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The Dublin Film Festival came to an end at the weekend after one of its most varied programs yet. Guests visiting the event included deep-dive documentary-maker Alexandre O. Philippe, attending with his Texas Chain Saw Massacre meditation Chain Reactions; director Jason Buxton, there with his acclaimed Ben Foster-starring thriller Sharp Corner, soon to be released by Vertical; Albert Serra, supporting his surprise San Sebastian winner Afternoons of Solitude; Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, honored by a curated retrospective; and British ’60s pop-culture icon Twiggy, subject of Sadie Frost’s film of the same name. From closer to home, director Lorcan Finnegan and writer Thomas Martin brought their cult Cannes hit The Surfer, and the UK’s Polly Steele came with Four Letters of Love starring Helena Bonham Carter and Pierce Brosnan.

Under the always assured stewardship of artistic Gráinne Humphreys, the festival took a big swing by opening with The Return,...

Exclusive: Vertical has acquired U.S. rights to Sharp Corner, an indie psychological thriller, starring Ben Foster (Hell or High Water) and Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), which scored positive reviews out of the Rome Film Festival and TIFF, where the deal was completed.

The film, based on the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated short story from Russell Wangersky, will be released next spring.

Sharp Corner follows Josh McCall (Foster), a hapless family man, and his wife Rachel (Smulders) as they escape the city for an idyllic country house — the perfect setting to raise their six-year-old son, Max (William Kosovic). But on their first night at home, a fatal car accident disrupts their plans. Rachel would rather erase the event from her memory, but Josh finds himself drawn to the tragedy and becomes obsessed with saving the lives of the car accident victims at the sharp corner in front of his house.

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon are taking the title of their next film to heart. They’re set to direct the horror-comedy project “Family Movie” and star alongside their children, Travis and Sosie Bacon.

The foursome will produce for Mixed Breed Films alongside Norman Golightly at Dark Castle Entertainment. Neon International will represent the foreign rights and introduce it at AFM this week while CAA Media Finance will represent the U.S. rights.

The film, based on a screenplay by Dan Beers (“Premature”), follows an eclectic but tight-knit family of filmmakers who suddenly find themselves in a real-life horror movie when a body turns up on the set of their latest low-budget slasher. As the production spirals comically out of control, they realize the only solution to keep filming is to cover up the murder, by any means necessary.

“There may not be a more compelling Hollywood family than the Bacons,...

Imagine moving into your dream home, hoping for a fresh start with your family. But on the very first night, disaster strikes when a car slams through your living room window. And that’s just the beginning.

Such is the harrowing experience that befalls Josh, Rachel, and their young son Max in Sharp Corner. Played brilliantly by Ben Foster and Cobie Smulders, Josh and Rachel are a couple seeking tranquility in rural Nova Scotia. But their new home’s location proves quite tragic—it lies at the bottom of a sharp bend in the road, resulting in one too many crashes on their front lawn.

As more accidents continually terrify the family, stay-at-home dad Josh becomes obsessed with the crashes. Trying to support his loved ones, he throws himself into first aid training, desperate to be heroic if disaster strikes again. But his fixation grows in unhealthy ways, straining relationships...

Chris Rock will direct and star in Misty Green for MacRo Film Studios and Confluential Films. Neon will commence international sales at the AFM next week.

Based on an original script by Rock, Misty Green follows Misty, who is an undeniably talented actress, but her vices have derailed every attempt to revitalise her career. Her best opportunity in ages arrives in the form of Jordan (Rock), a film director with the perfect role for her – were it not for their contentious past

Additional casting is underway. Peter Rice and Rock will produce alongside James Lopez for MacRo Film Studios and Tommy Oliver for Confluential Films.

Chris Rock is set to direct and star in “Misty Green,” described as a contemporary tale of Hollywood excess and inequity.

Based on an original script by Rock, “Misty Green” follows Misty, an undeniably talented actress whose vices have derailed every attempt to revitalize her career. Her best opportunity in ages arrives in the form of Jordan (Rock), a film director with the perfect role for her — were it not for their contentious past. Additional casting is underway.

