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Photo Credit: South China Morning Post At first glance, a film about a newly deceased Taiwanese teenager doesn’t give an impression of relatability. However, John Hsu’s Dead Talents Society  (2024) reassures us that our coming-of-age can happen in the afterlife – and that family can be found anywhere (even with the undead). My found family is, perhaps, the most important thing in my life. Without those friends that have become much more than just friends, I truly don’t know where I would be. They are the people who have always given me the confidence and the support I needed to pursue my dreams and make my mark on this world. But, more importantly, they are the people who I can trust, confide in, and rely on. The importance of found family to me is exactly why films like Dead Talents Society  reach such a special place in my heart. At the core of the comedy and horror of Dead Talents Society  lies a newly deceased teenage girl (played by Gingle Wang) and a star ghostress named Catherine who is fading from the limelight of the afterlife. They, along with a group of misfit ghosts, find themselves working together to scare unsuspecting humans with one shared goal in mind — to not disappear. Each of these characters, from Bolin Chen’s struggling talent agent to Chingi Pai’s Camilla, are endlessly charming. These characters are one of the film’s strongest aspects. Dead Talents Society  is at its best when it takes a moment to breathe from its extremely and, at moments, too fast-paced scenes and allows us to just sit with these characters as they grow to care for each other and reflect on their lives before the afterlife. The writing and performances in these slower parts of Dead Talents Society  go a long way in tying together the rest of the film, which seems to struggle finding a balance between the horror and comedy elements that it aims for. The stunning, beautifully saturated cinematography and costuming/makeup carry the horror elements into a campy territory (which is far from a bad thing). The camp feeling of the horror aspects of Dead Talents Society  help a lot in making the comedy feel more in place. When the humor of the film hits, it’s laugh-out-loud funny and absurd. However, it’s hard to escape the feeling that the very same humor can sometimes struggle to find its footing within scenes. Don’t let that discourage you though. Dead Talents Society , overall, is a wonderfully moving coming-of-age (coming-of-death?) film about finding and continuing to find your place in the world and how the people around you can help you to hold on and teach you how to let go. The Dead Talents Society ’s heart-stopping found family earns it 3.5/5 stars and a promise to never step into a hotel again!

It's always been said that you can prepare for dying but never for death. While movies never are 100% accurate, Azazel Jacobs' “His Three Daughters”, a non-traditional family drama that tackles real-life crisis in dealing with the family dynamics of a dying parent, and the differences in values among his offsprings, captures the humanity of an uncomfortable grieving experience. One of the best films of the year that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, "His Three Daughters" will make you laugh in Natasha Lyonne’s devil-may-care cringeworthy antics and will have you cheering for Carrie Coon’s standup elder sister character, trying to be the mighty oak that holds their sisterhood together. Whichever sibling you may be rooting for, this movie is a clear winner as the stunning performances and chemistry by all three women will have you relating yourself as one of the sisters in their honesty in dealing with grief. The film "His Three Daughters" is available for streaming at Netflix.

PHARRELL WILLIAMS RELEASES NEW ORIGINAL SONG “PIECE BY PIECE”   FROM FOCUS FEATURES’ HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ANIMATED BIOPIC  PIECE BY PIECE  DIRECTED BY ACADEMY-AWARD® WINNER MORGAN NEVILLE   LISTEN  HERE September 6, 2024 –  Today, GRAMMY Award-winning, Academy Award®-nominated Musician and Filmmaker, Philanthropist and Louis Vuitton menswear Creative Director Pharrell Williams releases his new original song “Piece By Piece,” from the motion picture soundtrack from Focus Features’ highly anticipated animated biopic PIECE BY PIECE directed by Academy-Award® winning director Morgan Neville.   Listen to “Piece By Piece”  here . The new original song was written by Pharrell Williams and performed by Pharrell Williams and Princess Anne High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers.   The new original song comes on the heels of Pharrell’s partnership and collaboration with The LEGO® Group on the new  Over the Moon  set – a space shuttle with a golden canopy and a vibrant jet stream of colors. The LEGO®  Over the Moon  set features the widest range of minifigure skin tones included in a LEGO® product, with seven in total. Pre-order the new set  here .   PIECE BY PIECE is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds. The film will debut in theaters on October 11, 2024. About Pharrell Williams: Pharrell Williams is a visionary recording artist, producer, songwriter, philanthropist, entrepreneur and Creative Director for Louis Vuitton menswear with 10B combined global music streams to date. He has been honored with 13 Grammy Awards, including 2004, 2014, and 2019 Producer of the Year, and ASCAP’s Golden Note Award in 2012. He has received two Academy Award nominations for his original song “Happy” (Despicable Me 2) and for Best Picture-nominated Hidden Figures (2016) as Producer. Williams also received a Golden Globe Nomination for co-scoring the film. In 2019, Williams received an Emmy-nomination for his original song "Letter to My Godfather," for Netflix’s Black Godfather about legendary music executive Clarence Avant. In 2020, Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work as The Neptunes.   In 2018, Pharrell narrated Universal’s remake of the classic film The Grinch, authored the book A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, and released the Netflix Original series Brainchild (2018) with his producing partner, Mimi Valdés. Other projects include Dope (2015), Roxanne Roxanne (2017), Voices of Fire (2020) and Amazon’s Harlem, which has been renewed for a third season. Pharrell recently announced his upcoming animated biopic PIECE BY PIECE from Focus Features. The film, directed by Academy Award® winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, is produced by Pharrell’s company i am OTHER and Neville’s Tremolo Productions in partnership with LEGO®. PIECE BY PIECE will debut in theaters this Fall.   About Focus Features: Focus Features upcoming slate includes PIECE BY PIECE, an animated biopic from Morgan Neville about the life of multifaceted global superstar Pharrell Williams told through the lens of LEGO bricks, Robert Eggers' reimagining of NOSFERATU, Edward Berger's thriller CONCLAVE, Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming crime-thriller BLACK BAG starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, Yorgos Lanthimos’s next film BUGONIA starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, Chloé Zhao’s next feature HAMNET starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley from producers Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, and the highly anticipated third installment of the DOWNTON ABBEY franchise, among others.

