The Toronto International Film Festival is ramping up for its 35th excellent year, with more than 300 movies showing between September 9 and 19. Follow this space in the days leading up to TIFF 2010 for features on much-anticipated premieres, the Bell Lightbox—the festival’s exciting new headquarters—and scads of sites at which to spot visiting celebrities. During the festival itself, we’ll bring you details on each day’s film offerings plus what to do before or after your screening.
TODAY: TOP BILLING
Red carpet premieres are the bread and butter of any top film festival, and this year TIFF has them in spades. These much-anticipated galas and special presentations exemplify the cinema’s unique ability to mix impressive artistry and popular entertainment.
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> Paul Giamatti has played some real curmudgeons in his time, but none more irascible than Barney Panofsky, the central figure in this Canadian-Italian co-production. Based on the beloved picaresque by Mordecai Richler, the film follows Panofsky’s life through three marriages and the disappearance of his best friend.
- Barney's Version
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> Spanish stud Javier Bardem dresses down as a crook with terminal cancer in this melodrama by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The gritty pic debuted earlier this year at Cannes, and earned Bardem the festival’s award for best actor.
- Biutiful
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> Director Darren Aronofsky returns to TIFF with a psychological thriller about rival ballet dancers. The high-concept plot and purportedly steamy performances by female leads Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis suggest this flick could be vying for hardware when Oscar season rolls around.
- Black Swan
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- <em>World premiere</em><br /><br /> Recounting the story of Mary Surratt—a woman charged in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln—and her reluctant lawyer, this Robert Redford–helmed feature promises historical drama and a star-studded cast including Robin Wright and James McAvoy.
- The Conspirator
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> The further adventures of Chen Zhen—a fictional martial artist first popularized in the 1972 Bruce Lee flick Fist of Fury—comprise this Chinese epic. Expect lots of fleet-footed fighting as the title character (played by Donnie Yen) seeks to avenge the killing of his master.
- Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> Acclaimed artist and director Julian Schnabel lends his innovative eye to the story of a Palestinian woman who opens an orphanage in post-WWII Jerusalem. Forty years later, one of its young wards (<em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>’s Freida Pinto) is forced to choose between political struggle and her matron’s more peaceful teachings.
- Miral
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- <em>World premiere</em><br /><br /> Kazuo Ishiguro’s subtle science-fiction curiosity about a too-idyllic English boarding school comes to the big screen thanks to director Mark Romanek. Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan are among the film’s stars.
- Never Let Me Go
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> A young student’s relationships with two contrasting women are the framework for this movie set in 1960s Japan. It’s based on the deceivingly complex novel that established Haruki Murakami as a major player in contemporary world literature.
- Norwegian Wood
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- <em>World premiere</em><br /><br /> One of the biggest names at this year’s festival won’t even be a movie star, as Bruce Springsteen rolls into town to tell the story of one of his classic albums. Never-before-seen footage pulled together by The Boss and director Thom Zimny provides unique insight into the legendary musician’s creative process.
- Promise: The Making of The Darkness on the Edge of Town
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- <em>North American premiere</em><br /><br /> Ben Affleck returns to the subject he (apparently) knows best: Massachusetts’ criminal underworld. The lantern-jawed star directed this cops-and-robbers story and portrays its conflicted-criminal lead, while <em>Mad Men</em>’s Jon Hamm trades his skinny tie for a flack jacket as the FBI agent assigned to hunt him down.
- The Town
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- <em>World premiere</em><br /><br /> Scarily prolific, genre-hopping director Michael Winterbottom brings to TIFF this potentially hilarious treat. A feature-length version of a forthcoming BBC television series, the film tracks unparalleled cut ups Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they trek across England’s Lake District for some reason.
- The Trip
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GET IN LINE! Single-screening TIFF tickets ($19.69, or $38.27 for gala premieres) are on sale starting September 3. To purchase, visit the festival box office (363 King St. W.), call 416-968-3456 to charge by phone, or charge online. For sold-out screenings, rush tickets may become available at the theatre 10 minutes prior to showtime.
Tomorrow: One Essential Film Exhibition
Stay, Dine, Do
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