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Chicago – Encountering Romina D’Ugo at the recent Slamdance Film Festival was the closest thing to destiny I’ll ever come across. After I reviewed “I Like Movies,” in which Romina had a significant supporting role, and then doing a podcast on the film, she serendipitously appeared at Slamdance, representing for her latest role in “Portal to Hell.”

The story in the new film regards Dunn (Trey Holland), who is a debt collector. His life of routine is interrupted when a “Portal to Hell” appears in his local laundromat, guarded by the manager named Ed (Romina D’Ugo). Chip the Demon (Richard Kind) emerges to explain that his devilish tasks include dragging to hell Dunn’s neighbor, Mr. Bobshank (Keith David). A deal is offered - three souls to save Bobshank. At first Dunn says no. but when one of his debtors follows him to the laundromat and well… once you do one,...

Chicago – The 31st Slamdance Film Fest .. the first to take place in Los Angeles … had its share of significant World Premieres. On February 22nd, it was “Portal to Hell,” written and directed by Wally Bess, and featuring an ensemble cast which includes Trey Holland, Romina D’Ugo, Michael McDonald, Monet Weir and Richard Kind as Chip the Devil.

Patrick McDonald encountered them all on the Red Carpet, before their World Premiere at Quixote Studios, the hub of the in-person 2025 Slamdance Film Festival.

’Portal to Hell’ at 31st Slamdance Film Festival

Photo credit: Slamdance.com

Dunn (Trey Holland) is a debt collector. His life of routine is interrupted when a portal to hell appears in his local laundromat. A demon named Chip follows and explains in no uncertain terms that he’s there to drag Dunn’s neighbor, Mr. Bobshank (Keith David), to hell. A deal is offered - three souls to save Bobshank.

Jay Baruchel has boarded Chandler Levack’s romantic comedy Mile End Kicks, which also stars Barbie Ferreira, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Set in 2011 in Montreal’s indie music scene, the film follows Grace Pine (Ferreira), a 24-year-old music critic who moves to the Canadian city to write a book on Alanis Morissette’s classic Jagged Little Pill album. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she gets romantically involved with members of an indie band for whom she serves as their publicist.

Mile End Kicks, the Canadian indie from producers Zapruder Films and Banner House Productions, gets Baruchel back together with the production team behind Blackberry. Baruchel co-starred in Matt Johnson’s tale of the once-revolutionary cel phone invention out of Waterloo, Ontario, and the band of uber-nerd techies at Research in Motion who made it happen.

The indie also stars Devon Bostick, Stanley Simons and Juliette Gariépy,...

Jay Baruchel has reunited with the production team behind indie hit “Blackberry” on the upcoming rom-com “Mile End Kicks.”

The film, written and directed by Chandler Levack (“I Like Movies”), has just wrapped production in Montreal, and also stars Barbie Ferreira (“Euphoria”), Devon Bostick (“Oppenheimer”) Stanley Simons (“The Iron Claw”) and Juliette Gariépy (“Red Rooms”). Beloved Montreal rock band Tops has written two original songs for the soundtrack, performed live by a fictional rock group in the film.

The film is a Banner House Productions/Zapruder Films production and is produced by Pat Kiely (“Three Night Stand”) and Matthew Miller (“BlackBerry”). XYZ Films is financing the project in conjunction with Ipr.Vc via its New Visions initiative.

In the film, Grace Pine (Ferreira), a 24-year-old music critic moves to Montreal in the summer of 2011 with the goal of writing a book about Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill.” Instead, she falls...

"I thought I got hired here to talk about real cinema." Ha! Oh, you wish buddy. Freestyle Digital Media is finally releasing this acclaimed Canadian indie film in America. I Like Movies is the feature directorial debut of Canadian filmmaker Chandler Levack and it premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival a few years ago. It's an exceptionally smart, nuanced, entirely original take on a young movie nerd geeking out over his job at a video store. Although he comes to learn that his obsession with movies prevents him from connecting with others. Set in the early 2000s (back when video stores still existed), Lawrence Kweller, a socially inept 17-year old cinephile, gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager. I Like Movies stars Isaiah Lehtinen as Lawrence, along with Romina D'Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White, Alex Ateah, and Andy McQueen.

