The Toronto International Film Festival line up has recently been announced and it’s looking like a pretty stellar collection of films. This year’s festival will see the premieres of several much-anticipated titles such as Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit,” the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems” (which stars Adam Sandler), Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” John Crowley’s “The Goldfinch,” and Armando Iannucci’s “The Personal History of David. ” The Toronto International Film Festival will be running from 5th September to 15th September.
Of the Gala films that have been announced, 50% are directed or co-directed by women—a record for the program. Films such as the Mr. Roger’s biopic “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” directed by Marielle Heller, and Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers” are certainly ones that currently generating a lot of buzz. The closing night film is also from another female director this time it will be Marjane Satrapi’s (“The Voices” & “Persepolis”) Marie Curie biopic “Radioactive”, starring Rosamund Pike.
The opening night film is “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band,” from director Daniel Roher. This is a portrait of the influential roots rock group The Band, the film is based in part on Robbie Robertson’s 2017 memoir Testimony.
Other notable films featuring in the Gala to look out for are James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari” which stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale. The film follows American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
There is also “Just Mercy” shadows world-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner whom he fought to free. The film stars Michael B. Jordon, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson. Could this be a possible Oscar contender for Best Picture or see it’s main players walking away with the best actor statues?
Talking about Best Picture contenders, John Crawley’s adaptation of Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” has already been the talk of the town. The film follows 13-year-old New Yorker Theo Decker’s life is turned upside-down when his mother is killed in a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Confused in the rubble of the tragedy, he steals a priceless piece of art known as The Goldfinch.
Another film which has generated a lot of buzz is Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse.” This black-and-white fantasy horror starring Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, tells the story of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. Critics at Cannes went wild for it, so I am sure those attending TIFF will be in for a real treat.
The Full Gala and program list is below:
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” directed by Marielle Heller
“Abominable,” directed by Jill Culton
“American Woman,” directed by Semi Chellas
“Blackbird,” directed by Roger Michell
“Ford v Ferrari,” directed by James Mangold
“Harriet,” directed by Kasi Lemmons
“Hustlers,” directed by Lorene Scafaria
“Joker,” directed by Todd Phillips
“Just Mercy,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
“Ordinary Love,” directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn
“The Goldfinch,” directed by John Crowley
“The Sky Is Pink,” directed by Shonali Bose
“The Song of Names,” directed by François Girard
“True History of the Kelly Gang,” directed by Justin Kurzel
Special Presentations
“A Herdade,” directed by Tiago Guedes
“Bad Education,” directed by Cory Finley
“Coming Home Again,” directed by Wayne Wang
“Dolemite Is My Name,” directed by Craig Brewer
“Ema,” directed by Pablo Larraín
“Endings, Beginnings,” directed by Drake Doremus
“Frankie,” directed by Ira Sachs
“Greed,” directed by Michael Winterbottom
“Guest of Honour,” directed by Atom Egoyan
“Heroic Losers ( La odisea de Los Giles),” directed by Sebastian Borensztein
“Honey Boy,” directed by Alma Har’el
“Hope Gap,” directed by William Nicholson
“How to Build a Girl,” directed by Coky Giedroyc
“I Am Woman,” directed by Unjoo Moon
“Jojo Rabbit,” directed by Taika Waititi
“Judy,” directed by Rupert Goold
“Knives Out,” directed by Rian Johnson
“La Belle Époque,” directed by Nicolas Bedos
“Marriage Story,” directed by Noah Baumbach
“Military Wives,” directed by Peter Cattaneo
“Saturday Fiction ( Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan),” directed by Lou Ye
“The Friend,” directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
“The Laundromat,” directed by Steven Soderbergh
“The Lighthouse,” directed by Robert Eggers
“The Other Lamb,” directed by Malgorzata Szumowska
“The Painted Bird,” directed by Václav Marhoul
“The Personal History of David Copperfield,” directed by Armando Iannucci
