TIFF: Women & Non-Binary Folks Directed Majority of Discovery, Midnight Madness, & Wavelength Titles

TIFF announcements continue to flood in, and the filmmaker gender stats are getting better and better. The festival has confirmed the 2022 slates for its Discovery, Midnight Madness, and Wavelengths sections, and, overall, women, femme, non-binary, and/or genderfluid directors helmed a whopping 59 percent (24) of the 41 feature-length films.

The Discovery program, which showcases directors to watch from around the world, boasts 23 films, 17 of which are from women, femme, genderfluid, and/or nonbinary directors, or 74 percent(!). Selected titles include Sophie Kargman’s adaptation of her own short story, “Susie Searches,” which sees a college student investigating a disappearance in the hopes of making her podcast more popular, with unfortunate results. Also screening are Aitch Alberto’s queer coming-of-age story “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and Kelly Fyffe-Marshall’s “When Morning Comes,” following a young Jamaican boy as he and his single mother prepare to move to Canada.

Only three films directed by women are among Midnight Madness’ 10-title lineup. On the bright side, one of them, Martika Ramirez Escobar’s “Leonor Will Never Die,” has been set as the genre section’s Closing Night Film. The winner of the special World Cinema Dramatic – Innovative Spirit jury award at Sundance this year, the surreal tale places a retired action movie screenwriter into one of her own unfinished scripts.

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Women directed four of the eight films screening in the Wavelengths section, a celebration of daring perspectives in arthouse cinema. Among the titles are Moyra Davey’s “Horse Opera” and Ashley McKenzie’s “Queens of the Qing Dynasty.” The former sees the filmmaker and her friends building a community of artists and thinkers via confessionals, tributes, homages, and citations. Meanwhile, the latter revolves around a once-in-a-lifetime connection between two people.

TIFF 2022 will take place September 8-18. Sally El Hosaini’s “The Swimmers” is the Opening Night Gala Presentation and Frances O’Connor’s “Emily” will kick off the Platform section.

All of the Discovery, Midnight Madness, and Wavelengths features from women, femme, genderfluid, and/or nonbinary directors are below. Lists adapted from Deadline. You can check out the full lineups on TIFF’s website.

DISCOVERY

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Aitch Alberto | USA
World Premiere

Baby Ruby Bess Wohl | USA
World Premiere

Daughter of Rage (La Hija de todas las Rabias) Laura Baumeister | Nicaragua
World Premiere

I Like Movies Chandler Levack | Canada
World Premiere

Pussy Joseph Amenta | Canada
World Premiere

ROSIE Gail Maurice | Canada
World Premiere

Runner Marian Mathias | USA, France, Germany
World Premiere

SHIMONI Angela Wanjiku Wamai | Kenya
World Premiere

Snow and the Bear Selcen Ergun | Turkey, Germany, Serbia
World Premiere

Something You Said Last Night Luis De Filippis | Canada, Switzerland
World Premiere

Susie Searches Sophie Kargman | USA
World Premiere