A standout at film festivals, Canadian comedy I Like Movies is finally setting a release date in the U.S. Collider has teamed up with Freestyle Digital Media to exclusively reveal that the movie has set a VOD and DVD release date on the heels of its recent multi-city theatrical release alongside an exclusive new trailer. The award-winning indie movie will become available on November 1.

Exclusive: Shant Joshi’s Fae Pictures will hit Toronto with three pics on its slate.

The company, which frames its focus as ‘decolonizing Hollywood’ and has previously released arthouse flicks Framing Agnes and In Flames — has picked up anti-capitalist horror spec Good Fast Cheap and action-comedy pic Toughen Up and become the lead producer on Maya Bastian’s Tamil-language pic The Devil’s Tears.

Good Cheap Fast comes from newcomer Evan Tognotti and will star I Like Movies actor Isaiah Lehtinen in the lead role. The film is set over the course of a graveyard shift at a strange and haunted gas station. Lehtinen’s credits include a role in the Russo Brothers’ Deadly Class and mini-series When the Streelights Go Out, while his role in Canadian pic I Like Movies won the title of TIFF Rising Star in 2022.

Toughen Up is from writer Brandon Hackett and has been developed at the Whistler Screenwriters Lab.

If the only April release was my top pick of the month it would be one of the finest lineups of the years, but thankfully there’s more to recommend. Featuring films about cinephilic obsession, subversive superhero tales, and what is sure to be at least one divisive big-screen near-future adventure, check out the list of must-sees below.

12 & 11. Kim’s Video (David Redmon and Ashley Sabin; April 5) and I Like Movies (Chandler Levack; April 8)

Anyone interested in physical media will appreciate a pair of films this month. Kim’s Video explores the strange story of the East Village establishment that housed around 55,000 DVDs while I Like Movies is a Canadian coming-of-age tale about a video store clerk who has bigger dreams in life, and is chockfull of cinephile-related humor that rang quite a familiar bell for this writer. John Fink said in his review of the former, “A sweeping documentary...

Exclusive: Canadian streamer Crave has cast Lauren Collins and Megan Follows to lead a six-part short-form comedy, My Dead Mom.

The series follow Emmy, a woman questioning her life choices three years after her mother’s passing. It explores the complicated nature of grief through the filter of mothers and daughters.

Production has begun in production in Toronto, with Follows and Collins starring. Rounding out the cast are Rainbow Sun Francks (High Fidelity), David Reale (The Boys), Daniel Maslany (Murdoch Mysteries), Daniel Kash (Slasher) and guest star Matt Murray (In the Dark).

Synopsis reads: “Emmy wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail after her mother died, she was just really busy. But three years on now, her grief is catching up with her. As she questions her lipstick and life choices, her dead mother, Fern, pops into her life...

Nouvelles Vagues, a new international festival dedicated to films about youth, is set to make a splashy debut Wednesday in Biarritz, a surf haven in southwestern France, with Penélope Cruz as its inaugural guest of honor.

Launching with partners such as Chanel and leading French pay TV banner Canal+, Nouvelles Vagues was founded by fashion veteran Jérôme Pulis, who worked at Christian Dior for 16 years and producer Sandrine Brauer. The pair have enlisted former Locarno artistic director Lili Hinstin as programming chief.

The festival is kicking off Wednesday evening with the screening of Tina Satter’s “Reality,” the Berlinale breakout film starring Sydney Sweeney, followed by a gala dinner hosted by Chanel. “Reality” was acquired by HBO Films for North America on the heels of its critically acclaimed world premiere at Berlin. Metropolitan FilmExport, the French distributor of “Reality,” is holding the local premiere of “Reality” at Nouvelles Vagues ahead...

Cinephile Game Night has returned this year for Cinephile Summer, a brand new season featuring your favorite podcasters and filmmakers going head-to-head to see who is the ultimate cinephile. Hosted by The Film Stage’s Jordan Raup, Conor O’Donnell, and Dan Mecca along with Cinephile: A Card Game creator Cory Everett, the series will debut new episodes bi-weekly on The Film Stage Show podcast feed and The Film Stage YouTube channel.

For the first episode of Cinephile Summer, launching today, we were thrilled to face off against our friends at The Letterboxd Show, featuring Mitchell Beaupre, Matt “Slim” Kolowski, Mia Vicino, and special guest Chandler Levack, whose debut feature I Like Movies is now available digitally in Canada. Watch/listen below and stay tuned for episodes featuring One Heat Minute, We Hate Movies, and more!

