Running from September 9 to 19, the Toronto International Film Festival has announced a partial line up of 15 Galas and 35 Special Presentations including 25 World Premieres. In its 35th year, the festival has cineastes the world over rubbing their hands together at the exciting selection of films on offer.
The 11 day event is set to ‘drop the puck’ with a premiere screening of Score: A Hockey Musical, written and directed by Michael McGowan, starring Australian musical icon Olivia Newton-John. Following this very Canadian opener, the festival will feature premieres of films from Denmark, France, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Darren Aronofsky, Francois Ozon, Robert Redford, Mark Romanek, Michael Winterbottom, Julian Schnabel, John Cameron Mitchell, and Woody Allen will join an impressive assembly of renowned directors whose works will feature at the festival.
A couple of the most hotly anticipated movies include John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole, which features Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman, and Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan starring Natalie Portman as a jealous ballerina.
The program, announced so far, also includes Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies, John Curran’s Stone, Francois Ozon’s Potiche, Ben Affleck’s The Town, Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Alain Corneau’s Love Crime, Julian Schnabel’s Miral, Mike Mills’ Beginners, Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock, Tony Goldwyn’s Conviction, Susanne Im Sang-Soo’s The Housemaid, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip.
Director and CEO of TIFF, Piers Handling, says the festival is thrilled at the selection of films. “The richness and diversity of this year’s Galas and Special Presentations programmes reflect the abundance of exciting works from established and emerging filmmakers in the world of cinema,” he says.
The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 9 to 19. For more information, visit the festival website.