Rock and seasoned exec and former Fox head Peter Rice will produce alongside James Lopez for MacRo Film Studios and Tommy Oliver for Confluential Films. Executive producers are Charles D. King for MacRo Film Studios and Codie Elaine Oliver for Confluential Films. Neon International will represent the foreign rights and introduce it at AFM next week while CAA Media Finance will represent the domestic rights.

Rock was last seen on the big...

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Based on a short story by Russell Wangersky, Sharp Corner is a psychological drama that premiered at Toronto International Film Festival on September 6. Jason Buxton adapted the story into a screenplay and made it his second feature film directorial effort, building on his already exciting repertoire. The movie follows Josh, who recently moved into his dream Nova Scotia home with his wife Rachel and son Max only to see that dream turn into a nightmare after a traumatic car crash.

Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma) captivates the audience with his portrayal of Josh's slow descent into madness as his attempts to save the next victim overtake all aspects of his life. Rather than taking steps to ensure that the tight turn on their street is fixed or made safer in some way, he loses himself in CPR lessons and other efforts to turn himself into a hero.

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Based on Russell Wangerskys short story, Sharp Corner serves as writer-director Jason Buxton's second feature film. The movie, which had its Toronto International Film Festival premiere on September 6, focuses on a literal sharp corner that leads to a series of tragic crashes and takes over the once-normal life of a family man named Josh. He soon gives up even pretending to care about his career and marriage in order to spend his time preventing the next crash, even as his wife begs him to return to reality.

Ben Foster (Hell of High Water) stars in Sharp Corner as Josh, with Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) playing his wife Rachel. The movie begins by showing their seemingly idyllic life, including their new dream home in Nova Scotia, but the picturesque portrayal is broken when a teenage driver crashes on the corner and into their house.

This will be a short one today, with this minimalist teaser for Jason Buxton's dark character study, Sharp Corner. A family man (Ben Foster) becomes obsessed with saving the lives of the car accident victims on the sharp corner in front of the 'dream home' he just moved into with his wife (Cobie Smulders) and young son. The lack of festival laurels as well as no standard credit block, offers lots of negative space to emphasize the skid marks. The one typographical design concession here is a right-angle line with a broken area which evokes a smashed guard rail. A direct overhead shot suggests a...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

For a film inspired by a Canadian short story, directed by a Canadian filmmaker, and filmed on location in Nova Scotia, it's more than appropriate, after twelve long years, for co-writer/director Jason Buxton's sophomore feature Sharp Corner to have its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Top-billed by Ben Foster and Cobie Smulders, Sharp Corner is a psychological thriller and dark satire serving as a cautionary tale about control, power, and the fragile nature of contemporary masculinity.

The high-concept thriller is a seemingly dying breed. Gone are the days when we would see a suspenseful film with a bare-bones premise and an A-list actor in the lead. Filmmaker Jason Buxton hopes to bring those days back with Sharp Corner, starring Ben Foster (Hell or High Water) and Cobie Smulders (The Avengers). Although Foster is incredible here, the movie itself is somewhat underwhelming, suffering from a bloated length and a lack of development for its themes and characters.

Sharp Corner Review

Sharp Corner follows a family man whose seemingly idyllic home life is thrown into disarray after a series of brutal car crashes happen on his property, causing him to become obsessed with preventing the next fatality. This type of bizarre, darkly comedic thriller is all the rage these days — just see the success of filmmakers like Yorgos Lanthimos — but Jason Buxton’s sophomore feature suffers from being...

Men will literally become fixated on car accidents that keep happening on a dangerous road near their new house instead of going to therapy. At least, that’s the case for Ben Foster’s Josh in “Sharp Corner,” an often remarkably well-acted psychological thriller about a pitiful man who can’t stop looking out from his home in the hopes passing cars will crash. It’s a work that serves as yet another strong showcase for Foster, who has been great in standout leading roles in “Leave No Trace” and “Hell or High Water.”

Now this new film from writer-director Jason Buxton (“Blackbird”) gets to where it needs to in one piece (even as its many motor vehicles do not), further proving to be another sturdy character study that is made into something greater by a fantastic Foster.