Each episode features teams facing off for rounds of Filmography, Movie-Actor and Six Degrees...

The new dramedy by the up-and-coming writer-director Chandler Levack, titled I Like Movies, keenly captures the life of high schooler Lawrence Kweller, who is obsessed with movies like no other kid around. Set in 2002, the story chronicles Lawrence’s final days of high school. He hopes to get into New York University’s film program to become a filmmaker. In order to save for the tuition fees, he gets a job at a video store and starts to develop feelings for his store manager, who once worked in movies as an actress. Lawrence’s temperamental problems start coming to the forefront as his friendship with his best friend Matt begins to dissolve when Matt involves another girl in the making of the high school’s year-end video.

Spoilers Ahead

Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘I Like Movies’?

Lawrence Kweller is the only son of single mom Terri. Lawrence’s best friend is Matt Macarchuck,...

’The Martini Shot’, starring Matthew Modine, John Cleese and Derek Jacobi, will also world premiere.

The Galway Film Fleadh has lined up a number of world premieres of Irish films for this year’s festival, which runs from July 11-16, including Lisa Mulcahy’s Lies We Tell, George Kane’s Apocalypse Clown and The Martini Shot, starring Matthew Modine, John Cleese and Derek Jacobi.

Lies We Tell is the story of an heiress who is forced to embrace her family’s dark legacy, starring Agnes O’Casey, David Wilmot, Holly Sturton and Chris Walley. Produced by Blue Ink Films and backed by Screen Ireland,...

Viewership Record

Indian streaming service JioCinema claimed a record for the number of concurrent viewers this week. It reported that 32 million viewers were simultaneously using its service to watch the Ipl cricket final match between The Chennai Super Kings and the Gujarat Titans. The platform’s previous peak was 25 million. Chennai eventually won the rain-affected and one-day delayed match

Dark Matter

Warner Bros Discovery (Wbd) has removed its bouquet of 14 channels from Indonesia’s TV largest platform, Mnc, ending decades-long affiliate arrangements, Content Asia reported. The decision, confirmed by Wbd, involves channels from HBO and Cartoon Network to Discovery and TLC, all of which came off air on May 12. The move is understood to be the culmination of a payments disagreement. In November last year, beIN removds its sports service from Mnc. Wbd content remains available on three smaller platforms in Indonesia, IndiHome First Media and Trans.

Location Attraction

Ausfilm,...

Montreal-based company represents worldwide rights excluding Canada on both titles.

Montreal-based Sphere Films has added two completed features to its Cannes line-up and will launch sales on the Croisette later this month on Queen Tut and Red Rooms.

Reem Morsi (The Last Mark) directed Queen Tut, which stars Alexandra Billings from Transparent in the story of an Egyptian teenager who leaves Cairo when his mother dies and lands in the underground queer nightlife scene in Toronto where he confronts his mother’s death by becoming a drag artist – much to his father’s disapproval.

The Canadian drama is in English...

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” (Spain), Lilo and Camilo Vilaplana’s “Plantadas” (U.S.), Hansel Porras Garcia’s “Febrero”, Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” (Canada) and Pavel Giroud’s “The Padilla Affair” were among the winners at the 40th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival, which ran March 3-12.

“The Beasts,” won the festival’s top awards, including the top jury prize, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas trophy and the Rene Rodriguez Critics nod. In addition to the two awards, “The Beasts” composer, Oliver Arson was recognized for his soundtrack and awarded the Alacran Music in Film Award, he was selected by Art of Light (Composer) Award honoree Nicholas Britell.

“Febrero” and “Plantadas” both were awarded $45,000 for the ​​Knight Made in Mia Film Award after the two made their world premieres.

In addition “Plantadas” received the Audience Feature Film Award, while Aitch Alberto’s “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe...

We talk perhaps a bit too much about films that are 'love letters to cinema', a term adorned too widely. Instead, maybe what we need a more odes to the cinephile. I count myself among that group, but then perhaps there is a specific kind of cinephile that needs an ode: one whose obsession reaches almost manic heights, one that sees everyone that doesn't agree with him and every film that doesn't meet his exhaustive standards, as beneath him. But there is also a lot to love in that cinephile, if you know how to bring out their heart. So let's call Chandler Levack's feature debut, I Like Movies, an ode to the cinephile. And what a tremendous debut it is. Inciteful, smart, funny, heartfelt,...

