The 2019 Toronto Film Festival has unveiled an early list of Gala Premieres and Special Presentations for the festival that runs September 5-15, and there will be no shortage of star power. Among the highlights: Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Christian Bale and Matt Damon in Ford V Ferrari, Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name, Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers, Bruce Springsteen and Western Stars, Daniel Craig and Knives Out, Joaquin Phoenix in Joker, Nicole Kidman in The Goldfinch, Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman in Steven Soderbergh’s Netflix Panama Papers drama The Laundromat, Hugh Jackman in Bad Education, and the Edward Norton-directed Motherless Brooklyn.
The festival previously announced as opening film the Canadian-made documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band. TIFF hasn’t yet divulged which films grabbed coveted opening-weekend slots with World Premieres commitments — Venice and Telluride start earlier and also jockey for the same films. It did announce Tuesday that its closing-night film will be Radioactive, the Marjane Satrapi-directed UK drama about the scientific and romantic passion between Marie Curie (Rosamund Pike) and Pierre Curie (Sam Riley) and the price of their dangerous exposure to radiation as they made discoveries still relevant today.
Here is a list of the premieres and special presentations so far:
GALA PREMIERES
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, USA. Director: Marielle Heller; Cast: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper. The relationship between venerable Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod.
Abominable, USA. Director: Jill Culton; Animated film from DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio, story of a magical Yeti that must return to its family.
Ford v Ferrari,
Director: James Mangold;
Cast: Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal, Josh Lucas, Tracy Letts. 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.
The Goldfinch, USA.
Director: John Crowley;
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Oakes Fegley, Ashleigh Cummings, Sarah Paulson, Ansel Elgort. Adaptation of the Donna Tartt novel about a boy in New York is taken in by a wealthy Upper East Side family after his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Sky Is Pink, India. Director: Shonali Bose; Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Zaira Wasim, Farhan Akhtar, Rohit Saraf. The story of Aisha Chaudhary and her family.
The Song of Names, Canada. Director: François Girard; Cast: Tim Roth, Clive Owen, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard. Emotional detective story spread over two continents and a half-century. Beneath the film’s stunning and pulsing musical revelations burn the horror of war and the lost souls extinguished from history.
True History of the Kelly Gang, Australia. Director: Justin Kurzel; Cast: Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult. Stoy of Australian bush-ranger Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s.
Clemency, USA.
Director, Chinonye Chukwu;
Cast: Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, LaMonica Garrett, Richard Schiff. A prison warden who has presided over numerous executions of death row inmates suffers a crisis of conscience.
Harriet, USA. Director: Kasi Lemmons;
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monae, Joe Alwyn
Epic story of Harriett Tubman, her escape from slavery and subsequent missions to free dozens of slaves through the Underground Railroad in the face of growing pre-Civil War adversity
Joker, USA. Director: Todd Phillips;
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Shea Whigham, Brian Tyree Henry. Arthur Fleck in Phillips’s take on the classic villain’s origin story
Hustlers, USA. Director: Lorene Scafaria;
Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Mercedes Ruehl, and Cardi B. Inspired by a New York article, film tells the story of employees of a strip club who turn the tables on the Wall Street clients who objectify them.
Just Mercy, USA. Director: Destin Daniel Cretton;
Cast: Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, O’Shea Jackson Jr. Civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner whom he fought to free.
Ordinary Love, UK. Director: Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn;
Cast: Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville. A look at an extraordinary love affair.
The Sky Is Pink, India. Director: Shonali Bose;
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Zaira Wasim, Farhan Akhtar, Rohit Saraf. The story of Aisha Chaudhary and her family
The Song of Names, Canada. Director: François Girard;
Cast: Tim Roth, Clive Owen, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard. Emotional detective story spread over two continents and a half-century. Beneath the film’s stunning and pulsing musical revelations burn the horror of war and the lost souls extinguished from history
True History of the Kelly Gang, Australia. Director: Justin Kurzel;
Cast: Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult. Stoy of Australian bush-ranger Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s.