“Sharp Corner,” which premiered Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival, is...

Amiable Josh seems on the surface to have the perfect life: accomplished wife (Cobie Smulders), son (William Kosovic) and a new house. Problem is, fatal car accidents happen with some frequency — and quite graphically — in Josh’s front yard, breaking apart his thin veneer of a life. Jason Buxton’s “Sharp Corner” stars Ben Foster as the almost anonymous Josh, the human equivalent of khakis and a white button-down shirt. Buxton imbues the film with tension, and as the likable Foster takes John into increasingly obsessive behavior, the film finds more horror movie elements in the banality of the normal. Foster is busy — he was in Venice to support John Swab’s “King Ivory,” which unspooled in the Horizons Extra section — and calls “King Ivory” “an exploration of import export of fentanyl and the cost of that.”

“Sharp Corner” world premieres Sept. 6 at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival. Neon Intl.

The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival have unveiled their lineup of 63 films from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. Notable titles include the world premieres of Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths and The Last Showgirl, the North American premieres of Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Harvest and Justin Kurzel’s The Order, the Canadian premiere of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The End, along with many favorites from this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Check out the lineup below.

Galas 2024 (in alphabetical order)

*Previously announced

Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe Cosima Spender | UK

World Premiere

Better Man Michael Gracey | USA

Canadian Premiere

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight Embeth Davidtz | South Africa

Canadian Premiere

Sales Title

*Eden Ron Howard | USA

World Premiere

Sales Title

*Elton John: Never Too Late R.J. Cutler, David Furnish | USA

World Premiere

*Harbin Woo Min-ho | South Korea

World Premiere

Meet the Barbarians...

The Toronto Film Festival has turned up the star power for its 49th edition, having added the latest movies from Alicia Vikander, Lupita Nyong’o, Steve Coogan, Ralph Fiennes, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Lily James and Riz Ahmed.

For the Gala section at Roy Thomson Hall, there’s world bows for two music specials: the Andrea Bocelli biopic Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe, a doc about the Italian tenor by director Cosima Spender; and Thom Zimny’s Bruce Springsteen doc for Disney+ and Hulu, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Zimny was in Toronto last year with his Sylvester Stallone documentary Sly for Netflix.

TIFF will also give a first look to Uberto Pasolini’s historical epic The Return, with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche reteaming after The English Patient. And there’s gala world premieres for Peter Cattaneo’s The Penguin Lessons, toplined by Steve Coogan and...

Exclusive: Neon has hired marketing and publicity veteran Joey Monteiro as EVP, International Marketing and Ashley Hirsch as Manager of International Sales and Marketing. The move further expands the company’s global footprint as it grows its international sales arm headed up by seasoned sales executive Kristen Figeroid.

With a career spanning more than two and a half decades, Monteiro joins Neon from Sierra-Affinity/eOne, where he served as EVP of Marketing and Publicity and was responsible for creative marketing across film markets and festivals as well as international distribution. He handled campaigns on Academy Award-winning titles including: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, starring Ryan Gosling; Miles Teller starrer Whiplash; Margot Robbie starrer I, Tonya; Manchester By The Sea with Casey Affleck; and Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal, among others.

Prior to that, Monteiro worked at Warner Brothers Pictures as Director of Digital Marketing and Lionsgate as SVP of International Marketing,...

Neon Intl. has added to its growing EFM slate with Jason Buxton’s “Sharp Corner,” starring Ben Foster and Cobie Smulders. The company, launched last year as the sales arm of Neon, will launch the project in Berlin.

The under-the-radar feature, now in post-production, is based on the short story from Russell Wangersky’s Giller Prize-shortlisted collection “Whirl Away,” and marks Buxton’s follow up to his debut film, 2012’s ”Blackbird,” which won the best first feature in Toronto and picked up the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Écrans Juniors.

“Sharp Corner” follows a dedicated family man who becomes obsessed with saving the lives of the car accident victims on the sharp corner in front of his house — an obsession that could cost him everything.

The film, a Canadian-Irish co-production, is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, Screen Nova Scotia, Ontario Creates and in association with Bell Media/Crave.

