overrun their town. Based on the book by Freidoune Sahebjam, The Stoning of Soraya M. stars Academy Award™ nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo.

What Doesn’t Kill You Brian Goodman, USA

World Premiere

Childhood friends Paulie (Ethan Hawke) and Brian (Mark Ruffalo) grew up looking out for each other in their Irish-Catholic neighbourhood in South Boston. Trapped in a cycle of gangs, gangsters and shady crime, they are constantly dodging local turf wars and the watchful eye of an encroaching police detective (Donnie Wahlberg). But with Brian’s wife (Amanda Peet) growing increasingly distraught by her husband’s lifestyle, will the tried and tested friendship between these two Southies crumble once and for all? 

Cold Lunch Eva Sørhaug, Norway

International Premiere

The paths of five people intersect in the Oslo district of Majorstua. After Christer disconnects a main fuse in his building in an attempt to save the rent money he mistakenly placed into the laundry, he sets off a chain reaction of consequential events that will change the lives of a caretaker and his daughter, and a new mother and her child.

Vacation Hajime Kadoi, Japan

International Premiere

A middle-aged prison guard, Hirai follows an alienated work routine of strict rules and arduous duties, attending to death row’s model inmate, Kaneda. When Kaneda’s execution order is signed by the minister of justice, Hirai has the unexpected opportunity for a week of vacation. But there is a price to pay for this well-deserved break, as Hirai must assist Kaneda during his final moments.

Apron Strings Sima Urale, New Zealand

North American Premiere

Food and love are intertwined in this tale of two mothers who must find the courage to confront the secrets and misunderstandings of the past, in order to set their sons free. Apron Strings is a parallel story of two families and two cultures set in suburban Otahuhu in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Better Things Duane Hopkins, United Kingdom

North American Premiere

Deeply inflected by the UK’s visual arts scene, Duane Hopkins’s feature debut focuses on three groups of characters: Gail, who must overcome agoraphobia and an addiction to romance novels; Rob, coming to terms with the loss of his girlfriend; and the Gladwins, who, following years of unspoken truths that have built a barrier between them, are going through a shift in their 60-year relationship.

Daytime Drinking Young-seok Noh, South Korea

North American Premiere

In a drunken attempt to mend his broken heart, Hyuk-jin and his friends decide to take a trip to the small town of Jeongseon in the Gangwon province. But as the only one to actually make it on the bus, Hyuk-jin embarks on a strange journey that finds him in the middle of a snowy highway without his mobile phone, wallet or pants.

Hooked Adrian Sitaru, Romania/France

North American Premiere

A Sunday picnic seemed like the best way for Mihai and Sweetie to spend some quality time together and take their relationship to a new level. But a series of odd and unexpected events quickly turn this idyllic weekend getaway into the strangest day of their lives.

Kabuli Kid Barmak Akram, France/Afghanistan

North American Premiere

Kabul taxi driver Khaled picks up a woman and, after settling on a price, takes her to her destination. The woman gets out and a new passenger climbs in, only to find a baby in the backseat. Khaled leaps out after the woman, whose face had been obscured by her burqa, but she has vanished. He’s left holding the baby – a six-month-old boy. Who was this woman and how will Khaled find her?

Parc Arnaud des Pallières, France

North American Premiere

Georges Nail (Sergi López) lives in a new suburb. He’s married, loves his wife, son and dog. Paul Hammer (Jean-Marc Barr) is good-looking, rich and intelligent, but torn between his severe judgment of the world and his desire to be part of it. When their paths cross, Nail sees an opportunity for new friendship. But Hammer sees a new reason for living – to crucify the perfect image of the happy western man and his incarnation in the person of Georges Nail.

Snow Aida Begic, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Germany/France/Iran

North American Premiere

Eastern Bosnia, 1997. Headed by the young and stubborn Alma, the residents of the war-ravaged and isolated village of Slavno face a dilemma. Should they accept an offer from two visiting businessmen willing to pay them to pick up and leave their homes for good, or do they stay, following their hearts but risking life-threatening poverty? Winner of the 2008 Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize.

Tale 52 Alexis Alexiou, Greece

North American Premiere

After Iasonas and Penelope meet at a dinner party, the flirtatiousness between them quickly blossoms into a relationship. But awaking one morning to find that Penelope has mysteriously disappeared, Iasonas is unable to reconstruct what happened. The disappearance of his new girlfriend drives the rather shy Iasonas to despair, prompting confusing delusions on top of his already fragile mental state.

Winds of September Tom Shu-Yu Lin, Taiwan

North American Premiere

Yen, Tang and their gang of baseball-loving friends are in their last year of high school when a scandal involving their beloved sport takes the nation by storm. With one fatal misstep, they will learn how fragile life can be, how delicate their friendship really is and how much courage they’ll need to face the adult world.

Zift Javor Gardev, Bulgaria

North American Premiere

The Moth is freed on parole after spending time in prison on wrongful conviction of murder. Jailed shortly before the Bulgarian communist coup of 1944, he now finds himself in a new and alien world – the totalitarian Sofia of the 60s. His first night of freedom draws the map of a diabolical city full of decaying neighbourhoods, gloomy streets and a bizarre parade of characters.

The Johannesburg-set short film Jesus and the Giant (South Africa) by Akin Omotoso will screen before the previously announced Discovery title Medicine for Melancholy. Films announced today join the previously announced Hunger (Steve McQueen, United Kingdom), Medicine for Melancholy (Barry Jenkins, USA), The Paranoids (Gabriel Medina, Argentina), Three Blind Mice (Matthew Newton, Australia), Tony Manero (Pablo Larraín, Chile/Brazil) and Tulpan (Sergey Dvortsevoy, Germany/Switzerland/Kazakhstan/ Russia/Poland) as Discovery titles screening at TIFF08. Kornél Mundruczó’s Delta (Hungary/Germany), previously announced as part of Contemporary World Cinema, is now a Discovery title.

The Discovery programme and the Diesel Discovery Award are made possible through the generous sponsorship of

Diesel Canada.