Pharell Williams stars in director Morgan Neville's PIECE BY PIECE, A Focus Features release. Image courtesy of Focus Features Premiering this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival Official Selection - 2024 Toronto Film Festival Director: Morgan Neville Producers: Pharrell Williams, Mimi Valdés, Caitrin Rogers, Morgan Neville Executive Producer: David Lawrence, Shani Saxon, Jill Wilfert, Keith Malone  Featuring: Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay Z, Snoop Dogg PIECE BY PIECE is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds.

TIFF Next Wave Committee 2024–2025 from L to R, F to B:  Anita Monteiro Cavalcanti Neiva, Sebastian White As part of TIFF 50 year-round celebrations, TIFF is thrilled to welcome back to Lightbox Emma Seligman year-round at TIFF Lightbox, including the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival. March 19 for TIFF Members/Under-25 Pass holders and March 21 for the public.  The TIFF Under-25 Pass offers young people barrier-free access to year-round TIFF benefits, including

98TH ACADEMY AWARDS® OFFICIAL SELECTION - THAILAND NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE | CENTERPIECE DIRECTED BY  Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke STARRING  Davika Hoorne, Witsarut Himmarat, Apasiri Nitibhon, Wanlop Rungkumjud, and Wisarut Homhuan Toronto International Film Festival | Screening Schedule Thursday, September 4 @ 12:05 pm | Scotiabank 4 (Press & Industry) Wednesday, September 10 @ 2:45 pm | Scotiabank 3 Thursday, September 11 @ 6:30 pm | Scotiabank 11 Saturday, September 13 @ 4:15 pm | Scotiabank 6 March is mourning his wife Nat who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has returned by possessing a vacuum cleaner. Disturbed by a ghost that appeared after a worker’s death shut down their factory, his family reject their unconventional human-ghost relationship. Trying to convince them of their love, Nat offers to cleanse the factory. To become a useful ghost, she must first get rid of the useless ones. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke is a Bangkok-based filmmaker who gained international recognition with his short Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall which won the Junior Jury award at Locarno 2020. The acclaimed work screened at prestigious festivals including Torino, FNC, and Glasgow. His debut feature  A Useful Ghost  premiered at 2025 Cannes' Semaine de la Critique and won the Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize. “If Yorgos Lanthimos relocated to Thailand his next film might look something like critic, teacher, writer and director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s A Useful Ghost. ” - Screen International “A phenomenal new filmmaker has arrived from Thailand, and international festivalgoers should expect to enjoy his works for years to come.” - IndieWire “Contemporary Southeast Asian cinema is made even richer and stranger by the addition of Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s directorial debut." - Variety “A humorous and haunting gem that’s impossible to shake." - The Wrap "No notes.” - Rolling Stone 130 minutes / Thailand, France, Singapore / Thai

Photo Credit: TIFF Taking on the challenge of adapting a story written by Ingmar Bergman is not for the

Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone, Produced by: Georgina Lowe TIFF Theatre - World Premiere September 7 at 12:00 PM - Scotiabank 4 - P&I Screening September 7 at 2:00 PM - TIFF

Steal Away | Clement Virgo | Canada/Belgium World Premiere | Special Presentation Lust and jealousy blossom as Cécile, a young African traveller, arrives at the home of Fanny, an awkward girl sequestered in a bubble of wealth. In a lush, ruthless environment that evokes a troubled historical landscape, Cécile falls in love with Rufus, the gardener’s son, igniting Fanny’s turbulent sexual awakening.  STARRING   Angourie Rice ( Mean Girls, Mare of Easttown, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Nice Guys ), Mallori Johnson ( Is God Is, Kindred, Genius MLK/X ), Lauren Lee Smith ( The Shape of Water, The L Word ), Idrissa Sanogo Bamba ( The Boys, Titans, The Fire Inside )   Steal Away is written by Tamara Faith Berger ( Lie With Me ) and Clement Virgo, inspired by the non-fiction book, Steal Away Home by Karolyn Smardz Frost.