The Toronto International Film Festival Announces Lineup of International Short Films

The Toronto International Film Festival® today unveiled the 36 short films that make up the International portion of this year's Short Cuts programme.

The Short Cuts programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of IWC Schaffhausen.

The lineup of provocative, exciting shorts includes 14 World Premieres and works from 32 countries, in 19 different languages, with a strong array of new voices. Of the 36 films in the selection, 18 were directed or co-directed by women.

"Short Cuts is the place to see films that will not only entertain, but also challenge and inspire, from filmmakers who push the boundaries of their craft," said Lisa Haller and Jason Anderson, TIFF Short Cuts Programmers. "We are proud to continue showcasing work by filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, and this year's programme has an especially high number of new works from South and East Asia. The 2018 programme also features our strongest-ever representation of female filmmakers, with 18 of the International titles directed and co-directed by women - bringing the total Short Cuts selection of women directors to 54 percent."

Highlights among the selection of live-action narrative films include Reed Van Dyk's Interior, a bold follow-up to his recent Academy Award-nominated DeKalb Elementary; A.V. Rockwell's vivid and vital drama Feathers; He?ctor Silva Nu?n?ez's exceptional exploration of identity in The Foreign Body; and Charles Williams' All These Creatures, an emotionally wrenching drama that won the Short Film Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The 2018 programme also includes such fascinating short documentaries as Theresa Traore Dahlberg's The Ambassador's Wife, an elegant study of a woman who represents the complexities of class, women's roles, and post-colonialism, and Jayisha Patel's Circle, A HAUNTING documentary that tells the horrifying story of a young woman caught in a cycle of abuse.

Amazing animations are also prominent at this year's Festival. Standouts include: Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels' This Magnificent Cake!, a wildly ambitious and original stop-motion marvel that uses stories set in the Belgian Congo in the 19th century to reveal the absurdity and horror of European colonialism in Africa; Anca Damian's free-flowing yet astoundingly intricate The Call; and Donato Sansone's Bavure, a bravura display of eye-popping, mind-bending, and body-morphing ingenuity.

The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.

International titles screening as part of the Short Cuts programme include:

A New Year (Akhali Tseli) George Sikharulidze | Georgia World Premiere

A Wedding Day (Un jour de mariage) Elias Belkeddar | Algeria/France North American Premiere

All Inclusive Corina Schwingruber Ilic? | Switzerland North American Premiere

All These Creatures Charles Williams | Australia North American Premiere

The Ambassador's Wife Theresa Traore Dahlberg | Burkina Faso/Sweden Canadian Premiere

Ballad of Blood and Two White Buckets Yosep Anggi Noen | Indonesia World Premiere

Bavure Donato Sansone | France World Premiere

Birdie Shelly Lauman | Australia International Premiere

The Call (Telefonul) Anca Damian | Romania North American Premiere

Circle Jayisha Patel | United Kingdom/Canada/India North American Premiere

Dodgy Dave Charlotte Regan | United Kingdom World Premiere

Dulce Guille Isa, Angello Faccini | Colombia/USA International Premiere

Everything calms down (Todo se calma) Virginia Scaro | Argentina World Premiere

Facing North (Bukiikakkono) Tukei Muhumuza | USA/Uganda World Premiere

The Fall (La Chute) Boris Labbe? | France North American Premiere

Feathers A.V. Rockwell | USA World Premiere

The Field Sandhya Suri | France/United Kingdom/India Canadian Premiere

The Foreign Body (El Destetado) He?ctor Silva Nu?n?ez | Venezuela/France World Premiere

f You Anette Sidor | Sweden North American Premiere

Guaxuma Nara Normande | France/Brazil North American Premiere

Hector Malot: The Last Day of the Year (Ektoras Malo: I Teleftea Mera Tis Chronias) Jacqueline Lentzou | Greece
North American Premiere

The Imminent Immanent (Baga't Diri Tuhay Ta't Pamahungpahung) Carlo Francisco Manatad | Philippines/Singapore/Italy
World Premiere

Interior (Interiør) Reed Van Dyk | Norway/USA World Premiere

Judgement Raymund Ribay Gutierrez | Philippines North American Premiere

L'e?te? et tout le reste Sven Bresser | Netherlands North American Premiere

Lou Clara Balzary | USA World Premiere

Old Thing (Ha'Alte-Zachen) Roni Bahat | Israel International Premiere

The Orphan (O O?rfa?o) Carolina Markowicz | Brazil North American Premiere

Reneepoptosis Renee Zhan | Japan/USA North American Premiere

Shadow Cut Lucy Suess | New Zealand North American Premiere

Shinaab: Part II Lyle Corbine Jr. | USA World Premiere

This Magnificent Cake! (Ce Magnifique Ga?teau!) Emma de Swaef, Marc James Roels | Belgium/France/Netherlands
Canadian Premiere

To Plant a Flag Bobbie Peers | Norway/Iceland World Premiere

Umbra (Tariki) Saeed Jafarian | Iran North American Premiere

Viktori?a Bru?si O?lason | Iceland International Premiere

Winners Bitch Sam Gurry | USA World Premiere

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