10/09/2015 - The Israeli representation at the gathering also includes The Kind Words, Wedding Doll, Thru You Princess and several festival hits

The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off its 40^th edition today with a huge selection of films from all over the world. The gigantic gathering has invited no fewer than 11 films hailing from Israel, including two world premieres. 

Baba Joon, selected in the Contemporary World Cinema section, is the fiction-feature debut by Yuval Delshad, and also the first Persian-language film to be shot in Israel. Chronicling the burgeoning conflict between father and son in a hard-working Iranian-Israeli family, the film follows Yitzhak, who runs the turkey farm that his father built with his own two hands after they emigrated from Iran to Israel, and his son Moti, who is turning 13, as he is taught the trade, hoping that he will continue the proud family tradition, although he himself doesn’t like working in the barn, but prefers to fix up cars from the junkyard and bring them back to life. In the same section, Shemi Zarhin’s The Kind Words, about three Jewish Israeli siblings who, in the wake of their mother’s death, discover their biological father was a Muslim and set off on a journey across France to locate him, will have its international premiere. 

Danae Elon’s documentary P.S. Jerusalem, selected in the TIFF Docs section, is the second Israeli world premiere. The film offers Elon’s intimate and personal view of the ever conflict-riddled Jerusalem, as she returns to it with her young family after several years abroad. Thru You Princess, Ido Haar’s portrait of the collaboration between musician and web performer Princess Shaw and Israeli viral-video artist Kutiman, is having its international premiere. 

In the meantime, the Discovery section will welcome Nitzan Gilady’s Wedding Doll, about a young, naïve woman with a mild intellectual disability who starts a romance with the son of the owner of the toilet paper factory she works at. The film, produced by the director’s own company, is having its international premiere at the festival. Alongside it, Yaelle Kayam’s Venice-selected Mountain will also be included in the section. 

Finally, the Polish-Israeli co-production Demon, by Marcin Wrona, will be shown in the Vanguard section, as well as Amos Gitai’s Venice competitor Rabin, the Last Day, shown in the Masters section, and Natalie Portman’s Cannes-selected directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, shown as a special presentation. Among the short films, Elad Goldman’s Latchkey Kids and Kerem Blumberg’s One Last Night will also be seen in the Canadian city.