TIFF48: Ladj Ly’s ‘Les Indésirables’ to World Premiere at 2023 Toronto International Film Festival

TIFF announced today that Ladj Ly’s second directorial feature, Les Indésirables, will have its World Premiere at the 48th edition of the of the Toronto International Film Festival (September 7–17).

Ly’s debut feature, Les Misérables, was an Official Selection and North American premiere at the 2019 Festival, received the Jury Prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for 12 César awards, winning four including Best Film, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature representing France.

“We are honoured to showcase Ladj Ly’s remarkable talent once again with the World Premiere of his latest work, Les Indésirables,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “This deeply personal film beautifully captures the struggles and aspirations of a community, reflecting Ly’s unparalleled storytelling skills.”

Set in the suburbs on the outskirts of Paris, Les Indésirables is a tale of revolution as it captures a pivotal moment in history. The film stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar, Steve Tientcheu, Anta Diaw, and Aristote Luyindula and tells the story of the sudden death of a town’s mayor, Pierre (Manenti), an idealistic young doctor, is appointed to replace him. He intends to continue the policy of his predecessor, who dreamed of rehabilitating this working-class neighborhood. Haby (Diaw), a young French woman of Malian origin living in one of the dilapidated tower blocks, refuses to see her family driven out of the neighborhood where she grew up. Les Indésirables is a Goodfellas (formerly The Wild Bunch) film as well as a sales title for TIFF.

As announced last week, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins will make its World Premiere at TIFF with more festival details to be announced in the coming weeks. The full festival schedule will be released in August.

Photo credit: Luis Mora