TIFF 2024: Plenty of star power as the Toronto Film Fest kicks off

US actor Ben Stiller poses with fans as he arrives for the premiere of “Nutcrackers” during the Toronto International Film Festival at the Roy Thomson Theater on September 5, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Photo credit: AFP

Hollywood’s A-list stars converge on Toronto for North America’s largest film festival, a 10-day extravaganza of Oscar bait movies, timely documentaries and glamor that opens Thursday, September 5.

This year marks a return to form for the event, after a pair of strikes by actors and writers kept top talent from promoting their work here last year. Although the 2023 film had a star-studded lineup, the red carpets did not conform to union protocol.

This time around, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Salma Hayek, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman are some of the bold names expected to unveil new projects in Canada’s biggest city.

“Toronto is known for the excitement of its audiences, and that excitement reaches fever pitch when the world’s biggest stars show up,” Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) CEO Cameron Bailey told AFP.

“We’re glad we’re holding a festival without some of the restrictions of last year, although I think we’ve done the best we can under the circumstances.”

Ben Stiller opened late Thursday with the family drama “Nutcrackers,” his first film in seven years, about a Chicago real estate developer who must move to Ohio to care for his four nephews when tragedy strikes his sister’s family.

Stiller has been focusing on directing as of late, including television projects “Escape at Dannemora” and “Severance.”

Ron Howard’s super-secret “Eden,” a survival film set in the Galapagos Islands and starring Ana de Armas and Sidney Sweeney, is among the other closely-anticipated world premieres in Toronto. The film debuts on Saturday.

Fresh from her Venice success as opera legend Maria Callas in “Maria,” Jolie arrives in Toronto with her latest directorial effort — “Without Blood,” an early 20th-century family and revenge story starring Hayek.

In all, there are 278 films on the slate.

Music all around

John and Springsteen will be in town with new documentaries about their epic careers — and some of the recording industry royalty expected to hit the red carpet.

Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Paul Anka, and singer, producer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams are also due to appear at screenings of new films about their personal and professional lives.

Bailey said the music-heavy programming started as a “crazy accident” and then “just started to gather its own momentum.”

“We couldn’t go in one direction or the other without finding another movie that was really mixed with music. And we decided, ‘We’re going to give it a go,'” he told AFP.

Other documentaries on tap include “The Last Republican,” about former U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger and his break with his own party, and “Men of War,” about a wild 2020 attempt to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

TIFF is part of a fall flurry of film festivals, along with Venice and Telluride, that movie pundits and producers believe are primed for Oscar glory.

But the Toronto event — where screenings are open to general moviegoers, not just media and industry insiders — also features feel-good crowd-pleasers like DreamWorks Animation’s latest “Nutcrackers” and “The Wild Robot.”

And the schedule includes a crop of inspirational true-story sports dramas, including “Unstoppable,” about a college wrestler without a right leg (Jarel Jerome) who dreams of turning pro. Lopez co-stars as the boy’s mother.

Also making its world premiere is “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields’ journey to Olympic gold.

TIFF runs from Thursday to September 15.

On the final day of the event, the People’s Choice Award — voted by the audience — is handed out

It became something of an early Oscar bellwether, predicting eventual Academy Award best picture winners such as “Nomadland” and “Green Book.”

Last year’s winner was “American Fiction,” which earned five Oscar nominations and won the statuette for best adapted screenplay.