Poetic Fugitive Pieces opens Toronto International film festival | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Poetic Fugitive Pieces opens Toronto International film festival

Reuters | ByBob Tourtellotte, Toronto
Sep 07, 2007 12:54 PM IST

The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Thursday with drama Fugitive Pieces telling a poetic tale that asks audiences to find hope even when faced with atrocities of war.

The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Thursday with drama Fugitive Pieces telling a poetic tale that asks audiences to find hope even when faced with atrocities of war.

HT Image
HT Image

Over the next 10 days, the festival will bring out stars such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Jodi Foster to tout movies they hope will win critical praise, earn solid box office and launch campaigns for the Oscars.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

But among the numerous red carpet premieres at the festival, organizers also promise serious personal, political and emotional dramas in many of the 275 feature films that will play to packed houses. Fugitive Pieces fits their bill.

The film, written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa, is based on a best-selling novel about a Holocaust survivor who, as a young boy, sees his family murdered. He grows into adulthood coping with their deaths and despite his emotional scars, he learns to show generosity and kindness to others.

"It demonstrates the best of what people are capable of, their boundless capacity for love, for generosity and self-sacrifice even in the most difficult of circumstances," Podeswa told audiences.

Organizers have touted the many serious-minded movies that will screen here -- back in August when the final lineup was unveiled, co-director Noah Cowan told Reuters: "it feels like the cinema is relevant again."

Soul Searching
On opening night, animated French film Persepolis also told of people overcoming fear, hatred and murder to come to a greater understanding of themselves and of humanity.

The movie from writer/director Marjane Satrapi and co-director Vincent Paronnaud tells of a young girl growing up disillusioned with Iran's Islamic revolution.

In The Brave One, Jodie Foster plays a woman whose fiance is murdered by gang members, sending her on a vigilante-style killing spree. She finds some sense of relief, but much inner turmoil.

Director Nick Broomfield's Battle for Haditha, dramatizes the mass killing of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in 2005, and attempts to examine the forces that led to the horrific event -- lack of communication, lack of understanding and cultural differences, among numerous other elements.

"I thought what would be interesting is to take one incident and examine the anatomy of it as a way to understand the war ... not only from the Marine point of view, but also from the Iraqi point of view," Broomfield told Reuters.

Politics is thick in the air, too. Director Jonathan Demme offers his documentary of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Man from Plains.

Director Michael Moore has Captain Mike Across America, which takes audiences on a journey through the 2004 presidential election when his anti-Bush movie Fahrenheit 9/11 stirred political fires.

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On