Entertainment / TIFF 2013 Lineup Announced

TIFF 2013 Lineup Announced

Entertainment Jul 31, 2013

by sheetal Nanda

Piers Handling, CEO and Director of TIFF, and Cameron Bailey, TIFF’s Artistic Director unveiled the first round of highly anticipated films set to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Festival at a press conference last week. The lineup of star-studded films does not disappoint!

“The first round of films offers a taste of the powerhouse lineup at this year’s Festival,” said 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.”

Bill Condon’s controversial thriller The Fifth Estate, a bio epic about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will open the festival on September 5. The Fifth Estate reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21^st century’s most fiercely debated organization. Expect Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Assange, to make a huge splash at TIFF this year (he also stars in 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County, both of which are having their world premieres at this year’s festival).

“Information is the most potent currency of our time, and we’ve found a film that charts just how volatile it can be,” said Bailey. “With The Fifth Estate, this year’s Festival kicks off with an electric timely drama that promises to get people talking.”

40 of the first 70 films announced will have their world premieres at TIFF including Jonathan Sobol’s The Art of the Steal, Don McKellar’s The Grand Seduction and Jeremiah Chechik’s The Right Kind of Wrong, all of which are Canadian films.

Among the Indian movies screening at TIFF. Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox and Maneesh Sharma’s Shuddh Desi Romance, will receive gala premieres.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, already deemed an Oscar front-runner, will also have its world premiere at the festival. Directed by Justin Chadwick, the South African film stars Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela. The film chronicles Mandela’s early life, coming of age, education and the 27 years he spent in prison.

Enough Said, which stars the late James Gandolfini in his penultimate film, was announced as a part of this year’s Special Presentations Program.

Several actors will make their feature film directorial debuts at this year’s festival, including Canadians Mike Myers (Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon) and Keanu Reeves (Men of Tai Chi). Jason Bateman’s Bad Words, about a 40-year-old who dominates the National Spelling Bee after discovering a loophole in the rules has been revealed as a Special Presentation. Don Jon, directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt premiered at Sundance in January with tremendous success and will have its Canadian premiere at TIFF.

The films announced boast impressive casts. Stars that could grace the red carpets at this year’s festival are George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Michael Fassbender, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Aniston and many more!

The festival will end its eleven-day celebration of film with the world premiere of Daniel Schechter’s Life of Crime as the closing night Gala. Based on Elmore Leonard’s novel The Switch, Life of Crime trails Louis (John Hawkes) and Ordell (yasiin bey a.k.a. Mos Def), two common criminals in 1970s Detroit, who kidnap the wife (Jennifer Aniston) of a corrupt real estate developer (Tim Robbins) and hold her for ransom. The film also stars Isla Fisher, Will Forte and Mark Boone.

“We want to wrap the Festival with a fun ride,” said Handling. “Life of Crime invites audiences to enjoy the pure pleasure of watching great actors bring the words of Elmore Leonard to life.”

The 38^th Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5 to 15, 2013.

_{Photo Credits: PHOTOS COURTESY OF Dreamworks; Fox Searchlight, Yash Raj movies}

sheetal Nanda

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Sheetal Maya Nanda is the Principal Lawyer at SN Legal (www.snlegal.ca) and a Freelance Writer. She enjoys dissecting the legal issues happening in the entertainment and sports industries from a social, political and cultural lens. Outside the office, Sheetal is a...

TIFF 2013 Lineup Announced

by sheetal Nanda

sheetal Nanda

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