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

The official trailer for the upcoming Canadian comedy film “I Like Movies” has arrived.

The film, which premiered at TIFF in September 2022 and recently screened as part of their Top Ten Film series, is the feature debut from Toronto-based director Chandler Levack.

Read More: New CBC Show ‘Push’ Is Canada’s First Major-Network Primetime Series Featuring Leading Cast With Disabilities

The official film synopsis reads: “Socially inept 17-year-old cinephile, Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen) gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager.”

We're excited to present the new poster for...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Sbiff) announced its winning films at a ceremony this morning in Santa Barbara.

“This 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival drew filmmakers from as far as Turkey, India, Israel, and Sierra Leone, half of whom were women,” said Sbiff’s Programming Director, Claudia Puig. “We were delighted with the enthusiastic reception to our diverse program of 200 films from 43 countries. Cinema is one of the most powerful vehicles for empathy, providing a window of understanding to all who seek to look through it. We thank the filmmakers in attendance and our avid Santa Barbara audience for so heartily embracing the festival experience. Several films prompted standing ovations and packed theaters, marking 2023 a full-throttled return to celebrating cinema from around the globe.”

The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival took place February 8 – February 18. Official events included screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes,...

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced its prizewinners Saturday morning, with “26.2 to Life,” directed by Christine Yoo, winning the audience choice award. The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema went to “I Like Movies,” directed by Chandler Levack, while the international feature film award went to “A Man (Aru Otoko),” directed by Kei Ishikawa. “A Bunch of Amateurs,” directed by Kim Hopkins, won the documentary award.

See more winners here:

Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema: Manuela Directed by Clara Cullen

Best Middle Eastern/Israeli Film Award: The Taste Of Apples Is Red Directed by Ehab Tarabieh

Best Nordic Film Award: Summerlight And Then Comes The Night (SUMARLJÓS Og Svo Kemur NÓTTIN) Directed by Elfar Aðalsteins

Social Justice Award for Documentary Film: Black Mambas Directed by Lena Karbe

Adl Stand Up Award, sponsored by Adl Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties, the Skinner Social Impact Fund, and Steve & Cindy Lyons...

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle has named Everything Everywhere All at Once as its best international feature of 2022.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were also named best directors for their award season contending comedy, which also earned Michelle Yeoh the crown as best actress. Earlier, A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once led the field for the 95th Academy Awards with 11 nominations, including best picture.

The international film categories at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, handed out Monday night, also saw Martin McDonagh pick up the best screenplay trophy for The Banshees of Inisherin, which also had Colin Farrell winning for best actor and co-star Brendan Gleeson named best supporting actor. The Searchlight film picked up nine Oscar nominations.

Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley won for best supporting actress for her performance in Women Talking, Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed was named best documentary of 2022 and Netflix’s...

Sales include re-release deal for ’Welcome To The Dollhouse’ in UK.

Visit Films, which is jetting in to Berlin to launch EFM sales on Berlinale section Dreams’ Gate among other titles, has announced a wave of deals on recent festival hits including a US deal and multiple territories on last year’s Berlin Silver Bear winner Robe Of Gems.

Natalia Lopez’s tale of redemption, family and violence in Mexico will open in the US this summer through Monument Releasing and has also gone to Madman Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, as well as Mubi for Italy, Baltics, Africa,...

Under veteran Executive Director Roger Durling, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has thrived by surfing the awards season wave and programming a ton of onstage interviews with Oscar contenders.

This year’s edition marks a return to a fully live, in-person film festival. The festival will showcase 52 world premieres and 78 U.S. premieres from 43 countries, along with free community education and outreach programs.

Every year, screenwriters, directors, and producers promote their films on panels, and the likes of Kristen Stewart, Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Bong Joon Ho, Adam Driver, Renée Zellweger, Laura Dern, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o, Saoirse Ronan, Bruce Dern, Jeff Bridges, Melissa McCarthy, Isabelle Huppert, Viggo Mortensen, Rami Malek, Glenn Close, Ben Affleck, Christopher Nolan, Sam Elliott, and many more submit to in-depth tributes.

The panels, tributes, and special screenings lure local cinephiles and Academy members eager to hear Oscar contenders talk about their creative process. All...

