TIFF reveals its compelling documentary slate featuring Paula Deen, champion whistlers and balloonists
The TIFF 50 Docs program features new films from highly acclaimed filmmakers, including Academy Award winners and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo), (The Last Repair Shop), and Laura Poitras (Citizenfour), and Academy Award nominee (I Am Not Your Negro).
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The program will open with Proudfoot's The Eyes of Ghana, which profiles influential Ghanian filmmaker Chris Hesse and is executive-produced by and Michelle Obama. World premieres coming to TIFF as sales titles include: The Balloonists, directed by John Dower, capturing adventurers who set out to circle the globe in a balloon; A Life Illuminated, directed by Tasha Van Zandt, following marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder on a stunning journey to the ocean depths; Whistle, directed by Christopher Nelius, portraying a competition of champion whistlers; Nuns vs. the Vatican, directed by Lorena Luciano and executive produced by , exposing new allegations of abuse inside the Catholic Church; Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, directed by Billy Corben, which re-investigates the scandal of a celebrity chef; and Modern Whore, directed by Nicole Bazuin, which explores the sex industry and is based on the book of the same name by Andrea Werhun and Bazuin.
Other world premieres include Vasarhelyi and Chin's LOVE+WAR, which profiles Pulitzer Prize-winning conflict photojournalist Lynsey Addario; Michèle Stephenson's True North, Sky Hopinka's Powwow People, Zahraa Ghandour's Flana, and a collection of Canadian films including Jamal Burger and Jukan Tateisi's Still Single, Darlene Naponse's Aki, Shane Belcourt's Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising, Min Sook Lee's There Are No Words, and Mettler's While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts.
These documentaries join previously announced films including Colin Hanks' John Candy: I Like Me, Ally Pankiw's Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, and Lisa Rideout's Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, among others.
Here's the full TIFF Docs program, in alphabetical order:
A Life Illuminated | Tasha Van Zandt | USAWorld Premiere
A Simple Soldier | Juan Camilo Cruz, Artem Ryzhykov | UkraineNorth American Premiere
Aki | Darlene Naponse | CanadaWorld Premiere
Below the Clouds | Gianfranco Rosi | ItalyInternational Premiere
Canceled: The Paula Deen Story | Billy Corben | USAWorld Premiere
Cover-Up | Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus | USACanadian Premiere
Flana | Zahraa Ghandour | Iraq/France/QatarWorld Premiere
LOVE+WAR | Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | USAWorld Premiere
Modern Whore | Nicole Bazuin | CanadaWorld Premiere
Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising | Shane Belcourt | CanadaWorld Premiere
Nuestra Tierra | Lucrecia Martel | Argentina/USA/Mexico/France/Denmark/NetherlandsNorth American Premiere
Nuns vs. The Vatican | Lorena Luciano | USAWorld Premiere
Orwell: 2+2=5 | Raoul Peck | USA/FranceNorth American Premiere
Powwow People | Sky Hopinka | USAWorld Premiere
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk | Sepideh Farsi | France/Palestine/IranNorth American Premiere
Still Single | Jamal Burger, Jukan Tateisi | CanadaWorld Premiere
The Balloonists | John Dower | USA/UK/AustriaWorld Premiere
The Eyes of Ghana | Ben Proudfoot | USA | Opening FilmWorld Premiere
The Tale of Silyan | Tamara Kotevska | North MacedoniaNorth American Premiere
There Are No Words | Min Sook Lee | CanadaWorld Premiere
True North | Michèle Stephenson | USA/CanadaWorld Premiere
While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts | Peter Mettler | Canada/SwitzerlandWorld Premiere
Whistle | Christopher Nelius | AustraliaWorld Premiere
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