TORONTOâ€"Tough issues and hard situations: Screens at the Toronto International Film Festival are jammed with so many, it is impossible to do them justice.
But justice â€" of a vibrant, cinematic kindâ€"is precisely what those who made the movies seek, even when it is not immediately in prospect.
“We’re running a campaign at the moment to use the film to help these children†said the writer-director Sarah McCarthy, as she introduced her documentary, “The Dark Matter of Love,†at a Saturday afternoon premiere here.
Ms. McCarthy was referring to perhaps 300 Russian children who, she said, had already bonded with prospective adoptive parents from the United States, before Russian’s government called a halt to American adoptions.
“A Dark Matter of Love†is not really a political film. Rather, it is a case study in the delicate matter of family bonding, focusing on a Wisconsin family and three Russian orphans whom they adopted when long past infancy. Despite the challenges, the expanded family â€" who joined Ms. McCarthy on stage after the screening â€" appear to be on a path toward a full, love-filled life for all involved.
But Ms. McCarthy and others fret that the Russian ban will block the path for others, unless, rising indignation, perhaps fueled by her film, helps to reverse it.
Sometimes, cinema lovers expect more than their favorite medium can likely deliver. At the festival’s opening night gala on Thursday, Chaz Ebert, the widow of critic Roger Ebert, suggested on stage that world leaders might settle mortal differences, if only they were locked up with a bunch of films.
“Show them some movies, and maybe we’d have peace instead of war,†Ms. Ebert suggested, during a tribute to her husband.
If that’s a bit much to ask, others here nonetheless insisted that film shows a way through tough situations.
As Ms. McCarthy spoke at the Bell Lightbox on Saturday, for instance, Colin Firth and colleagues â€" at a press conference downstairs â€" were explaining the lessons in their movie “The Railway Man.â€
It is a real-life drama, based on the experiences of Eddie Lomax, who faced torment as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. “No matter how bleak life might be, there’s always a way forward, if you’re open to see it,†said Mr. Lomax’s widow, Patti, in summarizing the film’s message.
Those seeking difficult issues, hard situations and inspiration in bleak moments would find them all a few minutes later at the Roy Thomson hall, where “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,†about the political struggles of Nelson Mandela, had its world premiere on Saturday.
“This movie is a big deal,†said Cameron Bailey, the festival’s artistic director, as he introduced what might be the most insistent of the many festival offerings that insist on social justice.
“We hope you enjoy the film,†Mr. Bailey added. “We hope you learn from it, and we hope you teach it.â€
Michael Cieply covers the film industry from the Los Angeles bureau.
