Toronto Film Fest preview: Five films based on real life
US poet Emily Dickinson, Polish avant-garde artist Wladyslaw Strzeminski, the staff of Nigeria's First Consultant Hospital, Indian-Australian orphan Saroo Brierley, and France's Sun King, Louis XIV, are all given time to shine with feature films based on their lives and experiences screening at September's 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, running September 8-18.
- A Quiet Passion -
US poet Emily Dickinson, considered in her lifetime a recluse and botanist, was one whose singular literary talent, hidden in correspondences and private papers, was discovered upon her passing. Featuring Cynthia Nixon of "Sex and the City," "Warm Springs" and "James White"; award-winning Terence Davies of "The House of Mirth" and "Distant Voices, Still Lives" directs with Jennifer Ehle and Keith Carradine co-starring. "A Quiet Passion" has been well praised following festival stops in Berlin and New Zealand, and is expected on wider release later in the year.
Trailer: youtu.be/eKJpx8FYp54
- Afterimage -
Star Polish actor Boguslaw Linda plays star Polish avante-garde painter Wladyslaw Strzeminski, who worked during a time of political and cultural upheaval; the new regime urged Strzeminski to produce in line with their new vision, while he felt duty-bound to pursue his own interpretation of the times. Linda is a five-time winner at the Polish Film Festival, while outstanding director Andrzej Wajda received an honorary Oscar in 2000 for his career achievements to date.
Trailer: youtu.be/6rfzPErD1C0
- 93 Days -
Set inside the Ebola outbreak of 2014, "93 Days" takes us to Nigeria, a country previously untouched by the deadly virulent disease, but now interning a first victim inside densely populated megacity Lagos. Bimbo Akintola and Somkele Idhalama star, with support from Danny Glover ("Lethal Weapon") and Alastair Mackenzie ("Wolf Hall").
Trailer: youtu.be/lPeNgs6bMkY
- Lion -
Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire") stars as Saroo Brierley, the Indian boy -- now man -- adopted by Australian couple Sue and John (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). Seeking to reconnect with his biological family, he must uncover and retrace the steps that took him from Kolkata to Canberra. Rooney Mara and Pallavi Sharda co-star.
Trailer: youtu.be/DmlyGscXing
- The Death of Louis XIV -
Already an award winner thanks to the juries of the Jerusalem Film Festival and Prix Jean Vigo, Spanish filmmaker Albert Serra recreates the final days of The Sun King, one of France's best known monarchs, and the country's longest-serving (some might say self-serving), as he seeks to fix his legacy. Serra turned to French cinematic great Jean-Pierre Léaud -- of François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard fame -- to play the king.
Trailer: youtu.be/3AALSSWjd-s
