Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’ Gets International Premiere as Centerpiece Selection at Toronto

Steven Soderbergh‘s spooky ghost story Presence — starring Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and newcomer Callina Liang — will receive its international premiere as part of the Centerpiece sidebar at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.

Soderbergh first screened Presence at Sundance earlier this year, some 35 years after the debut of his breakout film, Sex, Lies and Videotape, in Park City. In all, TIFF‘s Centerpiece section, previously known as Contemporary World Cinema, unveiled 43 films from 41 countries on Tuesday.

There’s world premieres for Marcelle Lunam’s rom com Addition, starring Teresa Palmer and Joe Dempsie; Erin Lee Carr’s documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, a Hulu title about the Canadian pop duo falling victim to identity theft; French director Laura Piani’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, with a Frederick Wiseman cameo; Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Measures for a Funeral, written by actor Derah Campbell; and Algerian director Merzak Allouache’s Front Row, a comedy about feuding matriarchs battling over the best beachfront location.

Other world bows include Narcos director Andres Baiz’s Pimpinero: Blood and Oil thriller; Melanie Oates’s Sweet Angel Baby, produced by Chris Hatcher (Priscilla);  Iranian director Ali Samadi Ahadi’s Seven Days, based on a a screenplay by dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (Rasoulof is also bringing his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig to Toronto for a Canadian premiere after a Cannes world premiere); and a second film from Polish director Damian Kocur’s, Under the Volcano, his follow up to the Venice award winner Bread and Salt.

The Toronto Film Festival is set to run from Sept. 5 to 15. Fest organizers earlier announced Nutcrackers, David Gordon Green’s heartfelt comedy starring Ben Stiller, will open TIFF on Sept. 5. And The Deb, Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut and adapted from the original hit musical of the same name in Australia, will close the 2024 edition. 

Here is a complete list of Centerpiece titles:

Addition, Marcelle Lunam, World Premiere

A Missing Part, Guillaume Senez, World Premiere

An Unfinished Film, Lou Ye, North American Premiere

Anywhere Anytime, Milad Tangshir, International Premiere

April, Dea Kulumbegashvili, North American Premiere

Beloved Tropic, Ana Endara, World Premiere

Bound in Heaven, Huo Xin, World Premiere

By the Stream, Hong Sangsoo, North American Premiere

Cloud, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, North American Premiere

Crocodile Tears, Tumpal Tampubolon, World Premiere

Don’t Cry, Butterfly, Dương Diệu Linh, North American Premiere

Edge of Night, Türker Süer, North American Premiere

Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, Erin Lee Carr World Premiere

Flow, Gints Zilbalodis, Canadian Premiere

Front Row, Merzak Allouache, World Premiere

Happyend, Neo Sora, North American Premiere

Happy Holidays, Scandar Copti, North American Premiere

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, Laura Piani, World Premiere

Julie Keeps Quiet, Leonardo van Dijl, North American Premiere

Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End, Michael Jonathan, North American Premiere

Kill the Jockey, Luis Ortega, North American Premiere

Little Jaffna, Lawrence Valin, North American Premiere

Los Tortuga, Belén Funes, World Premiere

Matt and Mara, Kazik Radwanski, North American Premiere

Measures for a Funeral Sofia Bohdanowicz, World Premiere

My Sunshine, Hiroshi Okuyama, North American Premiere

Pimpinero: Blood and Oil, Andrés Baiz, World Premiere

Presence, Steven Soderbergh, International Premiere

Santosh, Sandhya Suri, Canadian Premiere

Seven Days, Ali Samadi Ahadi, World Premiere

Souleymane’s Story, Boris Lojkine, International Premiere

Sunshine, Antoinette Jadaone, World Premiere

Sweet Angel Baby, Melanie Oates, World Premiere

The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos, Agbajowo Collective,
World Premiere

The Mother and the Bear, Johnny Ma, World Premiere

The Mountain, Rachel House, North American Premiere

The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Mohammad Rasoulof, Canadian Premiere

The Swedish Torpedo, Frida Kempff, World Premiere

The Village Next to Paradise, Mo Harawe, North American Premiere

To a Land Unknown, Mahdi Fleifel, North American Premiere

Under the Volcano, Damian Kocur, World Premiere

Universal Language, Matthew Rankin, North American Premiere

When the Light Breaks, Rúnar Rúnarsson, North American Premiere