Director Larry Charles participates in a press conference for the film "Religulous" during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 in Toronto. Charles directs “Dicks: The Musical,†set to open Midnight Madness at TIFF. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Evan Agostini
TORONTO – “Dicks: The Musical” from “Borat” director Larry Charles will open the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness program while Elliot Page’s cheerleading film “Backspot” has snagged a spot in the Discovery lineup.
TIFF says “Dicks” centres on a pair of identical twins who conspire to reunite their divorced and deranged parents, played by Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally.
The late night schedule, known for genre and offbeat comedies, includes Harmony Korine’s “Aggro Dr1ft” and the U.S./Canada slasher “Hell of a Summer” directed and written by Canadian “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk.
Patricia Arquette opens the Discovery program for emerging voices with her directorial debut, “Gonzo Girl,” while Page executive produces the queer cheerleading story “Backspot,” directed by D.W. Waterson.
Other Canadian selections in Discovery include M. H. Murray’s “I Don’t Know Who You Are;” Meredith Hama-Brown’s debut feature “Seagrass;” the Inuktitut-language “Tautuktavuk (What We See),” directed by Carol Kunnuk and Lucy Tulugarjuk, and Fawzia Mirza’s English/Urdu debut “The Queen of My Dreams.”
TIFF runs Sept. 7 to 17.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2023.
