These in-house attorneys helped guide their companies through two strikes in 2023 and a bumpy economy but that doesn’t mean dealmaking and production were not still rolling ahead at top speed — and these legal minds forged the best path forward. “It’s tough right now but if people have the ability to be patient, I […]

Unscripted real estate television series traditionally welcome viewers into seemingly unblemished homes. There’s no peeling paint, mismatched furniture or structural issues. Instead, residences get a glow up — as does the buying and selling process. Much like “The Bachelor” franchise’s heavily produced search for love staged for maximum drama, reality real estate shows feature gloss […]

Suspense and horror films typically get second-class treatment at fall film festivals, often relegated to midnight slots and left out of award season conversations. But this year, three Toronto fest entries — Focus Features’ papal conspiracy thriller “Conclave,” Mubi’s gory horror film “The Substance” and A24’s horror-thriller “Heretic” — may prove to be exceptions to […]

In recent years, Gillian Anderson has taken on a number of roles portraying real-life high-profile women: first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, German princess consort Johanna Elisabeth and BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, to name a few. Her latest project, “The Salt Path,” based on Raynor Winn’s autobiographical book of the same […]

David Mackenzie delivers a tight thriller with “Relay,” premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Riz Ahmed as Tom, who operates as sort of a middleman between corporate whistleblowers and the companies. The extremely clandestine Tom operates in a morally ambiguous area until Lily James’ Sarah engages his services. What follows becomes […]

Tony Hale is speaking by phone about his new movie, “Sketch,” a sales title at TIFF; on a Thursday in August, he’s days away from moving his 18-year-old daughter Loy into college for her freshman year. “It’s good,” he says, of the transition. “It’s good, right?” The actor, known for roles in “Veep” and “Arrested […]

Documentaries have flooded streaming services and arthouse theaters for years, with good reason: They’re usually the most inexpensive indie films to produce and can spark cultural conversations that attract big audiences. But with so many to choose from, how can filmmakers set theirs apart from the pack? In Toronto, directors are taking some unconventional approaches: […]

French-speaking Belgium hit a high-water mark at the Cannes Film Festival in May, with 11 Belgian co-productions claiming accolades and acclaim across the Croisette. Alongside Critics’ Week opener “Ghost Trail” and the Cannes jury and best actress prize-winner “Emilia Pérez,” eight of those co-productions received support from Belgium’s Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles, while just as many shared […]

Most audiences would recognize Max Minghella from his stellar turn in Hulu’s “Handmaid’s Tale” or “The Mindy Project” or any number of acting gigs in film and TV. But he’s also a writer/producer/director, and with “Shell,” he not only makes his sophomore directorial feature effort, he also reunites with “Tale” topliner Elisabeth Moss. Moss stars […]

Indigenous cinema will make a global impact in Toronto this year, as the festival unspools a tight selection of nine Canadian and international features, docs and series for discerning auds and a bevy of buyers seeking unique acquisition titles with universal appeal. “These are the kinds of films we’ve been longing to see,” Toronto’s international […]

During the depths of the pandemic, musician Anderson .Paak helped his son, Soul Rasheed, start a YouTube channel. Now, the pair are starring alongside each other in .Paak’s directorial debut, “K-Pops!,” which is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows BJ (.Paak), a washed-up musician trying to pave his path […]

Visit Films has snapped up world sales rights (excluding Canada) to R.T. Thorne’s feature bow, “40 Acres,” a dystopian survival thriller, which is screening in Toronto’s Special Presentations. “R.T. is an exciting director who has proved himself in other formats,” said Visit president Ryan Kampe. “Audiences will be taken with his commercial approach to social-issue […]

Sustainable sets are more than a trend, and British Columbia has been a trailblazer. Beverley Dondale, CEO of Alpha Select Production Services, is spearheading a $242 million studio project in collaboration with the Malahat Nation. The initiative aims to create a carbon-neutral, zero-waste production facility on Vancouver Island. With a phased construction approach, the studio […]

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. Justin Buxton’s “Sharp Corner” stars Ben Foster […]

Sasha Calle, Mamoudou Athie and Jeffrey Donovan join Dane DeHaan in crime thriller “Wardriver,” directed by Rebecca Thomas and written by Daniel. The film is produced by Tim and Trevor White’s Star Thrower Entertainment alongside David M. Wulf, Daniel Casey, DeHaan and Highland Film Group, which is repping international at TIFF. CAA Media Finance has […]

FilmNation Entertainment has acquired world sales rights (excluding Canada) to Chinese Canadian auteur Johnny Ma’s third feature, “The Mother and the Bear.” Set in wintry Winnipeg, the Canada-Chile co-production follows a Korean widow (Kim Ho-jung), who flies in from Seoul after her adult daughter is comatose after a fall. As the anxious mother tries to […]

The title of Eddie Huang’s new documentary says it all: “Vice Is Broke.” The media company that defined counterculture sensibilities (while accepting investment from mega-corporations, too) filed for bankruptcy in 2023. And Huang — the multitalented author, on-camera personality, and documentarian — began his new film with a grievance. First, Huang says in an interview, […]

A wide range of Egyptian films dominate the Arabic-language selection in Venice this year, including two feature debuts — from Khaled Mansour and Muhammed Hamdy — that represent new directions in Egyptian cinema. Mansour is behind the endearing, audience-friendly “Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo.” It follows a taciturn security guard whose best friend is the […]

Drama “Happy Holidays” marks the long in the works solo directing debut of Palestinian director Scandar Copti, an Oscar nominee as co-director of “Ajami” (2009). Launching with prime slots in Venice Horizons and TIFF Centrepiece, the film follows an extended family of Palestinian citizens of Israel living in Haifa, allowing viewers to experience firsthand how […]