Spotlight On European Directors

Manoel De Oliveira

by Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor

The Toronto International Film Festival has always had a love affair with European cinema and this year, in its 35th anniversary year, is no different. Nearly half of the films presented here this week are European or have European co-production partners. The European Film Promotion organization is assisting nearly 50 European sales companies with their presence here in order to assist the films in finding North American distribution here.

More in depth reviews and stories about the films are forthcoming but a list of the directors presenting their newest titles in the 3 main Festival sections is impressive in and of itself, so here goes:

GALA SECTION
Tom Hooper (UK, THE KING'S SPEECH)
Guilaume Canet (France, LITTLE WHITE LIES)
Andy De Emmony, (UK, WEST IS WEST)
Francois Ozon (France, POTICHE)
John Madden (UK, THE DEBT)
Gilles Paquet-Brenner (France, SARAH'S KEY)

MASTERS
Raoul Ruiz (France, MYSTERIES OF LISBON)
Amos Gitai (France, ROSES A CREDIT)
Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal, THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA)
Catherine Breillat (France, THE SLEEPING BEAUTY)
Jerzy Skolimowski (Poland, ESSENTIAL KILLING)
Ken Loach (UK, ROUTE IRISH)
Jergen Leth (Denmark, EROTIC MAN)
Jean-Luc Godard (Switzerland, FILM SOCIALISME)

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Danny Boyle (UK/US, 127 HOURS)
Milcho Manchevski (Macedonia, MOTHERS)
Michael Winterbottom (UK, THE TRIP)
Pierre Thorettton (France, L'AMOUR FOU)
John Turturro (US/Italy, PASSIONE)
Mark Romanek (UK, NEVER LET ME GO)
Richard Ayoade (UK, SUBMARINE)
Rowan Joffe (UK, BRIGHTON ROCK)
Mike Leigh (UK, ANOTHER YEAR)
Stephen Frears (UK, TAMARA DREWE)
Danis Tanovic (Bosnia, CIRKUS COLUMBIA)
Sylvain Chomet (France, THE ILLUSIONIST)
Alain Corneau (France, LOVE CRIME)
Stefano Incerti (Italy, GORBACIOF, THE CASHIER WHO LIKED GAMBLING)
Nigel Cole (UK, MADE IN DAGENHAM)
Pasquale Scimeca (Italy, THE HOUSE BY THE MEDLAR TREE)
Jeanne Labtune (France, SPECIAL TREATMENT)
Benoit Jacquot (France, DEEP IN THE WOODS)
Eric Lartigau (France, THE BIG PICTURE)
Guillem Morales (Spain, JULIA'S EYES)
Alex de la Iglesia (Spain, THE LAST CIRCUS)
Susanne Bier (Denmark, IN A BETTER WORLD)
Chris Kraus (Germany, THE POLL DIARIES)