The first round of announcements dealing with the line-up for the 38th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival was made today by Piers Handling, CEO and Director of TIFF, and his Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. Starting off the opening night festivities will be the biopic about a controversial Internet figure. “The Fifth Estate explores how the sharing of information has the power to change history,” stated Handling. “No matter where they sit on the WikiLeaks debate, audiences will be blown away by [Bill] Condon’s powerful film featuring commanding performances by Daniel Brühl [Goodbye, Lenin] and by Benedict Cumberbatch [Star Trek Into Darkness] who is transformed as Julian Assange.”
Also getting the gala and special presentation treatment will be movies helmed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Sylvain Chomet (Attila Marcel), John Carney (Can a Song Save Your Life?), Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), Atom Egoyan (Devil's Knot), Amma Asante (Belle), Godfrey Reggio (Visitors), Jason Reitman (Labor Day), John Wells (August: Osage County), Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners), Don McKellar (The Grand Seduction), Jasmila Žbanić (For Those Who Can Tell No Tales), Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Mike Myers (Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon), Liza Johnson (Hateship Loveship), Richard Ayoade (The Double), David Gordon Green (Joe), Ralph Fiennes (The Invisible Woman), Paul Haggis (Third Person), Manuel Martín Cuenca (Cannibal), Jason Bateman (Bad Words), Bertrand Tavernier (Quai d'Orsay) and Matthew Weiner (You Are Here). Other notable screenings will be the lost in space thriller Gravity directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) and starring George Clooney (Syriana) and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) as well as Don Jon which is directed and features Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises) whose addiction to Internet porn causes havoc with his romantic life.
"This first round of films offers a taste of the powerhouse line-up at this year’s Festival,” stated Piers Handling. “These are the works that will have everyone talking because they capture the mood of the times. They will captivate, excite and entertain the global film community and audiences alike.” Cameron Bailey added, “An unparalleled calibre of international talent will illuminate the city for 11 spectacular days, to descend on the hottest red carpets representing productions from across the globe including South Africa, France, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Germany, USA, and the United Kingdom.”
The 38th Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5 to 15, 2013.