James Franco’s “The Disaster Artist” has been added to the lineup of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, as have documentaries about Jim Carrey and Andy Kaufman, Jane Godall, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and musicians Eric Clapton, Grace Jones and Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Morgan Spurlock’s sequel to his Oscar-nominated documentary “Super-Size Me,” which is titled “Super-Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!”
On Tuesday, TIFF announced the films in its Midnight Madness, TIFF Docs and International Short Cuts programs. Franco’s “Disaster Artist,” his comic look at the making of Tommy Wiseau’s inept cult classic “The Room,” is one of 10 films in the midnight section, the first to be assembled by new TIFF programmer Peter Kuplowsky.
The section will open with Joseph Kahn’s “Bodied,” a rap-battle satire produced by Eminem, and close with Sôichi Umezawa’s “Vampire Clay.” Other Midnight Madness films include S. Craig Zahler’s “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” Brian Taylor’s “Mom and Dad” and David Bruckner’s “The Ritual.”
The typically robust TIFF Docs section, programmed by Thom Powers, includes new films by the acclaimed nonfiction filmmakers Spurlock, Frederick Wiseman (“Ex Libris – The New York Public Library”), Brett Morgen (“Jane,” about primatologist Goodall), Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (“One of Us”) and Matt Tyrnauer (“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”).
Lili Fini Zanuck, a veteran producer (“Cocoon,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Mulholland Falls”), whose only other feature film as a director was 1991’s “Rush,” will come to TIFF with “Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars,” a documentary about the legendary musician who also wrote the music for that earlier film.
The section will open with Sophie Fiennes’ “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” and close with Emmanuel Gras’ “Makala,” which won the top award in Cannes’ Critics Week section.
Other docs include “The Final Year,” Greg Barker’s film about President Obama’s national security team; Jed Rothstein’s “The China Hustle,” about Wall Street fraud; Erika Cohn’s “The Judge,” which deals with the first female Shari’a judge in Israel; and Violeta Ayala’s “Cocaine Prison,” about Bolivia’s drug trade.
“Resistance is a key theme in this year’s documentaries,” said Powers in the TIFF press release announcing the program. “We pay witness to rebels challenging the status quo in art, politics, sexuality, religion, fashion, sports and entertainment. They speak powerfully to our times as audiences seek inspirations for battling powerful and corrupt systems.”
Toronto also announced 35 short films that will make up the international section of its Short Cuts program. The selections include the world premiere of “Five Minutes,” the directorial debut of actress Justine Bateman, as well as award-winning shorts including Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s “The Burden,” Cannes winner Yang Qui’s “A Gentle Night,” Denis Walgenwitz and Winshluss’ “The Death, Dad & Son” and Ifunanya Maduka’s “Waiting for Hassana.”
The full Short Cuts lineup is available at tiff.net/sc.
Last week, TIFF announced its galas and special screenings, which include George Clooney’s “Suburbicon,” Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing” and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” The festival will open with director Janus Metz’s “Borg/McEnroe,” starring Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf as the tennis stars.
The festival runs from Sept. 7 thorough Sept. 17. Additional films will be announced throughout August.
The new programs:
TIFF DOCS
“Azmaish: A Journey through the Subcontinent,” Sabiha Sumar, Pakistan
“BOOM FOR REAL The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat,” Sara Driver, USA
“The China Hustle,” Jed Rothstein, USA
“Cocaine Prison,” Violeta Ayala, Australia/Bolivia/France/USA
“Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars” Lili Fini Zanuck, United Kingdom
“Ex Libris – The New York Public Library,” Frederick Wiseman, USA
“The Final Year,” Greg Barker, USA
“The Gospel According to André,” Kate Novack, USA
“Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami,” Sophie Fiennes, United Kingdom/Ireland (opening film)
“JIM & ANDY: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton,” Chris Smith, USA/Canada
“Jane,” Brett Morgen, USA
“The Judge,” Erika Cohn, Palestine/USA
“The Legend of the Ugly King,” Hüseyin Tabak, Germany/Austria
“Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle,” Gustavo Salmerón, Spain
“Love Means Zero,” Jason Kohn, USA
“Makala,” Emmanuel Gras, France (closing film)
“One of Us,” Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, USA
“The Other Side of Everything,” Mila Turajlić, Serbia/France/Qatar
“Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me,” Sam Pollard, USA
“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” Matt Tyrnauer, USA
“Silas,” Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman, Canada/South Africa/Kenya
“Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” Morgan Spurlock, USA
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
“Bodied,” Joseph Kahn, USA (opening film)
“Brawl in Cell Block 99,” S. Craig Zahler, USA
“The Crescent,” Seth A. Smith, Canada
“The Disaster Artist,” James Franco, USA
“Downrange,” Ryuhei Kitamura, USA
“Great Choice,” Robin Comisar, USA
“Let the Corpses Tan,” Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, Belgium/France
“Mom and Dad,” Brian Taylor, USA
“Revenge,” Coralie Fargeat, France
“The Ritual,” David Bruckner, UK
“Vampire Clay,” Sôichi Umezawa, Japan (closing film)