TORONTO – Ethnic diversity will be in the spotlight as the Toronto International Film Festival gets underway tonight.
The celebration of global cinema officially kicks off with Antoine Fuqua’s remake of 1960 western “The Magnificent Seven.”
The star-studded Hollywood redo comes with a unique spin: it features a multicultural cast rarely seen in the western film genre. Among the marquee names in the film are Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and South Korea’s Byung-hun Lee.
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Themes of race run throughout the 11-day fest. Among the most-anticipated titles is “The Birth of a Nation,” set during a slave rebellion, and “A United Kingdom” and “Loving,” which both feature interracial couples.
“Moonlight” focuses on a young black man coming to terms with his sexual identity amid a turbulent upbringing.
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Other Hollywood films will use the fest as a platform for awards season. Natalie Portman is generating early buzz for her role as former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in “Jackie,” while Oliver Stone’s “Snowden” is getting attention for his hot-button take on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Nearly 400 films from 83 countries are slated to screen at this year’s festival, which closes with “The Edge of Seventeen.”