Toronto film festival focusses on inclusivity

From a period piece set in the time of Partition to a love story in contemporary Punjab; from Assam to Tibet — the Indian film representation at the Toronto International Film Festival is not just marked by abundance but diversity across gender, geography, genre, time and themes. There are three feature films by women filmmakers — Nandita Das’ Manto, Rima Das’ Bulbul Can Sing and Ritu Sarin’s collaborative venture with her husband Tenzing Sonam, The Sweet Requiem. The last in the Golden Triangle of fall festivals — Venice, Telluride and Toronto — TIFF’s gender parity is visible right down to the programming team of 13 women and nine men. TIFF’s artistic director and co-head Cameron Bailey will sign a gender parity protocol, also known as 50/50 x 2020, on September 8, just before the festival’s Share Her Journey women’s rally, which will be attended, among others, by actor Geena Davis and filmmaker Amma Asante. Pick of the lot The pick of the Indian selection this year has not been in the media eye as widely yet — renowned documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan’s 261-minute long Vivek that Mr. Bailey describes as perhaps his “most urgent and thorough exploration of Indian society” in which he “charts his country’s slide away from secular democracy and toward divisions of power, caste, and religious belief — and the violence that has followed.” Reason starts off by recounting the work, struggles, and eventual assassinations of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and activist Govind Pansare.