Banner year for Indian women directors at Toronto film festival

Two of them were world premieres, and received appreciation from audiences in Toronto. Reema Kagti’s entertainer Superboys of Malegaon was a Gala presentation, the high-profile segment of the festival, while Manipuri filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi’s Boong featured in the Discovery section, which is a platform for introducing new cinematic talent.

Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light was in the Special Presentation section and was a major attraction after it captured the Grand Prix at the Cannes film festival in May. Finally, Sandhya Suri’s rural drama Santosh screened in the Centrepiece section.

The sole male director from India to feature at TIFF was the legendary Raj Kapoor as a high-quality digital restoration of his classic Awara, made in 1951, played at the festival.

“It wasn’t by design, but is a powerful testimony to the explosion of South Asian women’s talent and how they won’t be held down any more: they’re centrestage and in fact dominate the South Asian film line-up at TIFF this year,” as the festival’s Senior Programme Adviser, South Asia Meenakshi Shedde said.

Shedde suggested the films for selection at the festival and the final decision on their inclusion was taken by its Director of Programming Robyn Citizen and CEO Cameron Bailey.

The 11-day festival, North America’s largest movie event, began on September 5 and will conclude on Sunday.

The distaff side of the diaspora was also represented at the festival, with Montreal-based filmmaker Durga Chew-Bose’s adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse also had its world premiere at this year’s festival.

Shedde said that “nothing makes me more pleased” than having the Indian presence at TIFF “all guns blazing with women directors”.