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TIFF 2021: The Official Lineup

by Diego Andaluz
The official logo and banner for TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival.

The first major Canadian film festival of the season, the 46th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns after having led the charge in the revitalization of film festivals in the pandemic era, pioneering an in-person/virtual hybrid that resulted in great success. An important bellwether in the awards season race, many future contenders appear here with the intention of making the necessary waves to build buzz in hopes of nabbing TIFF’s coveted People’s Choice Award (which has led to nominations or wins in the Best Picture category in twelve of the last thirteen years).

While many festivals have chosen to revert back to traditional experiences, TIFF has maintained its newfound reputation of being one of the most innovative celebrations around by maintaining its hybrid structure, much to the delight of international cinephiles. With the highly anticipated announcement of the lineup finally here, read on to see which films have been officially selected for the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Stay tuned here on DiscussingFilm as we cover more of TIFF 2021!

Gala Presentations

Belfast | World Premiere
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, United Kingdom

Clifford the Big Red Dog | World Premiere
Directed by Walt Becker, USA/United Kingdom/Canada

Opening Night Film
Dear Evan Hansen | World Premiere
Directed by Stephen Chbosky, USA

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Canadian Premiere
Directed by Will Sharpe, United Kingdom

The Eyes of Tammy Faye | World Premiere
Directed by Michael Showalter, USA

Jagged | World Premiere
Directed by Alison Klayman, USA

Last Night in Soho | North American Premiere
Directed by Edgar Wright, United Kingdom

The Mad Women’s Ball (Le Bal des folles) | World Premiere
Directed by Mélanie Laurent, France

Night Raiders | North American Premiere
Directed by Danis Goulet, Canada/New Zealand

Closing Night Film
One Second | North American Premiere
Directed by Zhang Yimou, China

The Survivor | World Premiere
Directed by Barry Levinson, USA/Canada/Hungary

The Good House Maya Forbes | World Premiere
Directed by Wallace Wolodarsky, USA

Silent Night | World Premiere
Directed by Camille Griffin, United Kingdom

The Worst Person In The World (Verdens Verste Menneske) | North American Premiere
Directed by Joachim Trier, Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark

Special Presentations

Ali & Ava | North American Premiere
Directed by Clio Barnard, United Kingdom

All My Puny Sorrows
Directed by Michael McGowan | Canada

Benediction | World Premiere
Directed by Terence Davies, United Kingdom

Bergman Island | International Premiere
Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, France

Charlotte | World Premiere
Directed by Eric Warin, Tahir Rana, Canada/France/Belgium

Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over | World Premiere
Directed by Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner, USA

Drive My Car | North American Premiere
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan

Encounter | International Premiere
Directed by Michael Pearce, United Kingdom/USA

The Guilty | World Premiere
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, USA

I’m Your Man | North American Premiere
Directed by Maria Schrader, Germany

Inexorable | International Premiere
Directed by Fabrice du Welz, Belgium/France

Lakewood | World Premiere
Directed by Phillip Noyce, Canada

The Middle Man | World Premiere
Directed by Bent Hamer, Norway/Canada/Germany/Denmark

Official Competition (Competencia Oficial) | North American Premiere
Directed by Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, Spain/Argentina

Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades) | North American Premiere
Directed by Jacques Audiard, France

Petite Maman | Canadian Premiere
Directed by Céline Sciamma, France

The Starling | World Premiere
Directed by Theodore Melfi, USA

The Story of My Wife | North American Premiere
Directed by Ildikó Enyedi, Hungary/Germany/Italy/France

Three Floors (Tre Piani) | North American Premiere
Directed by Nanni Moretti, Italy/France

Violet | International Premiere
Directed by Justine Bateman, USA

The Falls (Pu Bu) | North American Premiere
Directed by Chung Mong-Hong, Taiwan

The Humans | World Premiere
Directed by Stephen Karam, USA

Inu-Oh | North American Premiere
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa, Japan/China

Lingui, The Sacred Bonds (Lingui) | North American Premiere
Directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chad/France/Germany/Belgium

Mothering Sunday | North American Premiere
Directed by Eva Husson, United Kingdom

The Power of the Dog | Canadian Premiere
Directed by Jane Campion, Australia/New Zealand

Sundown | North American Premiere
Directed by Michel Franco, Mexico

Wolf | World Premiere
Directed by Nathalie Biancheri, United Kingdom/Ireland/Poland

Ahed’s Knee (Ha’berech) | North American Premiere
Directed by Nadav Lapid, Israel/France/Germany 

The Box (La Caja) | North American Premiere
Directed by Lorenzo Vigas, USA/Mexico

France |  North American Premiere
Directed by Bruno Dumont, France/Germany/Italy/Belgium

Where Is Anne Frank? | North American Premiere
Directed by Ari Folman, Belgium/France/Netherlands/Luxembourg/Israel

Midnight Madness

After Blue (Dirty Paradise) | North American Premiere
Directed by Bertrand Mandico, France

DASHCAM | World Premiere
Directed by Rob Savage, United Kingdom/USA 

Saloum | World Premiere
Directed byJean Luc Herbulot, Senegal

Titane | North American Premiere
Directed by Julia Ducournau, France

You Are Not My Mother | World Premiere
Directed by Kate Dolan, Ireland

Zalava | North American Premiere
Directed by Arsalan Amiri, Iran

TIFF Docs

Attica | World Premiere
Directed by Stanley Nelson, USA 

Beba | World Premiere
Directed by Rebeca Huntt | USA/Mexico 

Becoming Cousteau | International Premiere
Directed by Liz Garbus, USA

Burning | World Premiere
Directed by Eva Orner, Australia

Comala | World Premiere
Directed by Gian Cassini, Mexico

The Devil’s Drivers | World Premiere
Directed by Mohammed Abugeth, Daniel Carsenty, Qatar/France/Lebanon/Germany

Flee | Canadian Premiere
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark/France/Sweden/Norway

Hold Your Fire | World Premiere
Directed by Stefan Forbes, USA

Listening to Kenny G | World Premiere
Directed by Penny Lane, USA

Oscar Peterson: Black + White | World Premiere
Directed by Barry Avrich, Canada

The Rescue | International Premiere
Directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, USA/United Kingdom

Three Minutes – A Lengthening | Canadian Premiere
Directed by Bianca Stigter, Netherlands/United Kingdom

Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace | World Premiere
Directed by Heather Hatch, Canada 

Wavelength Features

Futura | North American Premiere
Directed by Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher, Italy

The Girl and the Spider (Das Mädchen und die Spinne) | North American Premiere
Directed by Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher, Switzerland

Neptune Frost | North American Premiere
Directed by Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman, Rwanda/USA

A Night of Knowing Nothing | International Premiere
Directed by Payal Kapadia, India/France

Ste. Anne | North American Premiere
Directed by Rhayne Vermette, Canada

The Tsugua Diaries (Diários de Otsoga) | North American Premiere
Directed by Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes, Portugal

Check out more of our festival coverage here!

Follow Awards Editor Diego Andaluz on Twitter: @thediegoandaluz

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