‘Nino,’ ‘The Hen’ and other avant-garde films that TIFF programmers are obsessed with
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
TORONTO – A French film about a young man facing a devastating diagnosis and a portrait of humanity from the perspective of a chicken are among the movies in the Toronto International Film Festival’s competitive Platform program.
TIFF announced contenders for the $20,000 prize on Tuesday ahead of the festival’s 50th edition in September.
It’s also the 10th anniversary of Platform, which programmer Robyn Citizen says was developed to spotlight “bold directorial visions” at the vanguard of filmmaking.
This year’s lineup includes “Nino,” the Pauline Loquès’ directorial debut that had its world premiere at Cannes earlier this year.
Citizen describes the film as a character study of a twentysomething, portrayed by Quebec’s Théodore Pellerin, who is diagnosed with cancer and reflects on life while wandering around Paris.
The program also includes “Hen,” a live-action film from Hungarian director György Pálfi that follows a chicken that escapes a grisly fate and tries to build a new life.
TIFF programmer Dorota Lech says “Hen” also offers a look at Europe’s migration crisis through the hen’s eyes.
“This is live action. It’s not animated in any way,” Lech said on a video call with reporters last week.
“I honestly have no idea how he made it because there is so much drama in that chicken’s eyes and behaviour. I’m obsessed with this film and thrilled that it’s in Platform.”
An international jury will choose the Platform winner, to be announced at TIFF’s closing awards ceremony on Sept. 14.
The program also includes a film from Mi’kmaq director Bretten Hannam, “Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts).”
The Canada/Belgium production has elements of horror and magical realism, but Citizen says it’s a family drama at heart.
It’s about two Indigenous brothers who reconnect in the forest near their home to confront someone from their past, who is visualized in the film as a monster.
“Bretten’s view of the natural world and how they integrate their characters in it is what makes their work exceptional,” Citizen said.
Opening the Platform program this year is “Steve,” a film from Belgian director Tim Mielants starring Cillian Murphy as the headmaster of a reform school for boys.
TIFF runs Sept. 4 to 14.
On Monday, festival organizers dropped their most robust announcement to date, touting films from big-name directors including Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” and Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut “Eleanor the Great.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.