Western Stars, USA. Director: Thom Zimny;
Cast: Bruce Springsteen. Based on what is being called his best album in years.
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2019
Western Stars, USA.
Director: Thom Zimny;
Cast: Bruce Springsteen. Based on what is being called his best album in years.
Bad Education, USA. Director: Cory Finley;
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, Jimmy Tatro, Kathrine Narducci, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ray Romano. Based on the single largest public school embezzlement scandal in history.
A Herdade, Portugal. Director, Tiago Guedes. A Portuguese family that owns one of the largest estates in Europe, on the south bank of the River Tagus. The Domain delves deeply into the secrets of their homestead.
Coming Home Again, USA/South Korea.
Director: Wayne Wang. An emotional journey for an aspiring writer, who comes home to care for his ailing, cancer-stricken mother. He cooks a traditional Korean New Year’s Eve dinner for his mother that is what his mother always cooked for the family. It takes a haunting look at the sacrifices an immigrant mother and son have taken for each other.
Dolemite Is My Name, USA.
Director: Craig Brewer; Cast: Eddie Murphy, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Keegan-Michael Key, Wesley Snipes, Chris Rock, Craig Robinson, Mike Epps, T.I. The story of comedian Rudy Ray Moore, who assumed the role of an iconic pimp named Dolemite and transformed himself into a self-made blaxploitation star during the 1970s.
Ema, Chile.
Director: Pablo Larraín; Cast: Santiago Cabrera, Gael Garcia Bernal, Giannina Fruttero, Mariana Di Girolamo. A couple deals with the aftermath of an adoption that doesn’t work out.
Endings, Beginnings USA.
Director: Drake Doremus; Cast: Shailene Woodley, Jamie Dornan, Sebastian Stan. 30-something woman navigating through love and heartbreak over the course of one year and comes out the other side.
Frankie, France/Portugal.
Director: Ira Sachs; Cast: Marisa Tomei, Brendan Gleeson, Isabelle Huppert, Greg Kinnear. Three generations grappling with a life-changing experience during one day of a vacation in Sintra, Portugal, a historic town known for its dense gardens and fairy-tale villas and palaces.
Greed, UK. Director: Michael Winterbottom;
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Isla Fisher, Steve Coogan. A satirical look at the super-rich.
Guest of Honour, Canada.
Director: Atom Egoyan;
Cast: Laysla De Oliveira, David Thewlis, Luke Wilson. A man’s daughter a high school teacher who is accused of abusing her position of authority with a student. When Veronica rebuffs Jim’s attempts to secure her early release, Jim begins to take out his frustrations through his work as a food inspector.
Heroic Losers (La odisea de los giles), Argentina/Spain.
Director: Sebastian Borensztein; Cast: Ricardo Darin, Luis Brandoni, Chino Darin. Adaptation of Eduardo Sacheri book about a dying town in Bueno Aires.
Honey Boy, USA.
Director: Alma Har’el;
Cast: Shia La Beouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe. Based on the life of La Beouf, an up and coming child star tries to deal with the alcoholic father who is his guardian. Premiered last January at Sundance to a warm reception.
Hope Gap, UK.
Director: William Nicholson;
Cast: Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, Aiysha Hart, Josh O’Connor. Couple’s visit with their son takes a dramatic turn when the father tells him he plans on leaving his mother.
How to Build a Girl, UK.
Director: Coky Giedroyc;
Cast: Emma Thompson, Alfie Allen, Chris O’Dowd. Teen Johanna Morrigan reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde: fast-talking, lady sex-adventurer, moves to London and gets a job as a music critic in the hope of saving her poverty-stricken family.
I Am Woman, Australia.
Director: Unjoo Moon;
Cast: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Evan Peters, Matty Cardarople, Danielle Macdonald. The rise of singer Helen Reddy into a symbol for independent women in the 1970s.
Jojo Rabbit, USA.
Director: Taika Waititi;
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson. Satire about a young boy recruited by Hitler youth, who discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the house. The youth is advised by an invisible friend, Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi).
