Last Updated on September 5, 2023

This year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is set to take place from September 7th through the 17th, and yesterday they invited film fans to guess which ten movies they’ll be screening in their Midnight Madness lineup this year. The hints were the titles of ten movies that could be compared to the films in the lineup in some way. They were Trey Parker’s Orgazmo, Geoff Murphy’s Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Jimmy Wang Yu’s Fantasy Mission Force, Charles Martin Smith’s Trick or Treat, Stan Brakhage’s Dog Star Man, Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead, Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar, Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf, and Theodore J. Flicker’s Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang. Now TIFF has announced the full lineup for both their Midnight Madness and Discovery programmes, and you can check them out below to see if you can decipher how the clue movies relate to the actual movies, which include the Sam Raimi-produced Boy Kills World and the Finn Wolfhard-directed Hell of a Summer.

A press release notes that this year’s Midnight Madness lineup “features 10 titles, 7 of which are World Premieres. The Discovery lineup, which primarily boasts World and International Premieres, includes 26 titles. Notably, 13 female filmmakers representing 50% of the total programme are featured in this year’s Discovery programme.”

The Midnight Madness lineup is known to highlight the weird and wicked, while the Discovery programmer is meant to “offer a window to contemporary international cinema and introduce the public to first and second feature films from gifted new filmmakers.” TIFF’s Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee said, “We’re excited to be showcasing new voices, audacious vision, and genre-bending cinema. TIFF’s Discovery and Midnight Madness programmes for 2023 will once again prove to be the ultimate destination for tastemakers and experience seekers.“

Peter Kuplowsky, the International Programmer for Midnight Madness, added: “Sides will be split — both figuratively and literally (on screen) — as Midnight Madness returns to the Royal Alexandra Theatre with another stimulating concoction of unpredictable shock and ‘y’arr!’ cinema. Featuring two timely satiric provocations from Saudi Arabia (NAGA) and Serbia (Working Class Goes to Hell) — nations that are making their section debut — this year’s madness infectiously ignites with 11 o’clock numbers that go all the way to midnight courtesy of Larry Charles’ bonkers and bawdy Dicks: The Musical. A menagerie of tastes will be sated, so bottoms up!“

Here’s the Midnight Madness list:

AGGRO DR1FT Harmony Korine | USA
North American Premiere

Boy Kills World Moritz Mohr | Germany/South Africa/USA
World Premiere

OPENING FILM
Dicks: The Musical Larry Charles | USA
World Premiere

Hell of a Summer Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk | USA/Canada
World Premiere

KILL Nikhil Nagesh Bhat | India
World Premiere

NAGA Meshal Aljaser | Saudi Arabia
World Premiere

CLOSING FILM
Riddle of Fire Weston Razooli | USA
North American Premiere

Sleep Jason Yu | South Korea
North American Premiere

When Evil Lurks Demián Rugna | Argentina
World Premiere

Working Class Goes to Hell Mladen Đorđević | Serbia
World Premiere

Now on to Discovery. TIFF’s Dorota Leach said, “The Discovery section, which is curated by a brilliant team of international programmers, is an integral part of TIFF It is a bold and exciting showcase of cinema and emerging talent from around the world, and we are honoured to highlight new and distinctive voices from artists creating their first or second feature on our global stage. This year’s programme of 26 titles includes films from 25 countries, accounting for international co-productions and local talent.“

Here’s the Discovery list:

Achilles Farhad Delaram | Iran/Germany/France
World Premiere

After the fire Mehdi Fikri | France
World Premiere

A Match (Sthal) Jayant Digambar Somalkar | India
World Premiere

Andragogy Wregas Bhanuteja | Indonesia/Singapore
World Premiere

An Endless Sunday Alain Parroni | Italy/Germany/Ireland
International Premiere

Arthur&Diana Sara Summa | Germany
World Premiere

Backspot D.W. Waterson | Canada
World Premiere

Frybread Face and Me Billy Luther | USA
International Premiere

OPENING FILM
Gonzo Girl Patricia Arquette | USA
World Premiere

Hajjan Abu Bakr Shawky | Saudi Arabia/Egypt/Jordan
World Premiere

How to Have Sex Molly Manning Walker | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

I Don’t Know Who You Are M. H. Murray | Canada
World Premiere

La Suprema Felipe Holguín Caro | Colombia
World Premiere

Mandoob Ali Kalthami | Saudi Arabia
World Premiere

Mimang Kim Taeyang | South Korea
World Premiere

Seagrass Meredith Hama-Brown | Canada
World Premiere

Solitude Ninna Pálmadóttir | Iceland/Slovakia/France
World Premiere

Tautuktavuk (What We See) Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk | Canada
World Premiere

The Teacher Farah Nabulsi | United Kingdom/Palestine/Qatar
World Premiere

The Tundra Within Me (Eallugierdi) Sara Margrethe Oskal | Norway
World Premiere

The Queen of My Dreams Fawzia Mirza | Canada
World Premiere

Valentina or the Serenity (Valentina o la serenidad) Ángeles Cruz | Mexico
World Premiere

Widow Clicquot Thomas Napper | France
World Premiere

Wild Woman Alán González | Cuba
World Premiere

Without Air Katalin Moldovai | Hungary
World Premiere

Yellow Bus Wendy Bednarz | United Arab Emirates
World Premiere

What do you think of this year’s Midnight Madness and Discovery lineups? Will you be attending the Toronto International Film Festival? Let us know by leaving a comment below.