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indieWIRE - The balance of the lineup for the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival, set for September 4 - 13, 2008 in Canada, has been announced. A total of 249 feature films are on tap for the event, 76% of which are either world, international or North American premieres. 61 films mark a filmmaker’s feature directing debut. A total of 312 films from 64 countries will screen at this year’s festival, compared to last year’s 349 films from 55 countries. Additional details will be added shortly.
The complete Toronto International Film Festival lineup is available now in an 11 page PDF document here at indieWIRE.
As was previously announced, Canadian filmmaker Paul Gross’ “Passchendaele” will open TIFF 2008 with its world premiere. Set during World War I, the film follows a wounded Canadian solider who falls in love on the homefront and then returns to the battlefield for the third battle of Ypres, also knows as “Passchendaele.” Co-produced by Niv Fichman, Frank Siracusa and Francis Damberger, the film stars filmmaker Gross, Caroline Dhavernas, Gil Bellows and Joe Dinicol.
TIFF will salute an American neighbor with a work-in-progress screening of “New York, I Love You” in the festival’s Special Presentations section. The project includes segments directed by Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Randy Balsmeyer, Allen Huges, Shunji Iwai, Scarlett Johannson, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Martson, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner, Jiang Wen and Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Three new documentaries have been added to the roster of previously announced non-fiction films. On tap are Adria Petty’s “Paris, Not France,” about the infamous Hilton sister; Jamie Jay Johnson’s “Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary,” about the Junior Eurovision Song Contest; and Leon Geller & Marcus Vetter’s “The Heart of Jenin,” about a shooting at the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp in 2008.
Eleven Gala Presentations were added to the festival lineup, including Caroline Link’s “A Year Ago in Winter,” starring Karoline Herfurth, Josef Bierbichler, Corinna Harfouch, Hanns Zischler and Miel Maticevic; Toa Fraser’s “Dean Spanley,” starring Peter O’Toole, Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill and Bryan Brown; Jodie Markell’s “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond,” starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, Mamie Gummer, Ann-Margret and Will Patton; Neil Burger’s “The Lucky Ones,” starring Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins and Michael Pena; Rod Lurie’s “Nothing But the Truth,” starring Kate Beckinsale, Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer, Noah Wyle and Angela Bassett; Gavin O’Connor’s “Pride and Glory,” starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich and Jennifer Ehle; Jerry Zaks’s “Who Do You Love,” starring Alessandro Nivola; Anees Bazmee’s “Singh is Kinng,” starring Akshay Kumar, and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen’s “Burn After Reading,” starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt.
Organizers announced a series of outdoor programs at Yonge-Dundas Square, including free performances that are open to the public. On tap are concerts from Kenyan musicians Youssou Ndour and Keb’ Mo’, celebrating Chai Vasarhelyi’s “Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love”; a performance from the cast of “A Chorus Line,” for Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern’s film “Every Little Step”; a slam dunk competition from LeBron James, and more. Also planned is “Movies on Movies,” a new strand of screenings celebrating the art of cinema. The festival will close with the first Public Festival Wrap Party on the Square… [Full Story]
Cinematical - On the heels of some high-profile NYFF announcements, the Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its fair share of titles scheduled to premiere there next month. According to Variety, the list includes:
/FILM - Sure, Darren Aronofsky’s new film The Wrestler is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5th, but I’m sadly not going to be there to see it. But I’m excited to report that the film will also be playing at the Toronto International Film Festival two days later. And yes, we will be there to file a report.