Judy, UK. Director: Rupert Goold;
Cast: Renee Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Rupert Sewell, Michael Gambon. Zellweger plays Judy Garland in London in the winter of 1968 to perform a series of sold-out concerts.
Knives Out, USA.
Director: Rian Johnson;
Cast: Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Michael Shannon. Locked room murder mystery whodunit.
La Belle Époque, France.
Director: Nicolas Bedos;
Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Guillaume Canet. Man with a troubled relationship gets an offer to step back to any period in his life.
Marriage Story, USA.
Director: Noah Baumbach;
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta. Compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Military Wives, UK.
Director: Peter Cattaneo;
Cast: Sharon Horgan, Kristin Scott Thomas, Amy James-Kelly. Group of woman form a choir on a military base.
Motherless Brooklyn, USA.
Director: Edward Norton;
Cast: Bruce Willis, Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Leslie Mann, Willem Dafoe, Michael Kenneth Williams, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale. Lionel Essrog is a private eye afflicted with Tourette’s Syndrome and tries to solve the murder of his only friend and mentor.
Pain and Glory, Spain.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar;
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz. Film director reflects on his life choices. Picture bowed at the Cannes Film Festival after Almodovar opened it in Spain.
Parasite (Gisaengchung), South Korea.
Director: Bong Joon-ho;
Cast: An unemployed family takes a peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Pelican Blood (Pelikanblut), Germany/Bulgaria.
Director: Katrin Gebbe
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu), France.
Director: Céline Sciamma; Cast: A female painter in the 18th Century heads to the island of Brittany to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.
Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan), China.
Director: Lou Ye;
Cast: Gong Li
The Friend, USA.
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite;
Cast: Gwendoline Christie, Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, Jason Segel. A man whose terminally ill wife has six months to life invites his best friend to move in and help out. The friend has a profound impact on the entire family.
The Laundromat, USA.
Director: Steven Soderbergh;
Cast: Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Melissa Rauch, David Schwimmer, Robert Patrick, Matthias Schoenaerts. The comedy follows the investigative work by a group of journalists who exposed the Panama Papers, millions of files that link the world’s most powerful to schemes meant to avoid paying taxes.
The Other Lamb, Belgium/Ireland/USA. Director: Malgorzata Szumowska; Cast: Michiel Huisman, Raffey Cassidy, Denise Gough. The haunting and nightmarish story of Selah, a young girl born into an alternative religion, who has a transformative experience leading her to question their leader’s teachings.
The Lighthouse, USA.
Director: Robert Eggers;
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe. Story of two lighthouse keepers on remote New England island in the 1800s. A24 is releasing.
The Painted Bird, Czech Republic/Ukraine/Slovakia.
Director: Václav Marhoul;
Cast: Stellan Skarsgard, Barry Pepper, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands. Young Jewish boy in Eastern Europe encounters many characters as he seeks refuge during World War II.
The Personal History of David Copperfield, UK.
Director: Armando Iannucci;
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Gwendoline Christie, Tilda Swinton, Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie. Adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel.
The Report, USA.
Director, Scott Z. Burns;
Cast: Adam Driver, Corey Stoll, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm. Drama about how CIA agents used extreme interrogation tactics on suspects behind the 9/11 terror attack on New York City. The film premiered at Sundance where Amazon Studios acquired it for fall distribution.
The Two Popes.
Director: Fernando Meirelles;
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins. Explores the relationship and opposing visions between two of the most powerful leaders in the Catholic Church, both of whom must address their own pasts and the demands of the modern world in order to move the church forward.
Uncut Gems, USA.
Director: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie;
Cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, The Weeknd, Idina Menzel.
Howard Ratner (Sandler) is a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
Weathering With You, Japan.
Director: Makoto Shinkai. High school youth runs away to Tokyo and meets a girl who seems able to manipulate the weather.
While at War (Mientras Dure La Guerra), Spain/Argentina. Director: Alejandro Amenábar. Period drama that takes place in 1936 Spain, as a celebrated writer who supports the military rebellion hoping it will solve chaos inflicting the country, finds that its leader General Franco has other plans.
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