Indiewire posted the top 50 upcoming titles for the Toronto Film Fest. ¬†It looks like The King’s Speech is getting a big roll out. ¬†Toronto is, much of the time, the hit and miss spot on the way to Oscar – though not always. ¬†Like Telluride, where Slumdog and Up in the Air launched from, a goodly buzzed film can ride high, which a badly received film (like Creation last year) can’t ever really find lift-off once the word has been spread. ¬†I was always hoping that the Toronto film fest goers had been wrong about Elizabeth: The Golden Age, but alas. ¬†What will hit and what will miss? ¬†We won’t know until early September, when Nancy Kriparos will be seeing films and reporting from Toronto. ¬†We also have a Telluride reporter, Eric Bialas.
Galas
The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford (USA)
While an angry nation seeks vengeance, a young union war hero must defend a mother accused of aiding her son in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Directed by Robert Redford, the film stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson. (World Premiere)
The Debt, directed by John Madden (UK)
(North American Premiere)
The King’s Speech, directed by Tom Hooper (UK)
(North American Premiere)
Little White Lies, directed by Guillaume Canet (France)
Despite a traumatic event, a group of friends decides to go ahead with their annual beach vacation. Their relationships, convictions, sense of guilt and friendship are sorely tested. They are finally forced to own up to the little white lies they have been telling each other. Directed by Guillaume Canet and starring: François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Benoît Magimel, Gilles Lellouche, Jean Dujardin, Laurent Lafitte, Valérie Bonneton and Pascale Arbillot. (World Premiere)
Peepworld, directed by Barry Blaustein (USA)
On the day of their Father’s 70th birthday party, four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling, that exposes the family’s most intimate secrets. (World Premiere)
Potiche, directed by Francois Ozon (France)
(North American Premiere)
The Town, directed by Ben Affleck (USA)
(North American Premiere)
Special Presentations
Another Year, directed by Mike Leigh (UK)
(North American Premiere)
Beginners, directed by Mike Mills (USA)
When his 71-year-old father comes out of the closet, Oliver must explore the honesty of his own relationships. Stars Ewan McGregor, Mélanie Laurent and Christopher Plummer. (World Premiere)
Conviction, directed by Tony Goldwyn (USA)
(World Premiere)
Dhobi Ghat, directed by Kiran Rao (India)
In the teeming metropolis of Mumbai/Bombay, four people, separated by class and language, are drawn together in compelling relationships. Shai, an affluent investment banker on a sabbatical, strikes up an unusual friendship with Munna, a young and beautiful laundry boy with ambitions of being a Bollywood actor, and has a brief dalliance with Arun, a gifted painter. As they slip away from familiar moorings and drift closer together, the city finds its way into the crevices of their inner worlds. (World Premiere)
It’s Kind of a Funny Story, directed by Ryan Fleck & Anna Bowen (USA)
(World Premiere)
Never Let Me Go, directed by Mark Romanek (United Kingdom)
Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) spent their childhood at a seemingly idyllic boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school, the terrible truth of their fate is revealed and they must confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart. (World Premiere)
Rabbit Hole, directed by John Cameron Mitchell (USA)
A middle-aged couple deals with the tragic loss of their son in John Cameron Mitchell’s screen adaptation of the play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart deliver groundbreaking performances as the distressed husband and wife who must learn to cope with the accident on their own separate terms. (World Premiere)
The Trip, directed by Michael Winterbottom (United Kingdom)
Follow two good friends in this hilarious road movie as they embark on a tour of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales of Northern England, eating, chatting and driving each other crazy. The film stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. (World Premiere)
Trust, directed by David Schwimmer (USA)
Safe and sound in their suburban home, Will and Lynn Cameron (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) used to sleep well at night. When their 14 year old daughter, Annie, made a new friend on-line – a 16 year old boy named Charlie – Will and Lynn didn’t think much of it. But when Annie and Charlie make a plan to meet what happens in the next twenty-four hours would change the entire family forever. Charlie is really a 40-year-old serial pedophile (Tom McCarthy). Once her rape comes to light, it becomes a touchstone event that reverberates through the entire family. (World Premiere)