Iran-France-Norway co-production follows all-female Kurdish militia Ypj.

Visit Films has boarded worldwide sales rights to Iranian filmmaker Negin Ahmadi’s documentary Dreams’ Gate ahead of its world premiere in Berlin Generation 14plus.

Ahmadi travels to the war zone of northern Syria to follow the lives of the women in the Ypj, an all-female Kurdish militia for whom fighting Isis is a way to escape the restraints of a patriarchal society.

Dreams’ Gate (Darvazeye Royaha) weaves together candid moments between the female soldiers with the brutality of combat and offers a visual diary that examines the role of women in battle...

Iran-France-Norway co-production follows all-female Kurdish militia Ypj.

Visit Films has boarded worldwide sales rights to Iranian filmmaker Negin Ahmadi’s documentary Dreams’ Gate ahead of its world premiere in Berlin Generation 14plus.

Ahmadi travels to the war zone of northern Syria to follow the lives of the women in the Ypj, an all-female Kurdish militia for whom fighting Isis is a way to escape the restraints of a patriarchal society.

Dreams’ Gate (Darvazeye Royaha) weaves together candid moments between the female soldiers with the brutality of combat and offers a visual diary that examines the role of women in battle...

The Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival celebrates movies and the people who make them.

One essential element of Sbiff is its focus on film education. With a carefully curated program, executive director Roger Durling says, “We’re educating your average filmgoer that comes to the festival.” Every event — from panels to tributes — is designed to teach, he says. This includes awards celebrating renowned stars including Angela Bassett, Brendan Fraser and Cate Blanchett.

“The format is a 90-minute conversation,” he says. “It’s not an awards evening where the person shows up and gets the award. Cate Blanchett will be on stage talking about her craft and career.”

Beyond staples such as films and panels, the program includes a variety of educational opportunities for cinephiles of all ages. For Durling, one of the most exciting parts of Sbiff is the Film Studies Program in which 30 undergraduate students from around the country...

Six world premieres, 16 European and international premieres and 70 UK premieres feature in the line-up

Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) has unveiled the full line-up for its 19th edition, taking place March 1-12, with the UK premiere of Nida Manzoor’s Sundance title Polite Society the closing night film.

The festival will screen 123 features, including six world premieres, 16 European and international premieres and 70 UK premieres.

Polite Society is the feature debut of Screen Star of Tomorrow 2021 Nida Manzoor, who created Channel 4 and Peacock series We Are Lady Parts.

Her first feature is an action comedy about an aspiring stuntwoman who tries...

While we’re in the middle of the fall festival season, with Telluride, Venice, and TIFF in the rearview, and NYFF, BFI London, and AFI Fest on the horizon, it’s time to round up some of our early favorites. We’ve polled our contributors from Venice and TIFF to share their top picks, which one can see below along with our ongoing coverage here.

David Katz (@davidfabiankatz)

1. Saint Omer (Alice Diop)

2. Trenque Lauquen (Laura Citarella)

3. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)

4. Master Gardener (Paul Schrader)

5. The Whale (Darren Aronofsky)

6. Love Life (Kôji Fukada)

7. Blonde (Andrew Dominik)

8. A Couple (Frederick Wiseman)

9. In Viaggio (Gianfranco Rosi)

10. The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg)

Luke Hicks (@lou_kicks)

1. Bones and All (Luca Guadagnino)

2. Other People’s Children (Rebecca Zlotowski)

3. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)

4. The Eternal Daughter (Joanna Hogg)

5. Athena (Romain Gavras)

6. White Noise (Noah Baumbach)

7. The Banshees of Inisherin...

I don't just like movies, I love them! If you also love movies as much as I do, then you're probably familiar with the "film bro" - a nerdy dude who is so entirely infatuated with cinema that's all he can talk about or think about. (Here's two good articles about them: on No Film School or Little White Lies.) Film bros can be found anywhere and everywhere, usually lurking in various dark corners of the internet, waiting to slide into some woman's DMs the moment she mentions David Fincher or Punch Drunk Love. Remarkably, there's a new film at the Toronto Film Festival this year called I Like Movies, and it's an awkward coming-of-age drama about a "film bro" from Canada. It's not denigrating film bros, or turning them into someone to laugh at in a movie, it's actually a remarkably empathetic and warm-hearted film about the challenges of...

For Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen), the 17-year-old cinephile protagonist of “I Like Movies,” the film’s title isn’t just a statement of fact. It’s also a suit of armor, an all-purpose excuse, and an earnest attempt at connection. Connection isn’t easy for Lawrence, a state of affairs that’s only partially his own fault. He’s sullen, callous, condescending, stubbornly delusional, and even a bit sexist. But he’s also intelligent, ambitious, hyper-articulate, and as vulnerable as a baby bird that’s fallen from its nest.

Lawrence exists on a continuum that also includes “Rushmore’s” Max Fischer and “Lady Bird’s” Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, but he’s a more realistic character than either of them. All teenagers think that they’re special and it’s extremely unfair that the world has yet to recognize their gifts. But “I Like Movies” is too grounded of a film to entertain these fantasies.

Chandler Levack's feature film debut "I Like Movies" is bursting with personality — just like its protagonist, Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen). Lawrence is a would-be auteur; a burgeoning cinephile, obsessed with film culture and confident that he has a bright future in the industry. Like many film-lovers of this caliber, he suffers from a strong case of self-importance. Mix that with his age, troubled home life, and personal trauma, and we have a recipe for a pretty intolerable young man.

At least, that's what you would expect. "I Like Movies" strikes the right balance for Lawrence between vulnerable and loathsome, presenting a character we can root for, even as we disprove of his actions. Written and directed by Chandler Levack — who also developed a love of the movies growing up in Burlington, Ontario — "I Like Movies" feels personal, presenting a story that is at times hilarious, occasionally very dark, and always entertaining.

A reverie of 2002 and 2003 in Toronto’s sleepy Burlington suburb, I Like Movies initially takes on the appearance of nostalgia with its sight of lined video store walls viewed in the age of streaming. But tougher subject matter is somewhat at hand, as we hone in on high school senior and outcast Lawrence (Isaiah Lehtinen), the kind of kid who makes sure to note it as “Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love” when buying a ticket from a hapless cashier. A one-track mind making him oblivious to the pain of his single mother (Krista Bridges) and most of those around him, he’s basically the realistic version of the teen cinephile / aspiring filmmaker romanticized to countless young people by the character of Dawson Leery.

Recovering from his father’s suicide four years earlier and besieged by emotional problems, his life begins to revolve entirely around his desperation to get into...

New titles join previously announced I Like Movies.

Visit Films has expanded its TIFF sales slate and will handle world rights on LGBTQ+ teen coming-of-age drama Soft (previously announced by the festival as Pussy) and world rights excluding Australia and New Zealand to Indigenous anthology feature We Are Still Here.

Toronto filmmaker Joseph Amenta’s Soft follows three adolescent queer friends who live in the underbelly of Toronto. With summer break upon them, they revel in their newfound freedom, roaming the city and becoming enraptured in the nightlife scene.

When a friend of the group goes missing, the bond between...

Eddie Redmayne, Viola Davis, Lee Jung-jae to participate in on-stage conversations.

TIFF has announced the In Conversation With… series and the talent development programmes and participants.

On-stage conversation participants include Eddie Redmayne, Viola Davis and Lee Jung-jae, while Sarah Gadon is announced as the TIFF Micki Moore Residency.

The festival has also unveiled the 10 Industry Selects roster of acquisition titles. TIFF runs from September 8-1.

In Conversation With…

The In Conversation With… series features Damien Chazelle, the director of La La Land and Whiplash whose December release Babylon is expected to be an awards contender; Viola Davis and Gina Prince-Bythewood,...

Exclusive: The New York-based Visit Films has acquired world rights excluding Canada to the video store dramedy I Like Movies, which will debut as part of the Discovery program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film was co-written and directed by first-time filmmaker Chandler Levack who negotiated the deal with Ryan Kampe of Visit Films alongside producer Lindsay Blair Goeldner and co-producer Evan Dubinsky.

Set in Burlington, Ontario, in 2003, the film follows hyper-ambitious teenage cinephile Lawrence Kweller, who dreams of attending film school at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. In order to raise the hefty tuition fee, he gets his dream job at the local video store, Sequels. Wracked with anxiety about his future, Lawrence begins alienating the most important people in his life, including his best friend, Matt Macarchuck, and his single mother, Terri, all while developing a complicated friendship with his older female manager, Alana.