UPDATE: Snyder confirms the buyer hunt in his own words: “we show the movie at TIFF, and then from there we can look for a distributor”.
UPDATE 9/1: Per our insiders, the TIFF play is the indie playbook — screening for buyers at TIFF: The Market — and Snyder is “well prepared” for a Dark Knight film.
Well, now we know what Zack Snyder meant by “Standby.”
Snyder has dropped another teaser for The Last Photograph and announced that the movie will make its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The special screening takes place Sunday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the John Bassett Theatre. Tickets are now on sale.
And Cosmic Book News will be there, just like we were at the recent LA event in July when Snyder sat down with Frank Miller and told the packed room he’d make The Dark Knight Returns.
Snyder Reveals The TIFF World Premiere
TIFF announced the surprise Monday, followed by a video message directly from Snyder.
“All right, guys, we’re doing this,” Snyder says. “We’re premiering my new film, The Last Photograph, at TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s a surprise premiere.”
Snyder said he picked TIFF because of the audience and because this movie was made to be seen on a theater screen.
“They have the best screens. It’s a group of people that love cinema. They love the big screen experience.”
He added that the movie was shot in medium format “meant for the big screen,” before telling fans: “So join me at TIFF.”
Snyder also described The Last Photograph in his ticket announcement as “our first independent film,” adding: “Hope you can join us in Toronto to celebrate.”
Another Look At The Last Photograph
The TIFF announcement comes with another teaser, and this one leans even harder into the movie’s dreamlike, almost spiritual tone.
“I have trembled my way deep into surrender,” the voiceover says. “I have stretched my aching body across the world.”
It continues: “I have stood at the threshold of your wonder,” before ending with: “Lord, allow me to unfold.”
‘Standby’ Had An Answer
The timing makes Snyder’s Sunday tease a lot less cryptic.
He posted nothing but “Standby” alongside new images from The Last Photograph, and we wondered whether he was pointing toward the trailer, a distributor, or both.
Turns out there was another answer sitting right in front of us: the movie was about to get its World Premiere.
That doesn’t completely settle the distributor question. Snyder has now given the movie a TIFF premiere and put tickets directly in fans’ hands, but there is still no announced theatrical distributor or wider release date.
What has changed is the most important part: The Last Photograph isn’t sitting on a shelf anymore.
On September 13, an audience is finally going to see it.
The premiere also comes after reports that the film is reportedly too hardcore for studios.
About The Last Photograph
The Last Photograph is a drama-thriller directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay by Snyder and Kurt Johnstad.
The story follows an ex-DEA agent searching the mountains of South America for the children of his murdered diplomat siblings. He is joined by a jungle photographer who witnessed the killers, with the journey forcing both men to confront their past as reality begins to blur in the remote wilderness.
Stuart Martin and Fra Fee lead the cast, with Jackie Kay, Costanza Andrade, Marlon Moreno as Carlos Rayos, Sergio Herrera, Carolina Henao as Naomi, Gustavo Angarita Jr., Ed Hughes as JPL, and Paulina Diazgranados also appearing.
