Bangladesh’s ‘Ali’ joins star-studded lineup at TIFF’s golden jubilee

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inaugurated its 50th edition yesterday, with an 11-day lineup of premieres and bold new voices from around the world. Running through September 14, the festival will screen hundreds of films across downtown venues, reaffirming its status as a leading autumn showcase.

Notably, Adnan Al Rajeev's Cannes-lauded short "Ali" joins TIFF's competitive Short Cuts lineup from Bangladesh this year. The 15-minute Bangladesh-Philippines co-production, about a teenage boy challenging his town's ban on women singing, earned a Special Mention at Cannes — a first for the country — and has also gained a major North American platform.

The Short Cuts programme features 48 films, including "Ali". Notable entries include Tawfeek Barhom's "I'm Glad You're Dead Now" (Golden Palm winner at Cannes' 78th Short Film Competition), Idris Elba's "Dust to Dreams", Irvine Bellarmino's "Agapito", and Joshua Sheftel's "All the Empty Room". The lineup will be judged by cinematographer Ashley Iris Gill, actor Conor Jessup, and Marcel Jean, director of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

For its golden jubilee, TIFF will showcase over 200 feature films, numerous shorts, and 10 television series. Highlights include Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein", Chloé Zhao's Shakespeare-inspired "Hamnet", and Canadian director Matt Johnson's time-travel thriller "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie".

TIFF's Gala Presentations include two Indian films and will celebrate 50 years of Ramesh Sippy's "Sholay" on September 6. Bobby Deol's new film "Bandar", directed by Anurag Kashyap, also premieres that day, marking 48 years since his debut as a child artiste in "Dharam Veer".

Highlights include Satyajit Ray's "Aranyer Din Ratri" (TIFF Classics), Neeraj Ghaywan's "Homebound", Jitank Singh Gurjar's "In Search of the Sky", Bikas Ranjan Mishra's "Bayan", and Hansal Mehta's TV series "Gandhi".

TIFF's competitive 'Platform' section, launched in 2015 and named after Jia Zhang-Ke's landmark film, will see an international jury select one winning film. The jury includes American actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Spanish director Carlos Marques-Marcet, and Canadian director Chloe Robinson, with the winning producer receiving 20,000 Canadian dollars (approximately Tk 18 lakh).

Additionally, the Special Tribute Award will honour Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun ("Squid Game"), and Canadian director Zacharias Kunuk.