1. Witching & Bitching (Alex De La Iglesia, 2013) Spain/France
Witching & Bitching is Spanish cult master Alex De La Iglesia's 8th feature film, most of which have played at TIFF in past years. It is being shown on Sat. 14 at Midnight and Sun. 15 at Noon, as part of the Midnight Madness programme. The film will have it's World Premiere on the final Saturday of the festival in the Midnight Madness slot. Midnight Madness screenings begin at midnight in the Ryerson Theatre (Toronto's largest theatre). This is the best film-going experience you will ever have!!! I assure you. Witching & Bitching is having it's World Premiere on the Saturday night...which is, by far, the best night to catch a Midnight Madness screening, as the packed-in crowd will be at least partially drunk and all around rowdy. You can also expect De La Iglesia and some of the actors to be at the screening for a Q&A period, as is per usual with World Premieres. The film is about, "a hapless band of robbers run afoul of a coven of witches," while they are, "fleeing through the impenetrable forests of the Basque countryside after a jewel heist". When, "A group of buskers led by a Jesus Christ in silver body paint pull out machine guns and grab a massive haul from a Cash for Gold store", they escape into the woods with plans of crossing into France. But along the way, they run into a coven of witches, and the mastermind- Jose- "must contend with a horde of women hell-bent on ripping out his soul not to mention one amorous, leather-clad, motorcycle-riding punk-rock witch with a penchant for toad juice." If you haven't seen any of Alex De La Iglesia's other films...you should probably hit your local indie video store right now and do so. Because he is one of the most exciting directors that are currently putting out films. He's certainly one of Spain's most prominent film-makers. But if you are in Toronto the weekend after next....don't forget that, "The unexpected twists and turns and unrelenting momentum in Witching & Bitching build to wild peaks of zany spectacle that will leave audiences gobsmacked!