Louis C.K. directed a movie in secret & it will debut at TIFF this year

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With almost every film subject to high levels of exposure before the cameras start rolling all the way up to their release, it seems impossible to make a whole movie and keep it a secret from the world. Turns out comedian/actor/writer/director Louis C.K. did just that, and a secret film of his is set to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Sneaky sneaky.

The film is called I LOVE YOU, DADDY, and was shot under the radar in New York with an ensemble cast that includes C.K., Chloe Grace Moretz, John Malkovich, Helen Hunt, Rose Byrne, Pamela Aldon and Charlie Day. C.K. shot the film using 35mm and shot it in black and white. According to the L.A. Times, C.K. plays "Glen Topher, a successful television producer and writer, and his daughter China (Moretz)." TIFF announced it has a place in the festival this morning, posting the first image:

Louis C.K.’s I LOVE YOU, DADDY, with Louis C.K., @ChloeGMoretz, @JohnMalkovich, Rose Byrne, Charlie Day, Helen Hunt + @PamelaAdlon. #TIFF17 pic.twitter.com/heIBtZi7Qu

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) August 15, 2017

The film marks the first film C.K. has made since POOTIE TANG in 2001, a movie that famously pitted the director against Paramount, and one that C.K. says was a “huge mistake.” However, he reflected on the panned film in a positive light at that Television Critics Association winter press tour, in a sense that the experience made him better at what he does today (via EW):

That experience was very painful, I was sucking at making the movie and got fired off of it, and they put my name on it anyway. But failing at Pootie Tang is one of the reasons for why this show is good. The army of failures I’ve had are the reasons that I’m good at what I’m doing now.

Nothing else is known about the movie, but we will be at TIFF, so keep your eyes peeled for any reviews and news regarding the film, and expect a first trailer to drop sometime soon.