Domestic distributor Bleecker Street is in negotiations to acquire rights to “Fackham Hall,” a British spoof of “Downton Abbey” and other costume dramas. Sales outfit The Veterans is pre-selling international territories. And as international buyers face a potential drought of Hollywood product due to strikes, the market is offering other promising presale titles.

WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...

Canadian film and TV productions with American actors attached in key lead roles might not have to grind to a halt on soundstages in Toronto and Vancouver after SAG-AFTRA called for a history-making strike stateside.

On July 10, days ahead of the strike action, leading SAG-AFTRA officials met with agents representing top-tier Hollywood actors and said union members would be allowed to work on Actra (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) projects in Canada as a double strike featuring American writers and actors gets underway.

And that has Canadian indie producers eyeing waivers from SAG-AFTRA to get American talent working on local originals. “They (SAG-AFTRA) have begun to announce certain waivers that they’ve granted to indie projects. And I would expect that they are not trying to shut down the indie world internationally and that they will find ways to be reasonable and help the producers work,” Shawn Williamson,...

David Miller, a veteran Canadian film publicist, producer and distributor who led an Oscar-winning animated short film campaign for the National Film Board of Canada in 2004, has died. He was 47.

Miller died on April 6 due to pre-existing health conditions. His award-winning producing and executive producing credits included work on two movies by director Richie Mehta, Amal, which was shot on a tight budget in India in 2007, and Siddarth; Jason Buxton’s Blackbird; the Henry Rollins starrer He Never Died, directed by Jason Krawczyk; Michael Melski’s The Child Remains; and Joey Klein’s The Other Half, which starred Tatiana Maslany....

David Miller, a veteran Canadian film publicist, producer and distributor who led an Oscar-winning animated short film campaign for the National Film Board of Canada in 2004, has died. He was 47.

Miller died on April 6 due to pre-existing health conditions. His award-winning producing and executive producing credits included work on two movies by director Richie Mehta, Amal, which was shot on a tight budget in India in 2007, and Siddarth; Jason Buxton’s Blackbird; the Henry Rollins starrer He Never Died, directed by Jason Krawczyk; Michael Melski’s The Child Remains; and Joey Klein’s The Other Half, which starred Tatiana Maslany....

Read More: Toronto International Film Festival Reveals First Slate of Titles: New Ridley Scott and Cary Fukunaga Films Top List, 'Demolition' to Open Connor Jessup ("Closet Monster") Why You May Know Him: The Toronto native has appeared in a handful of network television series, including "Falling Skies" and an upcoming turn in the second season of "American Crime," but his burgeoning film career also includes a starring role in the 2012 indie "Blackbird," which saw him headlining Jason Buxton's dramatic feature as a bullied teen pushed to terrible ends.  What He's Bringing to Toronto: Jessup stars in Stephen Dunn's "Closet Monster" as a confused teenager struggling to fit into the world while also attempting to overcome a haunting event from his youth. Creative and intense, Jessup's Oscar Madly is forced to contend with problems both inside and outside his home. Dunn's film looks to be a deep and artistic.

Breaking Glass Pictures has picked up the documentary Corpus Christi: Playing Wnith Redemption.

The film is about Terrence McNally’s Off-Broadway play Corpus Christi and will be released on DVD and VOD on October 14.

The distributor has also acquired Jason Buxton’s thriller Blackbird and releases it on the same platforms on October 7.

Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama has launched a joint venture with Social Capital Films as the partners acquired Us theatrical rights to Martin Shore’s award-winning music documentary Take Me To The River.

The film follows multiple generations of award-winning Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians including Frayser Boy and The North Mississippi All-Stars, Otis Clay, Charlie Musselwhite and Snoop Dogg as they collaborate on a new album.

Take Me To The River will open on September 12 and premiered at SXSW, where it won the 24 Beats Per Second Audience Award. Abramowitz brokered the deal with ICM Partners for the film-makers.

Bond/360 has...

Breaking Glass Pictures has picked up the documentary Corpus Christi: Playing Wnith Redemption.

The film is about Terrence McNally’s Off-Broadway play Corpus Christi and will be released on DVD and VOD on October 14.

