The 50th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival will attract a galaxy of international stars to the city. On the eve of TIFF’s September 4 opening, Canada’s largest film festival released the names of talented actors, directors, and musicians expected to attend. There is no shortage of North American celebrities. They include Angelina Jolie, Matthew McConaughey, Jodie Foster, Sydney Sweeney, Dustin Hoffman, and Dwayne Johnson, to name a few.
Scarlett Johansson will also be here for her debut directorial feature, Eleanor the Great. It’s about a nonagenarian who pretends to be a Holocaust survivor. Canadians Keanu Reeves and Ryan Reynolds, French film director and screenwriter Claire Denis, and British actors Idris Elba, Emily Blunt, Ralph Fiennes, and Riz Ahmed are also on the list.
In addition, TIFF divulged the names of two Asian auteurs who are expected to land in Toronto. South Korean film director and screenwriter Park Chan-wook will be here for the North American premiere of his newest film, No Other Choice. He will join writer, director and actor Don McKellar in conversation at TIFF Lightbox on September 10.
“Adapted from a novel by Donald E. Westlake (The Ax), this incisive, darkly comic satire from Park Chan-wook (TIFF ’22’s Decision to Leave) follows a newly unemployed man who, desperate to land a coveted position, hatches a ruthless plan to dispatch his competition,” the TIFF website states.
No Other Choice stars Lee Byung-hun. He will receive a TIFF Special Tribute Award on September 7 at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
Meanwhile, Indian director and actor Anurag Kashyap will also be in town for the world premiere of his newest film, Monkey in a Cage / Bandar, which stars Bobby Deol, Saba Azad, and Sapna Pabbi. It’s billed as “an unflinching look at the thornier ripple effects of #MeToo in digital-age India”.
“Riddled with suspense and shifting alliances, this is a story of love, lies, and responsibility that takes nothing for granted,” the TIFF website states.
The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 4 to 14. For more information, visit the website. Learn more about the communities that make up Canada on the Toronto Spark website. Find the Toronto Spark on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social.
