TIFF 2019 round-up: Lijo Jose Pellissery's Jallikattu, Tom Hanks' A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood premiere at Toronto

The second day of 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) saw the world premiere of Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu. According to Manorama Online, Chemban Vinod, Antony Varghese and Santhy Balachandran attended the premiere along with the director, music composer Prashant Pillai and cinematographer Gireesh Gangadharan.

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"As you can see there are many people in the movie and they are unprofessionals. I never prepared them for the movie. In fact most sequences turned so because I never prepare the artistes in my movies, rather their instinct works for me," the director said.

Just Mercy

Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx's Just Mercy also had its world premiere. According to The Associated Press, the starry based-on-a-true-story social-justice tale made a powerful impression.

Initial reviews were warm for what critics called 'a respectful and earnest message movie.' But praise was especially heaped on the movie’s performances, including Jordan and Foxx. Both stars are expected to be contenders for next year’s Academy Awards. Warner Bros. is set to release Just Mercy, which co-stars Rob Morgan, Brie Larson and O’Shea Jackson Jr., on 25 December.

Hustlers

The cast and crew of Hustlers, a movie about strippers in New York City, hit the red carpet for the film’s premiere on Saturday, and their main message was the empowering experience of working on a female-led project.

Based on a true story, the film was written, directed and produced by women. “You know how moms become superheroes to their kids? That’s how it was” on set, Palmer said. “Not saying that guys can’t get stuff done, but women really be getting all the stuff done.”

To Wu, the female leadership in creating the movie was made all the more important given the subject matter. The strippers are people “who society has judged and marginalized, and we got the opportunity to humanize their stories,” Wu said. “It’s the greatest potential of art.”

(Also read - Hustlers early reactions: Jennifer Lopez gives 'career-best performance' in 'a welcome twist on the crime thriller genre')

Dolemite is My Name

Eddie Murphy's comeback film Dolemite is My Name, is based on the life of Rudy Ray Moore, star of blaxploitation Dolemite films. It will stream on Netflix in October later this year. The film received a standing ovation from the audience.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Hanks as the host of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, premiered Saturday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. It revealed a nuanced and layered performance by Hanks that goes well beyond the cardigan.

“We never make fun of Fred. We slow down to listen to him,” Hanks said following the film’s screening. “It was always going to be, I think, deconstructing the myth of it to show he was a regular guy who went out for Chinese food. At the same time, there is this mystery. What’s his motivation?”

“One of the most wonderful things, too, is he was actually an ordained minister who never mentioned God on his show,” Hanks said.

Indian delegation promotes government's initiative towards 'ease of filming' in country

The visiting Indian delegation to the festival held discussions with representatives of various film forums as part of their global outreach for the golden jubilee of International Film Festival of Indian (IFFI) and to promote the country as a suitable filming location.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is participating at TIFF.

"The discussions were wide ranging which included participation at the golden jubilee edition of IFFI, possibility of taking forward government thrust of 'ease of filming in India', recent initiatives to promote film facilitation in the form of single window clearance and the growth potential of different verticals under the M&E sector of India," a press release stated.

(With inputs from agencies)