The distributor has also acquired Jason Buxton’s thriller Blackbird and releases it on the same platforms on October 7.

Richard Abramowitz’s Abramorama has launched a joint venture with Social Capital Films as the partners acquired Us theatrical rights to Martin Shore’s award-winning music documentary Take Me To The River.

The film follows multiple generations of award-winning Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians including Frayser Boy and The North Mississippi All-Stars, Otis Clay, Charlie Musselwhite and Snoop Dogg as they collaborate on a new album.

Take Me To The River will open on September 12 and premiered at SXSW, where it won the 24 Beats Per Second Audience Award. Abramowitz brokered the deal with ICM Partners for the film-makers.

The executive producer and former Breakthrough Entertainment executive Marina Cordoni has set up her new venture and announced a partnership with Breaking Glass Pictures in the Us.

Marina Cordoni Entertainment will provide one-stop shop services for various stages of feature production, as well as financial pre-production negotiations and competed sales, marketing and release strategies.

Serving as executive producer, Cordoni will work alongside established film-makers to take projects to green light. Wearing her sales agent cap, Cordoni will handle deals for Canadian release and international distribution.

Under the deal with Breaking Glass Pictures, Cordoni will represent that company’s available films for Canada and bring Breaking Glass Canadian films for Us distribution.

The first deal is for Blackbird, Nova Scotia film-maker Jason Buxton’s Toronto 2012 winner of the Best Canadian First Feature award. Breaking Glass has taken all rights to the film.

“This year represents an exciting turning point for me,” said Cordoni...

Emir Baigazin’s Harmony Lessons won the 39th Seattle International Film Festival’s Best New Director grand jury prize on Sunday [9] as top brass handed out jury and audience awards.Scroll down for full list of winners

The Siff 2013 Best Documentary grand jury prize went to Penny Lane’s Our Nixon and Lucy Walker earned a special jury prize for The Crash Reel, while Kyle Patrick Alvarez took the Best New American Cinema grand jury prize for C.O.G.

In the audience awards, Henk Pretorius’ Fanie Fourie’s Lobola won the Best Film Golden Space Needle Award and Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet From Stardom took the corresponding documentary prize.

The Best Director Golden Space Needle Award went to Nabil Ayouch for Horses Of God, while best actor was awarded to James Cromwell for Still Mine and best actress to Samantha Morton for Decoding Annie Parker.

The Best Short Film Golden Space Needle Award was presented to [link...

Canadian Screen Awards 2013 nominations: War Witch rules The Genie Awards are dead, long live the Canadian Screen Awards! Well, in truth, the Genie Awards aren’t exactly dead; they’ve just been transmogrified, along with Canadian television’s Gemini Awards, into the aforementioned Canadian Screen Awards, organized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. But Genie or Canadian Screen, once again a Québécois production dominates the nominations roster. (Photo: Rachel Mwanza in Kim Nguyen’s War Witch.) Kim Nguyen’s Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award nominee Rebelle / War Witch, the story of a (very) young African rebel fighter, received a total of 12 Canadian Screen Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Berlin Film Festival’s Best Actress Rachel Mwanza), Best Supporting Actor (Serge Kanyinda), and Best Original Screenplay (Nguyen). War Witch follows in the heels of recent Quebec-made Genie Award powerhouses and eventual Best Picture winners such...

So far the story looks and sounds typical but Blackbird steers clear of most cliches, and from the moment of Sean's incarceration writer/director Jason Buxton breaks away from expectation and develops a tale that is more complex than many of its counterparts. Sean's jail stint is only the beginning of his journey and for the second half of the movie, we watch him struggle to break away from preperceptions. He's been marked and though some believe his innocence, a large part of the townsfolk are still suspicious and even those who know Sean is harmless take advantage of public perception to further injure the teen. [Continued ...]...

