TIFF unveils special events to enrich and expand festival experience

The TIFF is offering an exclusive first look at footage from Chen Kaige’s highly anticipated epic Legend of the Demon Cat

Set during the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago, this ambitious, large-scale spectacular was shot over three seasons on a functional city-sized set constructed for the production.

Chen Kaige is one of China’s most prolific and influential directors. His Yellow Earth announced the arrival of the "Fifth Generation" filmmakers who brought Chinese cinema to the world. His Farewell My Concubine won the Palme D'Or at Cannes and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

This year, Chen will also be a member of the Festival's Platform jury, selecting the winner of this year’s Toronto Platform Prize presented by Air France.

Audiences can join one of the world’s most celebrated activists and actors, Priyanka Chopra, for an evening celebrating actor and first time feature filmmaker Paakhi A. Tyrewala’s newest work Pahuna: The Little Visitors.

Pahuna: The Little Visitors details the journey of three Nepalese children separated from their parents and their harrowing voyage back home. Showcasing her eye for emerging talent via her production company Purple Pebble Pictures, Pahuna: The Little Visitors is produced by TIFF’s newest Share Her Journey ambassador Priyanka Chopra and by Dr. Madhu Chopra.

From directors Brandon and Skyler Gross comes a fresh look at real-world relationships. On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi is a new 40-minute documentary profiling Roman and Ruth, two 95-year-old Holocaust survivors, and the secret that throws a wrench into their 65-year-long relationship.

Produced by director, producer, author and documentarian Barry Avrich and actor and comedian Howie Mandel, On My Way Out is a passionate, insightful addition to this year’s Festival. This event will feature an introduction and audience Q&A with Brandon and Skyler Gross and Barry Avrich.

Presented in partnership with China Film Archive, TIFF brings the World Premiere of a new restoration of Shi Dongshan’s Struggling to the Festival. Cinephiles can enjoy a presentation of this wartime survival story, complete with live piano accompaniment, from one of pre–Communist China’s most notable filmmakers, beautifully restored and preserved for years to come.

Director of the China Film Archive, Sun Xianghui, will be in attendance to introduce the film.

TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world, through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution programme Film Circuit.

(Reporting by Suman Das)