Enlarge imageBy Cameron French
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the lineup for its 30th edition on Tuesday, promising a higher number of world and international premieres than ever before.
The festival will also present a slate of Chinese films in honour of 100 years of cinema in China, as well as the 35th anniversary of Canada’s diplomatic relations with the country.
"An official delegation of filmmakers and representatives of the Chinese film industry will be attending to mark this occasion," festival director Piers Handling told reporters.
The event, counted among Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Sundance as one of the world’s most influential festivals, will screen 335 films over 10 days after it kicks off on September 8.
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Of the 256 features to be shown, 109 will be world premieres, while another 28 are international premieres, meaning they have not been shown outside their country of production.
"If you put world and international premieres together, that makes 54 percent of our lineup, an amazing number that we have hit for the first time this year," said festival co-director Noah Cowan, noting that another 78 films will make their North American debuts.
"Filmmakers and distributors have just decided that we are the first place they want to have their films shown."
Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, James Gandolfini, Natalie Portman, Viggo Mortensen and Jackie Chan will lend their star power to the festival, which typically features Oscar hopeful films to be released late in the year in the prime time for awards consideration.
The festival will open with the world premiere of Indian-born director Deepa Mehta’s "Water", a film that triggered violent protests and death threats when it began filming in India five years ago.
It will close with the North American premiere of David J. Burke’s "Edison", a crime drama starring Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, and Justin Timberlake.
In between, the event will present films from 52 countries, including five films from South Korea.
POLANSKI, GILLIAM PREMIERES
The heavy dose of world premieres will include offerings from directorial legends such as Roman Polanski, who will debut his take on the Charles Dickens classic "Oliver Twist", and Terry Gilliam, who will present "Tideland".
In addition, Martin Scorsese will premiere "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", a documentary about the early career of the legendary singer.
The music theme will continue with Stephen Woolley’s "Stoned", a chronicle of the drug- and sex-fueled demise of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, as well as "Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey", a Canadian-made film directed by Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, and Jessica Joy-Wise.
Guy Ritchie will present his thriller "Revolver", which stars Jason Statham and Ray Liotta, while actor Tommy Lee Jones will make his directorial debut with the North American premiere of "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada".
