The Toronto International Film Festival or TIFF has multiple awards including the juried Platform prize and the Audience prize, considered the tastemaker for the Academy Awards. Plenty of focus is also upon the Hollywood premieres, given the Oscars angle, and those from India, given the outlets we write for. But beyond that select list, with nearly 350 films of various lengths and genres screening at TIFF, there are several movies that tend to get a little lost in the shuffle. Here’s a personal best of the rest from the fest:
The Seen and the Unseen or Sekala Niskala is a gorgeous gem from Indonesia. Jakarta-based director Kamila Andini handles this tale of dualism with the virtuosity of a veteran. At its core, the story is about a pair of bunching twins, a sister and a brother named Tantra and Tantri, and the latter’s coping with the realisation her sibling is suffering from a serious affliction.
In dealing with that inner crisis, she escapes into a mystical world of her own making, borne of the myths of Bali, where the film is located. The director said this film developed “organically” as she “wanted to play around” with this holistic belief in what is evident and that beyond what we perceive. But what makes this film particularly spectacular is how it is staged: Every scene is nearly perfectly pictured, every inch of the visual canvas painstakingly painted.
