TORONTO 鈥� Documentaries about Canadian children's entertainer Mr. Dressup, anti-Black racism in the United States and the women who accused Louis C.K. of sexual harassment are heading to the Toronto International Film Festival.
In announcing its second key lineup this week, TIFF says the doc program will open with Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine鈥檚 look at soccer sports history 鈥淐opa 71,鈥� adding more buzz to a festival that will inevitably be affected by ongoing labour action in Hollywood.
Executive produced by Venus and Serena Williams,鈥淐opa 71,鈥� is aboutthe 1971 international women鈥檚 soccer tournament that attracted record-setting crowd turnouts in Mexico that year.聽
Canadian films include Robert McCallum鈥檚 鈥淢r. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe,鈥� about the life and career of the legendary Canadian children鈥檚 entertainer Ernie Coombs. Also premiering is James Burns and Stevie Salas' Canada-United States co-production 鈥淏oil Alert,鈥� aboutMohawkactivist Layla Staats鈥� examination of the Indigenous relationship to water and her identity.聽
Jen Markowitz鈥檚 LGBTQ film "Summer Qamp," meanwhile, follows a group of LGBTQ youth exploring gender identity while camping in the Canadian wilderness.聽
Errol Morris' documentary 鈥漈he Pigeon Tunnel鈥� examines the life and career of former British spy David Cornwell 鈥� better known as novelist John le Carr茅 who wrote his best-selling memoir under the same title.聽
Meanwhile, Caroline Suh and Cara Mones delve into the fallout of the Louis C.K. scandal in "Sorry/Not Sorry,鈥� which foregrounds women comedians who accused the disgraced comic of sexual harassment.
Also screening as a world premiere is RaoulPeck鈥檚 鈥淪ilver Dollar Road,鈥� about a Black family's decades long fight to save their North Carolina property.聽
Roger Ross Williams鈥� 鈥淪tamped from the Beginning," whichtraces the roots of racist concepts in the United States,is based on Ibram X. Kendi鈥檚 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name.
Previously announced Canadian docs include 鈥淗ate to Love Nickelback,鈥� by director Leigh Brooks, which juxtaposes the Canadian band's multi-decade success with its love/hate reputation, andB.C. director Chelsea McMullan鈥檚 鈥淪wan Song鈥� about Karen Kain's final production for the National Ballet of Canada.聽
TIFF says the documentary run includes 22 titles from 12 countries. The fest runs Sept. 7 to 17.聽
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2023.
The Canadian Press
