As the prominent Toronto Film Festival is approaching, more films are being announced for this year's 44th edition starting on 5 September. The latest release includes two Danish world premieres in the TIFF Docs programme, dedicated to non-fiction cinema from around the world.
'The Cave' by Feras Fayyad, whose 'Last Men in Aleppo' was nominated for an Oscar in 2018, is selected as the opening night film of TIFF Docs, which will also be showcasing 'Love Child' by Eva Mulvad. Both titles are produced by Danish Documentary Production.
The Cave from war-torn Syria
Feras Fayyad's 'The Cave' takes its audience to the Syrian province of Ghouta. Here, deep beneath the surface, a group of female doctors have established an underground field hospital. Under the supervision of paediatrician Dr. Amani and her staff of doctors and nurses, hope is restored for some of the thousands of children and civilian victims of the ruthless Syrian civil war.
The Cave
For the besieged Syrian civilians, hope and safety lie underground, inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, doing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the oppressively patriarchal culture that exists above.
In addition to receiving an Oscar nomination, Feras Fayyad's 'Last Men in Aleppo' (2017) was honoured with a great number of accolades, including top awards at Sundance and CPH:DOX.
'The Cave' is produced by Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær for Danish Documentary Production with support from the Danish Film Institute, TV 2 Denmark, National Geographic, IMS International Media Support, Doha Film Institute, SWR, Yun Sat Yen Foundation, Docs Up Fund and Normandie for Peace.
Love Child about a family seeking safety
In Eva Mulvad's 'Love Child', we follow a family's difficult journey from Iran towards safety in the West.
It is winter in Istanbul. A plane from Teheran has just landed. A couple, Leila and Sahand, have succeeded in fleeing Iran with their four-year-old son, Mani, without being arrested. In Iran, they committed a crime. Leila and Sahand had a secret love affair while being married to other people, and in Iran, they were not allowed to get divorced. Neither could they tell their son that he was an illegitimate child since adultery can be punished with the death penalty in Iran. So, up till the escape, Mani had only known his biological father as "uncle".
Eva Mulvad has won several prizes for her films that include 'Enemies of Happiness' (2006), 'Love Addict' (2011), 'The Good Life' (2011), 'A Modern Man' (2017) and 'Cherry Tale' (2019).
'Love Child' is produced by Sigrid Dyekjær for Danish Documentary Production with support from the Danish Film Institute and DR.
Imelda Marcos doc with Danish imprint
Sigrid Dyekjær from Danish Documentary Production is also co-producing acclaimed US director Lauren Greenfield's 'The Kingmaker', selected for TIFF Docs.
'The Kingmaker', which follows Filipino politician and former First Lady Imelda Marcos, is shot by Lars Skree and edited by Per K. Kirkegaard, while sound and sound design are created by Rasmus Winther. The film is backed through the Danish Film Institute's co-production fund.
