Aug 9, 2023

TIFF 2023 Short Cuts Lineup Features Familiar Faces

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced this year's lineup of shortcuts, and of the 42 films selected, 10 are animated.

This year's TIFF animated short film lineup is predominantly female. In fact, of the 10 short animated films selected, 9 are directed or co-directed by women and/or tell women's stories. [Flora Anna Buda's "27," which won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at Cannes and the Crystal for Best Short Film at Annecy, stands out among this lineup. We premiered the trailer for Buda's short film, which is a short film about a young man who is a bit of a dreamer and a bit of a dreamer. The short is about a dreamy 27-year-old woman who is forced to confront __ after a bicycle accident.

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Daria Kashcheva ("Daughter," 2019) returns to the Short Cuts showcase with her new hybrid film "Electra," which garnered attention at this year's Annecy Film Festival.

Winner of this year's Annecy Audience Award, Heta Yarinoya's "Nun or Never!" is a charming and funny tale of nuns whose way of life is threatened by a strange newcomer.

Alisi Telengut's "Baigal Nuur - Lake Baikal" was screened at Annecy this year. This stop-motion short reconstructs the origins of a sacred lake in Siberia.

Marielle Dalpe's debut short, Aphasia, is a disturbing sensory experience that transports the viewer into the world of an Alzheimer's patient facing the loss of language skills.

One of the most enjoyable shorts in the category this year is Human Resources, a French stop-motion office documentary by Trinidad Plus Cossard, Titouan Tillier, and Isaac Wenzek.

Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta's "This is TMI" features playful stop-motion animation set to the extremely candid conversations of a group of Indian women.

One of the more experimental animated shorts, Atefeh Khademoleza's "Meteor," deals with the oppression faced by women and the LGBTQ+ community in Iran.

Jules Kara Eyango's second Cameroonian short, "Mboa Matanda," revolves around the pivotal moment of a grieving warrior's most important battle.

Announcing this year's lineup, Short Cuts lead programmer Jason Anderson said:

We are thrilled to have such a diverse and We are excited to present such diverse and wonderful new works by emerging and established talent from around the world. We were knocked out by the level of craft and ingenuity in these films, and the boldness of many filmmakers in exploring themes and subjects that could not be more timely and personal. We are especially grateful to be able to present films by women and women-identified filmmakers, who make up nearly 60% of this year's selection.