TIFF to premiere Amazon, Facebook shows

Julia Roberts stars in Amazon Studios’ psychological thriller Homecoming

Amazon Studios’ Julia Roberts-starring Homecoming and Facebook Watch’s Sorry for Your Loss featuring Elizabeth Olsen are among the drama series set to get their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month.

Homecoming, based on the podcast by creators and showrunners Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg, is a psychological thriller that examines the truth behind a military reintegration facility.

Sorry For Your Loss, from creator Kit Steinkellner and director James Ponsoldt, explores the life of a young widow forced to confront the truth of her past.

Other series premiering at the Canadian festival will include Arte France’s Thomas Cailley-helmed, high-concept sci-fi series Ad Vitam; Daniel Syrkin’s comedy Stockholm, which sees four friends covering up the death of their Nobel Prize-nominated friend; and Eric Khoo’s Folklore: A Mother’s Love & Pob, a six-part horror anthology series directed by six Asian directors including Joko Anwar and Pen-ek Ratanaruang.

“Cinematic television has provided a new lane for the consumer’s experience of cinematic art,” said Michael Lerman, programmer for TIFF’s Primetime strand. “These series not only push the boundaries of what can be presented but also demonstrate how it can transcend culture, visual arts and communications.”

The news comes as C21 prepares to launch Content Canada, a one-day industry conference taking place in Toronto during TIFF and in collaboration with the festival, focusing on the international business of TV and streaming.

The conference will feature a broad array of top-tier, global executives from companies including A+E Networks, Bell Media, CBC, Corus, Frantic Films, Lionsgate, IFC, Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates and YouTube, with the event’s opening keynote coming from Catherine Tait, the recently appointed president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada.

TIFF runs from September 6 to 16, with Content Canada taking place on September 12 at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel.