2019 Toronto International Film Festival announces first selections in Galas and Special Presentation Programmes

TIFF Co-Heads Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente today announced the first round of titles selected for the Gala and Special Presentations programmes at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival. This first batch of films from the 2019 Official Selection features 18 Galas and 38 Special Presentations.

“Some of the year’s biggest films will land in Toronto this September,” said Bailey, Co-Head and Artistic Director of TIFF. “We’re thrilled to unveil Galas and Special Presentations that bring the brightest lights in film to our Festival audience. Our new programming team has been hard at work for months to deliver the compelling stories, acclaimed filmmakers, and top onscreen talent that mark our two highest-profile sections.”

“I’m delighted to step into my first Festival as TIFF Co-Head to such a powerful slate of films,” said Vicente, Co-Head and Executive Director of TIFF. “Fast-paced, boundary-pushing, satirical — this lineup has films representing every corner of the cinematic landscape on top of a strong number of World Premieres. It’s a pleasure to be able to share these films with audiences for the first time.”

The films include Joker, The Goldfinch, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Hustlers, Harriet, Jojo Rabbit and Knives Out.

Of the Gala films announced today, 50% of titles are directed or co-directed by women — a record number for the programme. This year’s selection also includes 29 World Premieres, six
International Premieres, 13 North American Premieres, and eight Canadian Premieres.

The 44th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5–15, 2019.

GALAS 2019

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Marielle Heller | USA
  World Premiere
• Abominable Jill Culton | USA
  World Premiere
• American Woman Semi Chellas | Canada
  Canadian Premiere
• Blackbird Roger Michell | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• Clemency Chinonye Chukwu | USA
  International Premiere

Ford v Ferrari

• Ford v Ferrari James Mangold | USA
  Canadian Premiere
• The Goldfinch John Crowley | USA
  World Premiere
• Harriet Kasi Lemmons | USA
  World Premiere
• Hustlers Lorene Scafaria | USA
  World Premiere
• Joker Todd Phillips | USA
  North American Premiere
• Just Mercy Destin Daniel Cretton | USA
  World Premiere
• *Opening Night Film*
  Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band Daniel Roher | Canada
  World Premiere
• Ordinary Love Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn | United Kingdom
  World Premiere

Radioactive

• *Closing Night Film*
  Radioactive Marjane Satrapi | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• The Sky Is Pink Shonali Bose | India
  World Premiere
• The Song of Names François Girard | Canada
  World Premiere
• True History of the Kelly Gang Justin Kurzel | Australia
  World Premiere
• Western Stars Thom Zimny, Bruce Springsteen | USA
  World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2019

• A Herdade Tiago Guedes | Portugal
  North American Premiere
• Bad Education Cory Finley | USA
  World Premiere
• Coming Home Again Wayne Wang | USA/South Korea
  World Premiere

Dolemite Is My Name

• Dolemite Is My Name Craig Brewer | USA
  World Premiere
• Ema Pablo Larraín | Chile
  North American Premiere
• Endings, Beginnings Drake Doremus | USA
  World Premiere
• Frankie Ira Sachs | France/Portugal
  North American Premiere
• The Friend Gabriela Cowperthwaite | USA
  World Premiere
• Greed Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• Guest of Honour Atom Egoyan | Canada
  North American Premiere
• Heroic Losers (La odisea de los giles) Sebastian Borensztein | Argentina/Spain
  International Premiere
• Honey Boy Alma Har’el | USA
  International Premiere
• Hope Gap William Nicholson | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• How to Build a Girl Coky Giedroyc | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• *Opening Special Presentations Film*
  I Am Woman Unjoo Moon | Australia
  World Premiere
• Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi | USA
  World Premiere
• Judy Rupert Goold | United Kingdom
  Canadian Premiere
• Knives Out Rian Johnson | USA
  World Premiere
• La Belle Époque Nicolas Bedos | France
  North American Premiere

The Laundromat

• The Laundromat Steven Soderbergh | USA
  North American Premiere
• The Lighthouse Robert Eggers | USA
  North American Premiere

Marriage Story

• Marriage Story Noah Baumbach | USA
  Canadian Premiere
• Military Wives Peter Cattaneo | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• Motherless Brooklyn Edward Norton | USA
  International Premiere
• No.7 Cherry Lane Yonfan | Hong Kong
  North American Premiere
• The Other Lamb Malgorzata Szumowska | Belgium/Ireland/USA
  World Premiere
• Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar | Spain
  Canadian Premiere
• The Painted Bird Václav Marhoul | Czech Republic/Ukraine/Slovakia
  North American Premiere
• Parasite (Gisaengchung) Bong Joon-ho | South Korea
  Canadian Premiere
• Pelican Blood (Pelikanblut) Katrin Gebbe | Germany/Bulgaria
  North American Premiere
• The Personal History of David Copperfield Armando Iannucci | United Kingdom
  World Premiere
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) Céline Sciamma | France
  Canadian Premiere
• The Report Scott Z. Burns | USA
  International Premiere
• Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan) Lou Ye | China
  North American Premiere
• The Two Popes Fernando Meirelles | USA/United Kingdom/Italy/Argentina
  Canadian Premiere

Uncut Gems

• Uncut Gems Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie | USA
  International Premiere
• Weathering With You Makoto Shinkai | Japan
  North American Premiere
• While at War (Mientras Dure La Guerra) Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Argentina
  World Premiere