Montreal’s Festival Du Nouveau Cinema (10.10 – 10.21) announced their line-up today for their 41st edition and among the smorgasbord of subtitle offerings dating back to this year’s Rotterdam, Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, Venice and Tiff editions, we’re knee-deep in avant-garde world cinema from the established auteurs Assayas, Vinterberg, Ozon, Sang-Soo, Joao Pedro Rodriguez, Larrain, Loach, Reygadas, Ghobadi, Mungiu and Miguel Gomes. Heavy on offerings from Quebec and France, the fest also manages to offer a stellar snapshot of the up-and-comers from all corners of the globe. Among the notable titles in the (Competition category) International Selection we’ve got Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves, Ursula Meier’s Sister, Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s Francine (which received its theatrical release earlier this month) and Rodrigo Plá’s La Demora. Loaded in Cannes items, the Special Presentations is the fest’s A-list selections (see filmmakers named above) and the one pic...

David O. Russell's dramedy, "Silver Linings Playbook" took home the Blackberry People's Choice Award at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Festival. Based on the seriocomic novel by Matthew Quick, Russell also wrote the screenplay starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, and Chris Tucker.

Distributed by The Weinstein Company, "Silver Linings Playbook" joins previous Tiff winners "The King's Speech," "Slumdog Millionaire," and "Precious." The dramedy is certainly in great Oscar company!

Runners-up were Ben Affleck's "Argo" and Eran Riklis' "Zaytoun."

Here's the complete list of the winners of the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival:

People's Choice Award:

"Silver Linings Playbook," directed by David O. Russell

Runners-up: "Argo," directed by Ben Affleck and "Zaytoun," directed by Eran Riklis

People's Choice Award For Documentary:

"Artifact," directed by Bartholomew Cubbins

Runners-up: "Storm Surfers 3D," directed by Christopher Nelius and Justin McMillan," and "Revolution," directed by Rob Stewart...

David O. Russell‘s Silver Linings Playbook got a boost in the Oscar race as was named the top audience prize winner in Toronto on Sunday.

The idiosyncratic blend of comedy and drama went on to become a sleeper hit at Tiff which took everyone by surprise.

A perfectly calibrated comedy which stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence has won the BlackBerry People’s Choice Award – contenders included Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, Ben Affleck’s Argo, the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer’s Cloud Atlas and Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder.

The other big winner was the ultra-violent black comedy Seven Psychopaths – Martin McDonagh‘s latest film about dogknapping and screenwriting won the People’s Choice Midnight Madness award.

Here’s the full list via Tiff.net:

BlackBerry People’s Choice Award:

Silver Linings Playbook directed by David O. Russell

Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Julia Stiles and...

The Toronto International Film Festival wraps up today (movies are still being projected, though, even as I type) and the awards are out. Silver Linings Playbook took the Audience Prize, which is usually a good sign for Oscar. 10 of the 34 past winners have gone on to Best Picture nominations with 4 eventually winning the top prize (The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty and Chariots of Fire). That group of 34 films also includes 1 Best Documentary Oscar winner and 9 Best Foreign Language Film nominees (5 of them eventual winners.)  It's not fail safe of course. Last year's winner Where Do We Go Now? looked strong for Oscar foreign play but wasn't nominated and the previous winner's list includes various sixth-slotters like Amélie and Hotel Rwanda which didn't quite make their respective Best Picture lineups. But to make this long story much shorter this is the silver lining for Silver Linings come December; expect big golden things.

The past week and a half have been an absolutely fantastic ride at the Toronto International Film Festival, and as the final day nears its end, the winners of this year’s BlackBerry People’s Choice Awards have been announced.

Taking the lead with the People’s Choice Award is David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, with a brilliant leading duo in Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and an all-star supporting cast headed up by Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, and Julia Stiles.

The film went down a treat amongst critics and audiences alike, and after Russell’s acclaimed The Fighter took home two Oscars for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo, it’s nice to see his follow-up premiering to such an excellent reception.

In the documentary category, Bartholomew Cubbins’ Artifact takes home the People’s Choice Documentary Award, premiering on Friday night to standing ovations for...

Above: Ernie Gehr's Auto-Collider Xv.

The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.

Galas

A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)

Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)

The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)

Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)

Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)

English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)

Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)

Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)

Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)

Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)

Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)

Looper (Rian Johnson,...

The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.

Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...

