Toronto film fest promises premieres, star power

By Cameron French

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Toronto International Film Festival
unveiled the lineup for its 30th edition on Tuesday, promising
a higher number of world and international premieres than ever
before.

The festival will also present a slate of Chinese films in
honor of 100 years of cinema in China, as well as the 35th
anniversary of Canada’s diplomatic relations with the country.

“An official delegation of filmmakers and representatives
of the Chinese film industry will be attending to mark this
occasion,” festival director Piers Handling told reporters.

The event, counted among Cannes, Venice, Berlin and
Sundance as one of the world’s most influential festivals, will
screen 335 films over 10 days after it kicks off on September
8.

Of the 256 features to be shown, 109 will be world
premieres, while another 28 are international premieres,
meaning they have not been shown outside their country of
production.

“If you put world and international premieres together,
that makes 54 percent of our lineup, an amazing number that we
have hit for the first time this year,” said festival
co-director Noah Cowan, noting that another 78 films will make
their North American debuts.

“Filmmakers and distributors have just decided that we are
the first place they want to have their films shown.”

Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, James Gandolfini, Natalie
Portman, Viggo Mortensen and Jackie Chan will lend their star
power to the festival, which typically features Oscar hopeful
films to be released late in the year in the prime time for
awards consideration.

The festival will open with the world premiere of
Indian-born director Deepa Mehta’s “Water,” a film that
triggered violent protests and death threats when it began
filming in India five years ago.

It will close with the North American premiere of David J.
Burke’s “Edison,” a crime drama starring Kevin Spacey, Morgan
Freeman, and Justin Timberlake.

In between, the event will present films from 52 countries,
including five films from South Korea.

POLANSKI, GILLIAM PREMIERES

The heavy dose of world premieres will include offerings
from directorial legends such as Roman Polanski, who will debut
his take on the Charles Dickens classic “Oliver Twist,” and
Terry Gilliam, who will present “Tideland.”

In addition, Martin Scorsese will premiere “No Direction
Home: Bob Dylan,” a documentary about the early career of the
legendary singer.

The music theme will continue with Stephen Woolley’s
“Stoned,” a chronicle of the drug- and sex-fueled demise of
Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, as well as “Metal: A
Headbanger’s Journey,” a Canadian-made film directed by Sam
Dunn, Scot McFadyen, and Jessica Joy-Wise.

Guy Ritchie will present his thriller “Revolver,” which
stars Jason Statham and Ray Liotta, while actor Tommy Lee Jones
will make his directorial debut with the North American
premiere of “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.”