Two Chinese movies to be screened at Toronto film festival

Poster of Mountains May Depart. [Photo/Agencies]

At least two Chinese movies, including Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke's latest work Mountains May Depart, will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), scheduled to be held in September, as the event is going back to its Canadian roots for its 40th anniversary.

Mountains May Depart, together with Hong Kong director Johnnie To's Office, were among the 49 special presentations titles announced Tuesday at the Bell Lightbox, the TIFF headquarters in downtown Toronto, Canada, as the initial portion of the estimated 300-film lineup in September, mostly world, international or North American premieres.

"We are celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2015 and this first round of films offers a taste of the incredible lineup at this year's Festival," said Piers Handling, CEO and director of TIFF. " Made by both established and emerging filmmakers from around the world, these films offer a global snapshot of our times."

"This year we are thrilled to share a diverse array of filmmakers from Australia, India, France, China, the United Kingdom and the USA," said Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the film festival. "We look forward to sharing these fantastic films with Toronto audiences -- the most engaged and enthusiastic in the world."

Starring Chow Yun Fat, Sylvia Chang, Eason Chan and Tang Wei, Office is set to make its international debut in Toronto. The movie is an adaptation of the theater play by Sylvia Chang of Taiwan.

For its North American premiere, Jia's Mountains May Depart jumps from the recent past to the speculative near-future as it examines how China's economic boom has affected the bonds of family, tradition, and love.

Earlier in July, it was announced that Jia will lead the inaugural jury for TIFF 2015's Platform, a new program to champion film directors' works from around the world.