After a string of announcements, it looks like the Toronto International Film Festival have locked down their line-up and it’s looking like a fantastic slate. Much of the additions today come in the form of previous Cannes premieres, including Michael Haneke‘s Amour (review), Cristian Mungiu‘s Beyond the Hills (review), Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love (review), Bernardo Bertolucci‘s Me and You (review), Hong Sang-soo‘s In Another Country and the Venice premiere Olivier Assayas‘ Something in the Air. Most notably missing is Leos Carax‘s Holy Motors, but we do get a new Michael Winterbottom film titled Everyday. Out of the Discovery section, the biggest film seems to be The Brass Teapot, and indie drama starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano and one can check out all the additions below.

Masters

Amour Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany North American Premiere Screen legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and...

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival® today announced the Canadian features lineup including first-time feature filmmakers Jason Buxton, Brandon Cronenberg, Igor Drljaca and Kate Melville, as well as filmmakers returning...

Toronto has announced the homegrown portion of its lineup. Canadian filmmakers represent in both a feature film category and "Short Cuts Canada," as well as a selection of films funded by the National Film Board of Canada. Canuck first-time feature filmmakers include Jason Buxton ("Blackbird"), Brandon Cronenberg (Cannes entry "Antiviral") and Kate Melville ("Picture Day"), and returning veterans include Sarah Polley ("The Stories We Tell"), Xavier Dolan ("Laurence Anyways") and Michael McGowan ("Still"). 44 short films were selected for "Short Cuts Canada," a program that was winnowed down from nearly 700 submissions. Included in the lineup are Nfb-funded titles such as Jeffrey St. Jules' "Let the Daylight into the Swamp" and Patrick Bouchard's "Bydlo." Senior programmer Steve Gravestock stated: “Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the...

In the last major update for the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 slate, they’ve announced their Canadian features. The line-up includes Sarah Polley’s upcoming documentary Stories We Tell, coming off her Take This Waltz this summer (which also premiered at Tiff). The other major films include two we’ve seen at Cannes,one being Brandon Cronenberg‘s Antiviral, which premiered alongside his father’s Cosmopolis. We disliked it (full review), saying it came off as an “an amateurish, high-budget student film.” The other major title is Xavier Dolan‘s Laurence Anyways, which we loved (full review), calling it a major step forward for the filmmaker. Check out the rest of the titles below, which I’m sure will include many discoveries.

Antiviral Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere

Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.

The Toronto International Film Festival announced the Canadian features lineup at a press conference in Toronto this afternoon. The lineup includes first-time feature filmmakers Jason Buxton, Brandon Cronenberg, Igor Drljaca and Kate Melville, as well as filmmakers returning to the Festival —including Bruce Sweeney, Sarah Polley, Xavier Dolan, Michael McGowan and Bernard Émond. A complete list of all announced films in every program can be found here. “Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the lineup present stories of youth and violence, coming of age, the environment, dysfunctional families, sex and celebrity,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, Tiff. “From intimate, affecting stories with big impact to films with global scope, the Canadian films in this year’s Festival will move audiences.” Some of the films announced will be eligible for the City of Toronto + Canada Goose Award for Best...

Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund has revealed the list of upcoming films that will get financial support through its Script Development Program and Equity Investment Program.

The list reveals all the 27 films (chosen out of 139 applications), which are either in production or pre-production period, that will get some financial backing.

Story Optioning

The Flying Troutmans

Four Seasons Productions Inc.

Screenwriters: Semi Chellas and Miriam Toews

King Leary

Verite Films Inc.

Screenwriter: Paul Quarrington

The Outlander

Strada Films Inc. and Triptych Media Inc.

Screenwriter: Tbd

First Draft

Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet

Hand Picked Films Inc.

Screenwriter: Richard Bell

The Diary of Laura’s Twin

pUNK Films Inc.

Screenwriter: Laura Phillips

Don’t Talk To Irene

Alyson Richards Productions Inc.

Screenwriter: Pat Mills

King Leary

Verite Films Inc.

Screenwriter: Paul Quarrington

The Lizard Cage

Sienna Films Inc.

Screenwriter: David Vainola

Queen Kristina

Triptych Media Inc.

Screenwriter: Michel Marc Bouchard

Second...