The Toronto International Film Festival Announces MIDNIGHT MADNESS Lineup

The Toronto International Film Festival​®​ has announced the 10 eclectic films that will make up this year's Midnight Madness lineup. This year's programme ushers in a new generation of formidable genre filmmakers amidst veteran Midnight mavericks, who collectively push the envelope with both experimental and quintessential genre thrills that are guaranteed to keep the loyal late-night audience rapt and wired.

"This year's selections challenge the traditional parameters of genre and shock cinema, but - most excitingly - half of the lineup's wicked provocations are courtesy of filmmakers making their feature-film debut," said Peter Kuplowsky, Lead Programmer for Midnight Madness. "I'm delighted to welcome midnight movie institutions like Takashi Miike and Richard Stanley back to the section, and even more ecstatic to have the privilege to introduce so many transgressive, innovative, and galvanizing new voices. The tide is high, and be it a Mi'gmaq reserve, a Hassidic neighborhood, or a Ugandan village, more communities are getting opportunities to share their myths and monsters. I know this year's lineup will exhilarate Midnight audiences come September."

Midnight Madness welcomes new genre filmmakers with remarkable debuts, including Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia's dystopian sci-fi film ​The Platform;​ Rose Glass's unnerving psychological thriller S​aint Maud​, starring Morfydd Clark (​Love & Friendship)​ and Jennifer Ehle​ (​Zero Dark Thirty)​ ; Andrew Patterson's paranormal period piece ​The Vast of Night,​ which won the audience award for Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance and features breakout performances by Jake Horowitz and Sierra McCormick; and Keith Thomas's supernatural horror film ​The Vigil​.

Other highlights from this year's selection include Richard Stanley's H.P. Lovecraft adaptation ​Color Out of Space,​ which stars Nicolas Cage and signals the director's return to the Midnight Madness lineup after 29 years; Joko Anwar's G​undala​,​​based on the Indonesian superhero comic books by Harya "Hasmi" Suraminata; and Takashi Miike's Japanese action-comedy ​First Love.​ The programme will close with the World Premiere of the international version of Isaac Nabwana's gonzo action flick C​razy World,​ a celebration of the Ugandan film movement Wakaliwood.

The 44th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5-15, 2019.