Marcelle Lunam’s Made Up Stories-produced romantic comedy Addition will screen alongside New Zealand titles The Mountain and Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival Centrepiece program.
Designed to honour and celebrate global cinematic achievements, this year’s line-up features 43 titles from filmmakers representing 41 countries, including 18 World Premiere titles from Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the US.
Among them is Addition, which stars Teresa Palmer as Grace, a woman in her 30s with a thing for numbers, and the inventor Nikola Tesla. But when an average guy, Seamus (Joe Dempsie), comes along, Grace falls for Seamus and her meticulously ordered life unravels around her. To let this love in, she must let go of the things she’s been holding onto. The adaptation of Toni Jordan’s bestselling novel was written by Becca Johnstone and produced by Made Up Stories pair Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky, along with Jodi Matterson, who has since left the company, and Buon Giorno Productions’ Cristina Pozzan.
Having its North American premiere at the event is Mike Jonathan’s Ka Whawhai Tonu, which tells the story of a pivotal battle in the first New Zealand land wars in the Waikato region between Māori and the Colonial forces. This heroic conflict is told through the eyes of two young teenagers forced to take control of their own destiny amidst the chaos of the battle and their escape. Many of the people involved in this movie were direct descendants of the survivors, including Jonathan, writer Tim Worrall, and actor Temeura Morrison. The cast also features Cliff Curtis, Miriam Smith, and Jason Flemyng. It was released at the start of this month via Transmission Films.
Also coming to TIFF from across the Tasman is Rachel House’s directorial debut The Mountain, which centres on three children discovering friendship’s healing power through the spirit of adventure as they trek through spectacular New Zealand landscapes. Elizabeth Atkinson, Reuben Francis, and Terence Daniel lead a cast that includes Troy Kingi, Byron Coll, Fern Sutherland, and Sukena Shah.
House wrote the screenplay with Tom Furniss, working with producers Desray Armstrong and Morgan Waru, and executive producers Carthew Neal, Taika Waititi, and Paul Wiegard.
The Mountain and Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End were nominated for this year’s inaugural Sydney Film Festival First Nations Award.
The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival will be held September 5-15.