TIFF Midnight Madness: Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes Breakout ‘The Substance’ Starring Demi Moore & Margaret Qualley To Open Genre Sidebar — Full List 

The Toronto Film Festival’s cult sidebar will screen 10 features as part of this year’s schedule and open with the North American premiere of French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat’s buzzy Cannes breakout The Substance, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. 

The Midnight Madness programme features five world premieres all of which will screen at Toronto’s historic — and allegedly haunted — Royal Alexandra Theatre. Fargeat is a TIFF Midnight Madness alumnus. Her first feature Revenge debuted at the festival in 2017. Also returning to the festival this year is Joseph Kahn with Ick. Written by Sam Laskey, Dan Koontz, and Kahn, the film’s synopsis reads: Science teacher Hank’s life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects a new student is his daughter, all while facing an alien threat in their town. Kahn won TIFF’s People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award in 2017 with Bodied. 

Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto also returns following 2016’s Headshot with The Shadow Strays. The pic is Tjahjanto’s second feature with Netflix and stars Malaysian actor Chew Kin Wah and veteran Indonesian actor Arswendy Bening Swara, who has recently won multiple awards for Autobiography and Missing Home. Production is through Frontier Pictures with Wicky V. Olindo and Anne P. Ralie on board as producers. The film’s synopsis reads: Codename 13, a 17-year-old assassin, is suspended due to a sloppy mission in Japan. She meets 11-year-old Monji, who loses his mother and sets out to rescue him.

Check out the full Midnight Madness lineup below. 

Dead Mail Joe DeBoer, Kyle McConaghy | USA
Canadian Premiere
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Dead Talents Society John Hsu | Taiwan
North American Premiere

Else Thibault Emin | France/Belgium
World Premiere
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Escape from the 21st Century Yang LI | China
International Premiere
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Friendship Andrew DeYoung | USA
World Premiere
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Ick Joseph Kahn | USA
World Premiere
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It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This Rachel Kempf, Nick Toti | USA
Canadian Premiere
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The Gesuidouz Kenichi Ugana | Japan
World Premiere
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The Shadow Strays Timo Tjahjanto | Indonesia
World Premiere

OPENING FILM
The Substance Coralie Fargeat | United Kingdom/USA/France
North American Premiere