The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) lifted its curtain on September 5. The festival has long been regarded as the "starting gun" for the Oscar race, as the winner of the festival's People’s Choice Award often becomes an Oscar nominee or winner.

At TIFF 2019, two Chinese films drew special attention from the public: "Saturday Fiction" by director Lou Ye, and "No. 7 Cherry Lane," an animation by Yonfan from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

The two films also made a buzz at the Venice Film Festival which just wrapped up last Saturday. "Saturday Fiction" was nominated for the Golden Lion Award, while "No. 7 Cherry Lane" pocketed the Best Screenplay Award. Yonfan, who is also the screenwriter, won the award.

At the ongoing TIFF, the two films are screening in the "Special Presentations" section.

'Saturday Fiction'

Starring world-renowned actress Gong Li and young actor Mark Chao, the film is set in 1941 in Shanghai, right before the Pearl Harbor attack in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Viewed from the surface, Jean Yu (Gong Li) is a famous theater and film star, but actually she's a spy for the Allies. She receives information that Japan is about to make a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, but decides to hide the information.

Read more: Chinese actress Gong Li unveils hidden layers in 'Saturday Fiction'

The black-and-white spy drama keeps the film noir style and traces of New Wave that director Lou Ye loves. However, the director deliberately creates a "bad" black-and-white film, with poor lighting conditions and vague silhouettes, trying to present history in a coarse way.

In an interview with Douban, a movie review site in China, Lou said he believes the film is between traditional film noir and New Wave, but tries to figure out a distinct Chinese style.

"I think the entire world's cinematic history is constructed by two angles (film noir and French New Wave), but I believe it’s a process of mutual learning, and the interaction builds the whole modern history of filming," the director said.

'No. 7 Cherry Lane'

Dubbed by Golden Horse-winning actress Sylvia Chang, veteran actress Zhao Wei, and singer and actor Alex Lam, the animation "No. 7 Cherry Lane" is also a history-themed film, in which Ziming, an undergraduate from the University of Hong Kong, becomes entangled with Mrs. Yu, who's in her early 40s, and her 18-year-old daughter Meiling.

Director Yonfan is open to people's comments. "I love everything that is unexpected," he said.

"I’m very proud of this movie because everybody has different opinions... I like my movie because some people say, 'This is a really bad movie,' 'That is a good movie' and 'That is an ugly movie.' I think this is wonderful."

Regarding the violent protests that have occurred in Hong Kong for months, the director said at the Venice Film Festival that he's sad about what's taking place in Hong Kong and hopes everything will return to normal soon.