It’s almost July…that time of year when independent film fans, especially those who follow and/or attend film festivals (*raises hand*) begin to focus on September. That’s when two high profile events overlap -- La Biennale di Venezia -- the Venice Film Festival(this year August 28-September 7) and theToronto International Film Festival (this year from September 5-15). I’ve never been to Venice but the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a regular stop on the festival circuit for me – this will be my eighth year in attendance. It’s not far off. In fact, tickets went on sale yesterday for TIFF Members (see my article on how to get tickets). A number of my readers and Twitter followers have asked me about the possibility of The Rovermaking its World Premiere at Venice or Toronto.
The latest effort from Australian director/producer/co-writer David Michôd, the action flick stars Robert Pattinson, Guy Pearce, and Scoot McNairy trekking through the Australian desert. Based on discussions I’ve had with folks who have reason to know these things, I can state that, yes, there is a good chance The Rover will premiere at Venice or TIFF.
Both are high-profile festivals. TIFF is arguably the second most important in the world after Cannes, #1 in North America. Venice may be #2 in Europe, or #3 after Berlin. But they are equally desirable as a place to launch a movie.
There are essentially three questions which need to be answered: 1) Will the film be ready to premiere by those dates? 2) Do the filmmakers want to debut at Venice and/or TIFF? 3) Do the festivals want the film to premiere there?
Production got underway in late January of this year. Seems incredibly recent for the film to be ready to screen at Venice and/or Toronto. But although it wrapped and went into post just three months ago, post-production on a low budget film, without much special effects, CGI, orchestration, etc. doesn't take long and several months is not that uncommon. Many films premiere at festivals that aren’t completed until a couple of weeks beforehand. There are usually as many as five films that I see at TIFF every year that are finished just a few days before the festival. There are even incomplete films that are screened – the filmmakers will let the audience know that the color timing isn’t done, or effects, or other post-production elements not critical to the enjoyment of the film. Several years ago a film wrapped in May and premiered at TIFF less than four months later. It’s possible. So it’s more than likely the film will be ready.
It’s hard to imagine that the filmmakers would not want the film to debut at Venice and/or Toronto. There are no other festivals as high-profile as these until Sundance in late January. I certainly can’t speak for Michôd and team but my years as a film festival journalist would lead me to believe that it is more than likely they’d want a Venice and/or TIFF premiere.
It’s hard to imagine that the festivals would not want a film like this in their programs. Michôd’s previous feature, 2010’s Animal Kingdom, debuted to great acclaim at Sundance and Los Angeles on the way to a dozen festivals on the 2010-2011 circuit, dozens of awards, and an Oscar nomination. The cast speaks for itself. Pattinson is a worldwide superstar. So it’s more than likely the festivals would want the film’s premiere.
Read more: http://www.rkremain.com/11/post/2013/08/will-david-michds-robert-pattinson-starring-the-rover-premiere-at-venice-andor-toronto-larry411-tiffa24films.html
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