TIFF
His story about the interracial couple who changed marriage law is patient, subdued, and seductive.
Nate Parker’s biopic addresses Nat Turner’s history and his slave revolt without digging into what made him distinctive.
The director combed beach parties and Walmart parking lots for young people to star in her film, then took them on a road trip across America.
“It was a chance to do something really fun and creative and different, because no one really has any preconceived expectations of what a Blair Witch film in 2016 would be.”
An unusually informative Q&A
At the Q&A following the premiere of Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee, a question came from the front of the audience: now that the film was out, was the director Nanette Burstein concerned for her safety?
“I think ambiguity is what keeps the movie alive. It’s something organic, something that keeps working on your mind once you leave the movie theater.”
“What was originally interesting about the story to us is how does something that begins as a tragedy — a young woman loses her life in a terrible situation — become something that’s driving a news cycle every day?”
American Honey, The Bad Batch, and Loving top our first day at Toronto