TIFF Announces Documentary Lineup, Featuring THE CAVE,​ ​AND WE GO GREEN​, ​DADS

The Toronto International Film Festival​®​ documentary programme reveals its lineup of 25 non-fiction works, including 18 World Premieres with representation from 18 countries. The films cover many high-profile figures, both famous and infamous - including Truman Capote, Merce Cunningham, Ron Howard, Bikram Choudhury, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and Imelda Marcos - and a broad range of themes, including artistic achievement, the power of journalism, immigration, global politics, and resistance against corrupt leaders. Three films use sports as a framework to look at environmentalism, capitalism, and racism.

"This year's programme captures characters you'll never forget: lovers, fighters, dancers, athletes, despots, rebels, hustlers, and heroes," said Thom Powers, serving his 14th year as TIFF Docs programmer this Festival. "We'll be talking about these films for a long time to come."

The section will open with the World Premiere of ​The Cave​ from Oscar-nominated director Feras Fayyad, about an underground hospital led by a female doctor in war-torn Syria. Other World Premieres from renowned directors include Alan Berliner's L​ etter to the Editor,​ a personal reflection on photojournalism; Barbara Kopple's Desert One,​ chronicling a perilous mission to rescue hostages in Iran; Thomas Balm​è​s' S​ ing Me A Song​, following a young monk in Bhutan who forms a long-distance relationship via his smartphone; ​And We Go Green,​ about racers in the Formula E competition for electric cars, directed by Fisher Stevens and Malcolm Venville and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio; and Eva Orner's B​ikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator​, about the controversial yoga teacher who had multiple lawsuits filed against him for sexual misconduct.

First-time documentarians present films on prominent figures: Bryce Dallas Howard's ​Dads​ explores fatherhood with leading comedians and her own father, Ron Howard; Alla Kovgan's C​unningham​, shot in 3D, captures the artistry of dancer Merce Cunningham; and Ebs Burnough, who previously served in the Obama administration, makes his debut with ​The Capote Tapes,​ a biography of American writer Truman Capote.

The everyday lives of refugees and migrants are brought to centre stage in Eva Mulvad's L​ ove Child​, following a couple at risk of execution for their love affair; ​Ready for War​, directed by Andrew Renzi and executive produced by Drake, Future, and David Ayer, which tells the story of immigrants who served in the US military only to be deported; Hind Meddeb's ​Paris Stalingrad ​which follows migrants from Africa and Afghanistan living on the streets in the city of lights; and ​My English Cousin,​ Karim Sayad's portrait of the director's real-life Algerian cousin who discovers the challenges of returning home.

Russian politics and the rise of capitalism are examined in Gabe Polsky's R​ed Penguins​, recounting a comic tale of AMERICAN HUSTLERS bringing NHL-style hockey to Moscow, and Alex Gibney's ​Citizen K,​ profiling the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who turned against Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Rounding out the section are stories from around the globe, including Garin Hovannisian's ​I Am Not Alone,​ about a peaceful resistance movement in Armenia; and Mark Cousins' ​Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema,​ a recently completed 14-hour exploration of female directors around the world. The first four hours of W​ omen Make Film​, which was executive produced by Tilda Swinton, were previewed at last year's Festival. Alexander Nanau's ​Collective​ follows crusading Romanian journalists who uncover a scandal; Daniel Gordon's ​The Australian Dream,​ ​​executive produced by Ben Simmons, tells the story of football legend Adam Goodes, who battled racism in the AFL; and Lina Al Abed's​ Ibrahim: A Fate to Define​ centres on the mysterious disappearance of a Palestinian secret agent. Also featured are Patricio Guzmán's ​The Cordillera of Dreams, completing the director's trilogy about the Chilean landscape, and Lauren Greenfield's T​he Kingmaker​, a profile of Imelda Marcos.

Last year's TIFF Docs lineup showcased F​ree Solo,​ which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The 2018 Festival also presented a strong market for distribution deals for titles such as The Biggest Little Farm,​ T​ he Elephant Queen​, and​ Maiden​.

The 44th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5-15, 2019.