Can’t make it to Toronto International Film Festival next week? Have no fear, Kino Film Collection is here to make you feel less left out. Though the streamer won’t be offering the latest selections from this year’s festival, to celebrate the annual showcase, it has created a program of 87 films that have previously screened there and will be available throughout the month. Below you can find some of the selections with language provided by Kino.
“3 Faces” (dir. Jafar Panahi, 2018)
Winner of the Best Screenplay Award and nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, “3 Faces” is Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s fourth feature since he was officially banned from filmmaking. Starring Behnaz Jafari as herself, Panahi’s film builds in narrative, thematic, and visual intricacy to put forth a grand expression of community and solidarity under the eye of oppression.
“Alps” (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, 2011)
Before “The Favourite”, Academy Award nominee Yorgos Lanthimos created this darkly comedic, absurdist vision of (in)human relationships, focusing on a mysterious underground organization that helps mourners get over their losses by impersonating the deceased.
“Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” (dir. Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky, 2018)
Premiering at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and nominated for Best Canadian Feature Film, this stunning and sobering documentary follows the research of the Anthropocene Working Group, an international group of scientists who argue that the Earth has entered a new geological phase: the Anthropocene Epoch, a period in which humans impact the planet more than all other natural processes combined. Traveling to 22 countries across multiple continents, the film captures the various industries that significantly contribute to ecological destruction, from metal mining in Russia to ivory poaching in Kenya, to marble quarrying in Italy. With sweeping drone shots of the vastly diverse locations and terrain, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky’s film reveals the heart-wrenchingly epic scale of manmade planetary ruination, but somehow also makes it visually breathtaking. Narrated by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” is both a poetic meditation and pressing message to the world: humans did this, which means humans can stop this.
“Barbara” (dir. Christian Petzold, 2012)
Winner of two awards at the Berlin Film Festival, Christian Petzold’s “Barbara” follows a young doctor, played by Nina Hoss (“Tar”), who has applied for an exit visa from East Germany. As punishment, she is transferred to a small pediatric hospital where she must weigh her dedication to her patients against an escape to the West and her attraction to a doctor in whom she sees a kindred spirit.
“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” (dir. Pham Thien An, 2023)
Winner of the prestigious Camera d’Or for best first film at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the enthralling “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” from Vietnamese filmmaker Pham Thien An is a reverie on faith, loss, and nature expressed with uncommon invention and depth that follows a thirtysomething man after he leaves Saigon for a trip back to his rural hometown following a family tragedy.
“Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (dir. Bi Gan, 2018)
Like Wong Kar-wai meets “Blade Runner,” Bi Gan’s neo-noir, dipped in dark shadows and saturated colors, follows a man’s quest through the underbelly of his hometown to find a mysterious woman. When Luo returns home to Guizhou for his father’s funeral, he finds a photograph of a woman who had disappeared, prompting him to embark on a journey that melds together his past, present, and dreams. What’s real and what isn’t blur together to create a hypnotizing effect, accentuated by the intoxicating tropical atmosphere. Inarguably, the film’s standout feature is its 59-minute single shot, filmed in 3D and featuring several locations (an abandoned mine, a mountain chairlift, a village square) and an array of chaotic activities (ping pong, scooter ride, karaoke). It’s a technical feat you’ll have to see to believe. That combined with the haunting, fever dream of a story, makes “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” one of the most unforgettable cinematic experiences of the 21st century.
“Martin Eden” (dir. Pietro Marcello, 2019)
Winner of the Platform Prize at TIFF 2019, Pietro Marcello’s historic drama follows a proletariat writer who falls in love with a member of the bourgeoisie and finds himself torn between his ambitions to climb the ladder and the social issues at the heart of his writing. A sailor with no educational background, Martin Eden is inspired to better himself when he meets the wealthy and beautiful Elena, pouring himself into writing and enduring countless rejected manuscripts before finally breaking through. But what do his aspirations cost him? The film, which features a standout, career-defining performance by Luca Marinelli as the titular character, presents a poignant catch-22: can you achieve success by writing about the struggles of the working class without failing your cause? “Martin Eden” is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Jack London, who had his own rags-to-riches story.
Kino Film Collection comes from Kino Lorber, a leader in arthouse cinema and home media distribution since 1977 with an extensive selection of contemporary releases and restored classics. New films are also dropped weekly to their service, many of which are streaming for the first time.
