Exploring Cultural Narratives at the Toronto International Film Festival

Exploring Global Cinema at the Toronto International Film Festival

Each year, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) transports me around the globe, allowing me to explore diverse cultures through the lens of cinema, both in vibrant colors and stark black and white. On the very first day of this year’s festival, which concludes on Sunday, my cinematic journey whisked me away to Mexico, France, Benin, South Africa, the United States, England, and Japan. One of the greatest gifts of an expansive festival like Toronto is its ability to remind us that the world of film extends far beyond the confines of Hollywood, that small, insular town known for its blockbuster productions.

The past few years have presented significant challenges for the festival scene, grappling with the lingering effects of the pandemic, compounded by the consecutive actors’ and writers’ strikes in 2023. These strikes left festivals like Toronto with nearly vacant red carpets, affecting the glamour normally associated with such events. Additionally, TIFF faced another setback when it lost a long-time key sponsor, Bell Canada. However, in the wake of these challenges, the festival has successfully attracted a new array of sponsors and established a vibrant marketplace for buying and selling films, supported by substantial investment from the Canadian government. This revitalization is not only promising for TIFF but also vital for the overall health of the film industry, which thrives on the kind of innovative, independently driven projects showcased at Toronto and similar festivals.

Amidst the usual critiques regarding the program’s offerings—some festival programmers have mentioned that 2024 may be a rather lackluster year—there remains a palpable sense that TIFF continues to hold its ground, even if it feels less essential than in previous years. This year’s lineup has reaffirmed my belief that, despite the seemingly dire state of the film industry, there will always be visionary filmmakers crafting exceptional and even transformative documentaries and narrative fiction.

The outlook for cinema may often appear bleak, yet creative minds like Mati Diop, along with art-house legends such as Mike Leigh and Pedro Almodóvar, are ensuring that the clouds do not overshadow the brilliance of filmmaking.

One standout film at this year’s festival is Raoul Peck’s documentary about the photographer Ernest Cole. In 2019, Mati Diop, a Senegalese-French director, made history at the Cannes Film Festival with her debut feature, “Atlantics,” which marked her as the first Black woman to compete in the event’s main competition, ultimately winning the Grand Prix, the festival’s second-highest honor. “Atlantics” is a dreamlike exploration of love and loss, capturing the themes of departure and belonging as it follows a woman whose true love leaves Senegal for Europe—a narrative that Diop likened to “the Odyssey of Penelope” during our discussion at Cannes.

In her latest work, “Dahomey,” which garnered top accolades at the Berlin festival, Diop navigates another complex journey, probing the political and philosophical implications surrounding France’s return of 26 looted treasures to Benin in 2019. “Dahomey” is a breathtaking examination of cultural and artistic heritage in the aftermath of colonialism, standing out as one of the year’s most significant films. (It is set to screen at the New York Film Festival soon.) Spanning a beautifully intricate and concise 68 minutes, “Dahomey” begins in Paris, wittily introducing its themes with a visual of vibrantly colored Eiffel Tower souvenirs, reminiscent of those sold by African street vendors. From there, Diop shifts to the Quai Branly Museum, where the treasures—looted in 1892 by French troops during the colonial era when Benin was known as Dahomey—are being meticulously packed for their historic return. As one of the statues begins to narrate in a deep, mesmerizing voice-over, I found myself completely captivated.