The Movie Network Goes Art House with Festival Favourites

TORONTO (September 2, 2015) – Cinema lovers who can’t make it to the 40^th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival can enjoy some of the most acclaimed films from today’s most celebrated auteurs with The Movie Network’s new collection, Festival Favourites. Running in primetime throughout the duration of TIFF from Thursday, Sept. 10 – Sunday, Sept. 20, The Movie Network features more than 30 titles from acclaimed directors around the world, including works from Swedish directors Roy Andersson (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence) and Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure), as well as Canadian enfant terrible Xavier Dolan (Mommy). Canadian and international films premiering on The Movie Network beginning Thursday, Sept. 10 include: Force Majeure, Mommy, Tom at the Farm, Unbroken, The Wind Rises, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, 20,000 Days on Earth, Shelter, The Captive, and The Cobbler. Festival Favourites also features well-known films such as The Judge, Gravity, St. Vincent, Dallas Buyers Club, Enemy, The F Word, The Good Lie, Maps to the Stars, Philomena, Rosewater, August: Osage County, and more. All titles, plus a selection of additional films, will also be available for subscribers in a special Festival Favourites bucket on TMN GO, as well as The Movie Network On Demand. ** Media Note ** – Download photos at http://www.bellmediapr.ca/Network/The-Movie-Network Highlights of the on-air film lineup include: Thursday, Sept. 10 9 p.m. ET – Force Majeure *Premiere* From director Ruben Östlund, this drama centres on a family vacationing in the French Alps. When they’re suddenly threatened by an avalanche, the father bolts, leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves. The film monitors the fallout from this fateful incident, as husband and wife hotly debate what actually occurred, and what the proper response should have been. Winner of a Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the film screened at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards. Also on Sept. 10, Gravity airs at 7:25 p.m., followed by Dallas Buyers Club at 11:05 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 9 p.m. ET – Mommy *Premiere* Mommy stars Anne Dorval (Laurence Anyways) as a widowed mother and single parent who is overwhelmed by the difficulty of raising her troubled, sometimes violent son, played by Antoine Olivier Pilon (Laurence Anyways). Taking the festival circuit by storm in 2014, this Canadian film from Xavier Dolan premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, taking home a Jury Prize and competing for the coveted Palme d’Or. Mommy also won nine Canadian Screen Awards in 2015, including Best Motion Picture, and 10 Jutra Awards, including Best Film. 11:25 p.m. ET – Tom at the Farm *Premiere* Directed by and starring Xavier Dolan (Mommy), this French-language film follows the story of Tom, a young advertising copywriter, who travels to the country for the funeral of his boyfriend Guillaume. There, he is shocked to learn that no one knows who he is, nor his relationship to the deceased. Screened at the 2013 Venice International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, the film was also nominated for Best Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014. Also on Sept. 11, A Most Wanted Man airs at 5:10 p.m., followed by St. Vincent at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 9 p.m. ET – Unbroken *Premiere* After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he’s caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Directed by Angelina Jolie and written by art-house pioneers Joel and Ethan Coen, Unbroken was nominated for three Academy Awards. Also on Sept. 12, The Grand Seduction airs at 7:05 p.m., followed by Don Jon at 11:20 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13 6:20 p.m. – The Wind Rises *Premiere* This Japanese animated film tells the story of Jiro Horikoshi, one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic, and Japan’s plunge into war. From director Hayao Miyazaki, the film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2014 Academy Awards, and Best Foreign Language Film at the 2014 Golden Globe Awards. Monday, Sept. 14 9 p.m. – A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence *Premiere* Director Roy Andersson concludes the trilogy he began with the acclaimed Songs from the Second Floor and You, the Living. This Swedish film follows Sam and Jonathan, a pair of hapless novelty salesman, as they embark on a tour of the human condition in reality and fantasy that unfolds in a series of absurdist episodes. The film premiered at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival where it won the Golden Lion Award, and was an official selection of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Tuesday, Sept. 15 9 p.m. ET – Kukimo, the Treasure Hunter *Premiere* A lonely Japanese woman becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried and lost in a fictional film, is in fact, real. With a crudely drawn treasure map, she escapes her life in Tokyo and embarks on a quest across the tundra of Minnesota in search of her mythical fortune. From director David Zellner, the film was nominated for a US Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and was featured at a number of film festivals including Montreal, Little Rock, Nantucket, Las Palmas, and Sydney. Also on Sept. 15, The Art of the Steal airs at 7:25 p.m., followed by Unbroken at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 10 p.m. ET – 20,000 Days on Earth *Premiere* This U.K. film from directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard depicts a fictitious 24-hour period in the life of Australian musician, model, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer, and actor Nick Cave, prior and during the recording of his 2013 album Push the Sky Away. 20,000 Days on Earth premiered at the 64^th Berlin International Film Festival and the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for a World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Also on Sept. 16, Force Majeure airs at 5:20 p.m., followed by Watermark at 7:25 p.m, Thursday, Sept. 17 9 p.m. ET – Shelter *Premiere* In Paul Bettany’s (A Beautiful Mind) directorial debut, two homeless people in New York from very different worlds find strength and solace in each other. Shelter premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Friday, Sept. 18 9 p.m. ET – The Captive *Premiere* In Atom Egoyan’s Canadian thriller, eight years after his daughter Cass’ abduction, a series of disturbing clues lead her father Matthew to believe she’s still alive. In a terrifying race against time, Matthew, the detectives, and even Cass herself must play their parts in unravelling the mystery of her disappearance and freeing her from captivity. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards. Also on Sept. 18, The Judge airs at 6:35 p.m., followed by Maps to the Stars at 10:55 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 9 p.m. ET – The Cobbler *Premiere* A lonely NYC shoe repairman discovers a magical heirloom that allows him to “walk in another man’s shoes” in this fantasy flick. Directed by Thomas McCarthy, the film had its World Premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Also on Sept. 19, The Wind Rises airs at 5:10 p.m., followed by The F Word at 7:20 p.m., and Gravity at 10:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 12:20 a.m. – 20,000 Days on Earth 2 a.m. – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter 3:50 a.m. – Reelside 4:15 a.m. – Who the F**k is Arthur Fogel 6 a.m. – The Spectacular Now 7:40 a.m. – St. Vincent 9:25 a.m. – Philomena 11:05 a.m. – This is Where I Leave You 12:50 p.m. – The Judge 3:15 p.m. – August: Osage County 5:20 p.m. – Rush 7:25 p.m. – Gravity Also available in a special Festival Favourites bucket on TMN GO, and The Movie Network On Demand: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Enemy The Equalizer The Fifth Estate Foxfire The Good Lie Kill Your Darlings Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Metallica: Through the Never Parkland Rosewater You’re Next Tusk