The Irish film Wolf starring George MacKay and Lily-Rose Depp will receive its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) later this year, it has been announced.
After premiering at the 46th TIFF in September, which is taking place both in-person and digitally, the film will be released in Irish cinemas later this year.
Written and directed by Nathalie Biancheri, Wolf also stars Paddy Considine and Eileen Walsh and tells the story of Jacob, a boy who believes he’s a wolf trapped in a human body.
Wolf was the first independent film supported by Screen Ireland to shoot during the COVID-19 pandemic once production safely resumed.
Biancheri said of the news: “I could not be more proud to premiere Wolf at TIFF this year. It has been such a long journey, made even more challenging by the pandemic.
“I’m excited to share the film with the world and the incredible work of my cast and crew with our first audience at Toronto this September.”
Jessie Fisk and Jane Doolan, producers of Wolf, added: “We are honoured to launch Wolf to the world from Toronto this year.
“We are very thankful to TIFF for giving us this terrific platform, to our distributor Focus Features and sales agent Bankside Films for their support and commitment.
“We’d also like to thank our partners Screen Ireland, Eurimages and the Polish Film Institute. We are thrilled that the tireless work of our incredible cast and crew is recognised by one of the world’s most prestigious festivals and we are so proud that our film is about to begin such an exciting journey.”
Wolf joins a number of critically acclaimed Irish films which have debuted at TIFF in recent years, including the Academy Award-nominated Wolfwalkers, Cathy Brady’s critically acclaimed feature debut Wildfire, and the BAFTA-nominated Calm With Horses.
The 46th Toronto International Film Festival will take place from September 9 to 18, 2021.
Wolf will be released by Focus Features in theatres in the US on December 3, 2021 and internationally in early 2022.
