TORONTO '08 | Columbia '68, Youssou Ndour, Valentino, and Varda in TIFF Doc Spotlight

A scene from Paul Cronin's "A Time To Stir." Photo courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival

Twenty-six documentaries have been added to the lineup for the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. A work-in-progress of Paul Cronin's "A Time to Stir," about the Columbia University student strike in 1968, will screen as a work-in-progress in the event's Mavericks section, while the world premiere of Chai Vasarhelyi's "Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love," about the acclaimed musicisian, is on tap for the festivals Special Presentations section. Set for a North American premiere, after screening at the Venice Film Festival, are Matt Tyrnauer's "Valentino: The Last Emperor" (Special Presentations) and Agnes Varda's self-portrait "Les Plages d'Agnes" (Masters). Twenty-two other documentaries have been announced for the Toronto fests's Real to Reel section...

..."Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love," directed by Chai Vasarhelyi, USA (World Premiere)

One of Africa's most prominent musical exports, Youssou Ndour's distinctive tenor voice became internationally known through a string of popular tracks, including collaborations with Peter Gabriel and the hit "7 Seconds" with Neneh Cherry. Having used his fame to draw attention to a range of political issues, Ndour was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2007. Several years in the making, "Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love" follows Ndour as he releases the deeply personal album Egypt as an expression of his Islamic faith, challenging Western stereotypes of the religion while stirring controversy in his home country of Senegal...

by Eugene Hernandez (July 29, 2008)