Plenty of star power as Toronto film fest opens

TORONTO, Canada: Hollywood’s A-list stars are convening in Toronto for North America’s largest film festival – a 10-day extravaganza of Oscar bait movies, timely documentaries and glamour that opened Thursday.

This year marks a return to form for the event, after twin strikes by actors and writers kept top talent from promoting their work here last year. Though the 2023 lineup of films was starry, the red carpets were not, in line with union protocols.

This time around, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Salma Hayek, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman are just some of the boldfaced names expected in Canada’s biggest city to unveil new projects.

“Toronto is known for its audience excitement, and that excitement reaches a fever pitch when the biggest stars in the world are here,” Cameron Bailey, the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), told AFP.

“We’re glad that we are having a festival without some of the constraints of last year, although I do think we were able to do the very best we could given the circumstances.”

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Ben Stiller kicks it off late Thursday with family dramedy ‘Nutcrackers,’ his first film in seven years, about a Chicago real estate developer who must head to Ohio to care for his four nephews when tragedy strikes his sister’s family.

Stiller has been focusing on directing of late, with television projects ‘Escape at Dannemora’ and ‘Severance.’

Ron Howard’s super-secret ‘Eden,’ a survival film set in the Galapagos islands and starring Ana de Armas and Sydney Sweeney, is among the other closely awaited world premieres in Toronto. The film debuts on Saturday.

Fresh off the Venice success of her portrayal of opera legend Maria Callas in ‘Maria,’ Jolie comes to Toronto with her latest directorial effort – ‘Without Blood,’ a tale of early 20th-century family and revenge starring Hayek.

In all, there are a whopping 278 films on the slate.

Music all around

John and Springsteen will be in town with new documentaries about their epic careers – and they are just some of the recording industry royalty expected to hit the red carpet.

Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Paul Anka, and singer, producer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams are also due to appear at screenings of new films about their personal and professional lives.

Bailey said the music-heavy programming started as a “crazy accident” and then “just began to kind of gather its own momentum.”

“We couldn’t turn one way or another without finding another movie that was really infused with music. And we decided, ‘We’re going to give in’,” he told AFP. Among other documentaries on tap are ‘The Last Republican,’ about former US congressman Adam Kinzinger and his break with his own party, and ‘Men of War,’ about a wild 2020 attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

TIFF is part of a fall flurry of film festivals, along with Venice and Telluride, that preview the movies pundits and producers believe will vie for Oscars glory.

But the Toronto event – where screenings are open to ordinary moviegoers, not just media and industry insiders – also showcases feel-good crowd pleasers such as ‘Nutcrackers’ and ‘The Wild Robot,’ the latest from DreamWorks Animation.

And there is a crop of inspirational true-story sports dramas on the schedule, including ‘Unstoppable,’ about a college wrestler (Jharrel Jerome) without a right leg who dreamed of going pro. Lopez co-stars as the boy’s mother.

Also making its world premiere is “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields’s journey to Olympic gold.

TIFF runs from Thursday through September 15.

On the event’s final day, the People’s Choice Award – voted for by audiences – is handed out.

It has become something of an early Oscars bellwether, predicting eventual Academy Award best picture winners such as ‘Nomadland’ and ‘Green Book.’

Last year’s winner was ‘American Fiction,’ which went on to earn five Oscar nominations, and win the statuette for best adapted screenplay.