Lars von Trier’s ‘Melancholia’ Headed for Toronto Film Festival
Image by Getty Images
Good news for crazy Danish director Lars von Trier, who definitely doesn’t admire Hitler: his latest film, “Melancholia,” will celebrate its North American premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Toronto screening will offer something of a fresh start for “Melancholia,” which temporarily stole the show at the Cannes Film Festival in May, after von Trier said he “understand[s] Hitler” during a bizarre monologue that got him kicked out of the festival.
Toronto has become one of the most prestigious events on the film-festival circuit, and “Melancholia” will screen alongside new movies from A-listers like George Clooney, Madonna, Francis Ford Coppola and Pedro Almodovar. Coming shortly before the start of the movie awards season, the festival may help to alter the buzz about “Melancholia,” a psychological drama that opens in the U.S. in November and stars Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Perhaps luckiest of all — at least for the film’s distributors — is the fact that von Trier famously hates to travel, and is therefore unlikely to show up for a repeat of his Cannes performance.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
