Festivals

The win was rare and certainly unexpected: Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed walked away with the top honor of the 79th Venice Film Festival. Only one documentary won Mostra's highest award before, Gianfranco Rosi’s Sacro Gra in 2013.

The films, the stars, the crowds, the awards. The world’s oldest film festival proved in its 79th edition that the global film industry is back as the entire 11 days felt post-pandemic.

Walter Hill once said that he considers all of his films to be westerns, even modern-day thrillers such as Red Heat or Bullet to the Head. “If you look closely, you can see western touches, such as revolvers, Winchester rifles and cowboy hats,” he said.

The opening night film at TIFF, The Swimmers, is a soaring epic that dramatizes the true story of Yusra and Sarah Mardini, two sisters who left their home in war-torn Syria for a new life in Europe and a chance to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics.   At the red-carpet premiere in Toronto, audiences were enthusiastic to welcome, not just the cast – including twin sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa who played the Mardini sisters, and German actor Matthias Schweighöfer, who played their European Olympic swim coach, Sven Spannekrebs – but also to hear from their real-life counterparts, who spoke to press the following morning about the surreal experience of having a movie made about one’s own life.