TORONTO: As the south Indian film industry vies with Bollywood for commercial success across India and the world, one of its leading lights is gaining international recognition, featuring as a visionary at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
S S Rajamouli, director of blockbusters including Baahubali, its sequel Baahubali 2 and RRR this year, is joining elite company as a featured keynote speaker at TIFF’s Visionaries programme this year.
The section, according to a TIFF release, showcases “inspirational keynotes from distinguished industry leaders who are forging innovative new paths creatively and in business”.
Geoff Macnaughton, TIFF’s senior director, Industry & Theatrical, explained the choice to the Hindustan Times, as he said, “Rajamouli’s inventive style, epic scale, mythological and historical reference points, and films that evade genre-specificity make him a distinct voice within the contemporary world cinema landscape. We are thrilled that he will be one of our four visionaries speakers this year at TIFF, especially in light of the recent global success of RRR.”
He will “discuss Telugu cinema, the notion of art versus commerce, and his reputation of “pushing the limits of industrialised pop cinema, as articulated by (noted critic) Roger Ebert”, according to a release from TIFF.
Rajamouli will be the first Indian to figure in the visionaries slate at North America’s largest film festival. He will be in elite company as the others in the programme this year include former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton who will participate in an “in-depth conversation” to discuss their new documentary series Gutsy, based on The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience and produced by their production company HiddenLight.
Also appearing are Efe Çakarel, founder and CEO of the streaming service MUBI, and American filmmaker Tyler Perry.
The 2022 edition of the festival will return to in-person screenings and industry interactions after it was forced to move to a hybrid format last year and was fully digital in 2021 due to restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The festival will be held from September 8 to 18.
