The Toronto International Film Festival will be populated once again this year by some of the biggest movie stars on the planet, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Cate Blanchett.
In downtown theatres throughout Toronto from Sept. 6 to Sept. 15, 349 films from 55 countries -- 234 of them world, international or North American premieres -- will unspool for a city that is transformed for 10 days every September into a movie-lover's paradise and a Hollywood power-broker schmoozfest.
Film buffs will get their first peek at George Clooney's latest, "Michael Clayton,'' one of the highly anticipated big Hollywood movies premiering at the festival. Clooney plays a "fixer'' who specializes in getting clients out of delicate situations for a top New York law firm.
Cate Blanchett is at the festival promoting two buzz-worthy films, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age,'' in which she reprises her role as the British monarch, and the Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There,'' shot in Montreal. Blanchett plays the singer for part of the film in what's rumoured to be a top-notch performance.
Frequent tabloid fixture Pitt, better-known in recent years for his brood of children with Angelina Jolie than for his acting choices, will be pushing "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,'' which was shot in Manitoba and Alberta.
Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal -- rumoured to be romantically involved -- will be on hand to promote "Rendition,'' about the efforts of a woman to track down her husband, an Egyptian-born chemical engineer who's being held at a secret CIA detention facility outside the U.S.
And film-lovers can also look out for legendary director Woody Allen, who will be here on behalf of his latest, "Cassandra's Dream,'' starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as two brothers looking to improve their troubled lives.
But it's not all Hollywood star power at the 2007 festival.
Forty-one features at the festival this year are either Canadian or Canadian co-productions, up from 37 last year, including "Fugitive Pieces,'' the long-awaited adaptation of Anne Michaels' bestselling novel. Denys Arcand's latest, "L'Age des Tenebres,'' and David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises'' will also have their premieres, as will "The Stone Angel,'' the adaptation of the beloved Margaret Laurence novel that stars Ellen Burstyn.
Prolific Toronto-born television director Jeremy Podeswa, whose "Fugitive Pieces'' boasts the film festival's prestigious opening night slot, says he's impressed with this year's lineup, adding it reflects a renaissance in Canadian filmmaking.
"From every level of the Canadian industry, there are really interesting movies coming out from the really well-established filmmakers, and I'm sure there are going to be really exciting discoveries from unknown Canadians as well at the festival,'' Podeswa said in a recent interview from Los Angeles.
"The diversity is great and the quantity and quality of the films at the festival is something I am really looking forward to.''
This year's fest also boasts an intriguing lineup of documentaries. Acclaimed director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs'') will be on hand to unveil his cinematic tribute to Jimmy Carter, "Man from Plains,'' as will the former U.S. president himself.
The festival will also showcase several music documentaries including "Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who'' (Paul Crowder, Murray Lerner), "Lou Reed's Berlin'' (Julian Schnabel) and "Joy Division'' (Grant Gee).
Controversial British filmmaker Nick Broomfield is also likely to create a stir with "The Battle for Haditha,'' a dramatic account of one of the blackest days of the Iraq war when U.S. Marines slaughtered 24 Iraqis, including women and children.
"Emotional Arithmetic,'' based on the novel by Canadian writer Matt Cohen and set in Quebec's Eastern Townships, will close the festival. The film, about the reunion of three friends who survived an internment camp during the Second World War, stars Susan Sarandon, Christopher Plummer and Roy Dupuis.
- Canadian Press
