From September 4 to 14, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. For cinephiles who double as music fans, there's an array of movies to dive into — from a coming-of-age flick about a Montreal music critic to a documentary chronicling Sarah McLachlan’s all-female music festival, Lilith Fair.
Here are five Canadian music-themed films to catch at TIFF.
Mile End Kicks
Mile End KicksCourtesy of TIFF
Chandler Levack is putting Montreal’s music scene front and centre in her newest film. Set in 2011, Mile End Kicks follows Grace (Barbie Ferriera), a music critic who is determined to write a 33 1/3 book on Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill. Yet, she uses music-industry intel to become a publicist for up-and-coming fictional band Bone Patrol, with whom she navigates situationships with two of the members. With shades of Almost Famous, Levack’s film offers a feminine point of view that feels refreshing and exciting — it’s semi-autobiographical to Levack, who worked as a music writer before becoming an acclaimed filmmaker.
With charming characters and witty dialogue, Mile End Kicks is equally elevated by its sonic landscape, which includes two original songs from Montreal indie rock band Tops, a key player in the early 2010s Mile End music scene. The film is a welcome return to the festival, as Levack’s debut film, I Like Movies, premiered three years ago.
Screenings:
Thursday, September 4 — Royal Alexandra Theatre, 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 9 — Scotiabank Theatre, 11:55 a.m.
Saturday, September 13 — Scotiabank Theatre, 9:00 a.m.
Tickets are available here.
Jazz Infernal
Making its world premiere at the festival, this 16-minute short film is a masterfully orchestrated ride from Montreal-based director Will Niava. Jazz Infernal follows Koffi, son of a legendary trumpet player, who must confront the weight of his father’s legacy and leave the ghosts of his country, the Ivory Coast, behind.
Screenings:
Thursday, September 4 — Scotiabank Theatre, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, September 9 — Scotiabank Theatre, 10:00 p.m.
Tickets are available here.
Tuner
TunerCourtesy of TIFF
Toronto-born director Daniel Roher dazzles with his narrative debut, Tuner, a thriller that maintains its perfect pitch. Having acutely sensitive hearing is a blessing and a curse for Niki (Leo Woodall). After an auditory condition ends a promising musical career, he becomes a piano tuner, spending his days tending to various instruments. When shady individuals discover that Niki’s talents are equally as useful on locked safes as they are on old Steinways, events take a dangerous turn — one that boasts the thrill of watching a heist flick, but with a film balancing drama and romance. Filmed in Toronto, Tuner marks a shift for Roher, who directed the 2019 festival-opening documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band.
Screenings:
Monday, September 8 — VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre, 2:45 p.m.
Tuesday, September 9 — Scotiabank Theatre, 11:55 a.m.
Tickets are available here.
Space Cadet
In 2011, Montreal DJ Kid Koala, born Eric Yick Keung San, released Space Cadet, a graphic novel about a space explorer and her robot guardian. At the time, it was accompanied by a "still picture score,” — a term coined by San — which illustrated key scenes in the book via piano and turntable compositions. Fourteen years later, San has expanded Space Cadet into a feature film, created by an all-Canadian animation team. The dialogue-free movie includes a live picture score by Kid Koala and original songs by Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O and Mariana "Ladybug" Vieira from Digable Planets.
Screenings:
Thursday, September 11 — TIFF Lightbox, 5:30 p.m.
Friday, September 12 — Scotiabank Theatre 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 13 — Scotiabank Theatre, 3:35 p.m.
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Lilith Fair: Building a MysteryCourtesy of TIFF
Programmed towards the end of the festival is Canadian director Ally Pankiw's Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery. Produced by Dan Levy, the film is a look back at the groundbreaking all-woman music festival, founded by chart-topping singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan in the late 1990s. Made with the "full support and authorization" of McLachlan, the film unfolds through archival concert footage and modern-day interviews with fans, festival organizers and artists, including Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Jewel and Olivia Rodrigo.
“Lilith Fair holds a very special place in my heart. It was one of the first spaces where I remember feeling at home. The music, the sense of community, and the power of a group of women proving an entire industry wrong was a tremendous thing to experience,” shares Levy in a press release. Panikiw echoed a similar sentiment: “I want to give a deeper understanding of the festival to the young female, non-binary and queer musicians and music fans who picked up a guitar or tickets to a concert for the first time because Lilith showed them how.”
Screenings:
Saturday, September 13 — Roy Thomson Hall, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 14 — Scotiabank Theatre, 11:55 a.m.
Tickets are available here.
