It’s the Toronto International Film Festival‘s 43rd year, and Canada’s biggest celebration of movies is pulling out all the stops.
The 2018 Toronto film festival will feature 21 world premieres, seven international premieres, eight North American premieres and 11 Canadian premieres, including 13 features directed by women.
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“We have an exceptional selection of films this year that will excite Festival audiences from all walks of life,” said CEO and director of TIFF Piers Handling on Tuesday. “Today’s lineup showcases beloved auteurs alongside fresh voices in filmmaking, including numerous female powerhouses. The sweeping range in cinematic storytelling from around the world is a testament to the uniqueness of the films that are being made.”
“Every September we invite the whole film world to Toronto, one of the most diverse, movie-mad cities in the world,” he continued. “I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to put together a lineup of galas and special presentations that reflects Toronto’s spirit of inclusive, passionate engagement with film. We can’t wait to unveil these films for our audience.”
Here is a selection of the movies confirmed to be playing at this year’s TIFF.
A Star Is Born
Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut tells the story of a seasoned musician who discovers — and falls in love with — a struggling artist (Lady Gaga), but even as her career takes off, he fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
Beautiful Boy
The English-language debut from Felix Van Groeningen (The Broken Circle Breakdown) chronicles the meth addiction and recovery of a young man (Timothée Chalamet) through the eyes of his pained father (Steve Carell).
WATCH BELOW: ‘Beautiful Boy’ trailer
Ben Is Back
The unexpected homecoming of a mother’s (Julia Roberts) charming, yet troubled, prodigal son (Lucas Hedges) forces her into a situation where she must do everything she can to prevent her family’s downfall.
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
A jaded, out-of-work biographer (Melissa McCarthy) resorts to selling forged historical letters on the black market, and grapples with the ethical complications that arise, in Marielle Heller’s charming biopic about bestselling writer Lee Israel.
WATCH BELOW: ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me’ trailer
Life Itself
Writer, director, and producer Dan Fogelman’s (This Is Us) affecting drama about life, love, and loss, ambitiously set across years and continents, features an impressive ensemble cast, including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Mandy Patinkin, and Antonio Banderas.
High Life
Master French filmmaker Claire Denis’ long-anticipated English-language debut and provocative sci-fi drama stars Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth, and André Benjamin as a group of criminals sent into deep space.
First Man
The Academy Award–winning team of director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling (La La Land) reunites for this biopic on the adventures and life of Neil Armstrong, from his entry into NASA’s astronaut program in 1961 to his epoch-making walk on the moon eight years later.
WATCH BELOW: ‘First Man’ trailer
Red Joan
Academy Award winner Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson take on the complex persona and legacy of Joan Stanley, the seemingly demure physicist who was also a long-serving British spy for the KGB.
The Front Runner
Jason Reitman (Tully, Up in the Air) directs Hugh Jackman, Vera Fermiga, and J.K Simmons in this biopic about U.S. Senator Gary Hart’s 1988 presidential campaign and his scandalous affair that derailed it.
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The Old Man & the Gun
Academy Award winners Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek lead an all-star cast, including Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Elisabeth Moss, and Casey Affleck, in director David Lowery’s true-life dramedy about an unrepentant bank robber and jail-breaker determined to live life by his own rules.
What They Had
Hilary Swank, Blythe Danner, Robert Forster, and Michael Shannon star in this intimate family drama about a woman who returns home to help her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother, while also grappling with her own past.
Widows
A heavyweight cast — including Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Liam Neeson, Jacki Weaver, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Rodriguez — propels Steve McQueen’s white-knuckle thriller (co-written by Gone Girl‘s Gillian Flynn) about four women left in a deadly lurch when their criminally connected husbands are all killed.
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The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 6-16.
For a complete list of movies and how to get tickets, please visit the official TIFF site.
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