Nash Edgerton’s Shark and Madeleine Gottlieb’s You and Me, Before and After are heading to the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where they will screen as part of TIFF Short Cuts.
Shark forms Edgerton’s sequel to previous shorts Bear and Spider, continuing the adventures of prankster Jack. As well as directing, Edgerton wrote the film with David Michôd, and stars alongside Rose Byrne. Michele Bennett produces, with cinematographer Aaron McLisky and editor David Whittaker.
TIFF will form the film’s world premiere, while Sydney Film Festival also announced this week that it will compete for the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films in November.
Edgerton said: “We are very excited to share Jack’s latest dating misadventures in Shark, our sequel to Spider and Bear, and even more excited to premiere the film in Toronto.”
Yael Stone and Emily Barclay play sisters with baggage in Gottlieb’s You and Me, Before and After. Now in their 30s, they’ve have agreed to get their first tattoos together, and stuck side-by-side in the chair with nothing to do but talk, they are forced to confront a shared history. The film also features Tracy Mann, along with Anouk Baillet and Lily LaTorre who play younger versions of the characters.
Written and directed by Gottlieb, the film is produced by Mad Ones Films’ Liam Heyen and Cyna Strachan. It recently premiered as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival and is currently available to watch within Australia via MIFF Play.
Cinematography is by Alex Cardy, production design Diva Abrahamian, costume design by Verity Mackey, editing by Christine Cheung and original music by singer-songwriter Ainslie Wills.
Gottlieb is in development on her first television series, an 8 x 30-minute dramedy with producers Heyen and Strachan, for which You and Me, Before and After acts as a proof-of-concept.
“It is incredibly exciting to have such a personal film selected by TIFF and a true testament to the talent of our wonderful team. I’m especially proud that 95% of our cast and shoot crew were female or non-binary,” she said.
As IF has reported, other Australian projects to screen at this year’s TIFF include Eva Orner’s bushfire documentary Burning and Jane Campion’s highly-anticipated The Power of The Dog, fresh from Venice.
Lakewood, a Canadian film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Naomi Watts as a mother struggling to rescue her son from a school shooter, also screens as a gala presentation.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason today congratulated all the filmmakers on their selection.
“The Power of the Dog is set for international success with Jane Campion once again leading a team of Australians, New Zealanders and international participants to global recognition, landing selections at several leading international film festivals. Eva Orner shines a light on the devastating effects of the 2019 Black Summer bushfires across Australia and is sure to inspire conversation around the world with Burning. It’s exciting to see Nash Edgerton return with Shark, a follow on from Spider and Bear both of which received global acclaim. Madeleine Gottlieb continues to prove she is an Australian filmmaker to watch, with You and Me, Before and After building on the success of her previous short films, all of which have screened at international film festivals, he said.
“These selections show the immense pool of talent we have in Australia and the breadth of our stories, and I look forward to Australian films continuing to captivate audiences around the globe.”
This year’s TIFF, with more than 100 films in selection, is a hybrid event, with in person and digital screenings. It runs September 9–18.
TIFF Short Cuts program:
A Few Miles South Ben Pearce | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Angakusajaujuq – The Shaman’s Apprentice(Angakusajaujuq) Zacharias Kunuk | Canada
North American Premiere
Anxious Body Yoriko Mizushiri | France/Japan
North American Premiere
ASTEL Ramata-Toulaye Sy | France/Senegal
World Premiere
Beity Isabelle Mecattaf | Lebanon/United States of America
International Premiere
Bhai Hamza Bangash | United Kingdom/Canada/Pakistan
World Premiere
Boobs Marie Valade | Canada
North American Premiere
Charlotte Zach Dorn | United States of America
World Premiere
DEFUND Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, Araya Mengesha | Canada
World Premiere
Displaced (Pa Vend) Samir Karahoda | Kosovo
North American Premiere
DUST BATH Seth A Smith | Canada
World Premiere
Egúngún(Masquerade) Olive Nwosu | United Kingdom/Nigeria
World Premiere
Fanmi Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers, Carmine Pierre-Dufour | Canada
World Premiere
Hanging On Alfie Barker | United Kingdom
International Premiere
I Gotta Look Good for the Apocalypse Ayçe Kartal | France
North American Premiere
I Would Never Kiran Deol | United States of America
World Premiere
Little Bird Tim Myles | Canada
World Premiere
Love, Dad (Milý tati) Diana Cam Van Nguyen | Czech Republic/Slovakia
Canadian Premiere
Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics Terril Calder | Canada
World Premiere
Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit (Al motociclista no le cabe la felicidad en el traje) Gabriel Herrera | Mexico
Canadian Premiere
NuisanceBear Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Canada
World Premiere
Ousmane Jorge Camarotti | Canada
World Premiere
Saturday Night Rosana Matecki | Canada
World Premiere
Shark Nash Edgerton | Australia
World Premiere
Soft Animals Renee Zhan | United Kingdom
North American Premiere
Some Still Search (Algunos Siguen Buscando) Nesaru Tchaas | United States of America
World Premiere
Srikandi Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto | Indonesia/Canada
World Premiere
Successful Thawing of Mr. Moro (Lyckad upptining av herr Moro) Jerry Carlsson | Sweden
International Premiere
Sycorax (Sycorax)Lois Patiño, Matías Piñeiro | Portugal/Spain
North American Premiere
The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be Adeyemi Michael | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
The Infantas (Las Infantas) Andrea Herrera Catalá | Spain
World Premiere
The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night Fawzia Mirza | United States of America/Canada
World Premiere
Together (Ham-Gye) Albert Shin | Canada/South Korea
World Premiere
Trumpets in the Sky Rakan Mayasi | Palestine/Lebanon/France/Belgium
World Premiere
Twelve Hours Paul Shkordoff | Canada
World Premiere
White Devil Mariama Diallo, Benjamin Dickinson | United States of America
World Premiere
You and Me, Before and After Madeleine Gottlieb | Australia
International Premiere
Zero (Nula) Lee Filipovski | Canada/Serbia
World Premiere