JOKER, FORD V FERRARI, HUSTLERS Among Premieres at 2019 Toronto International Film Festival

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."

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.

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2019

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
Daniel Roher | Canada

Radioactive
Marjane Satrapi | United Kingdom

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Marielle Heller | USA

Abominable
Jill Culton | USA

Blackbird
Roger Michell | United Kingdom

Ford v Ferrari
James Mangold | USA

Harriet
Kasi Lemmons | USA

Hustlers
Lorene Scafaria | USA

Joker
Todd Phillips | USA

Just Mercy
Destin Daniel Cretton | USA

Ordinary Love
Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn | United Kingdom

The Goldfinch
John Crowley | USA

The Sky Is Pink
Shonali Bose | India

The Song of Names
François Girard | Canada

True History of the Kelly Gang
Justin Kurzel | Australia

Western Stars
Thom Zimny, Bruce Springsteen | USA

American Woman
Semi Chellas | Canada

Clemency
Chinonye Chukwu| USA

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2019
A Herdade
Tiago Guedes | Portugal

Bad Education
Cory Finley | USA

Coming Home Again
Wayne Wang | USA/South Korea

The Two Popes
Fernando Meirelles

Dolemite Is My Name
Craig Brewer | USA

Ema
Pablo Larraín | Chile

Endings, Beginnings
Drake Doremus | USA

Frankie
Ira Sachs | France/Portugal

Greed
Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom

Guest of Honour
Atom Egoyan | Canada

Heroic Losers (La odisea de los giles)
Sebastian Borensztein | Argentina/Spain

Honey Boy
Alma Har'el | USA

Hope Gap
William Nicholson | United Kingdom

How to Build a Girl
Coky Giedroyc | United Kingdom

I Am Woman
Unjoo Moon | Australia

Jojo Rabbit
Taika Waititi | USA

Judy
Rupert Goold | United Kingdom

Knives Out
Rian Johnson | USA

La Belle Époque
Nicolas Bedos | France

Marriage Story
Noah Baumbach | USA

Military Wives
Peter Cattaneo | United Kingdom

Motherless Brooklyn
Edward Norton | USA

No.7 Cherry Lane
Yonfan | Hong Kong

Pain and Glory
Pedro Almodóvar | Spain

Parasite (Gisaengchung)
Bong Joon-ho | South Korea

Pelican Blood (Pelikanblut)
Katrin Gebbe | Germany/Bulgaria

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu)
Céline Sciamma | France

Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan)
Lou Ye | China

The Friend
Gabriela Cowperthwaite | USA

The Laundromat
Steven Soderbergh | USA

The Lighthouse
Robert Eggers | USA

The Other Lamb
Malgorzata Szumowska | Belgium/Ireland/USA

The Painted Bird
Václav Marhoul | Czech Republic/Ukraine/Slovakia

The Personal History of David Copperfield
Armando Iannucci | United Kingdom

The Report
Scott Z. Burns | USA

Uncut Gems
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie | USA

Weathering With You
Makoto Shinkai | Japan

While at War (Mientras Dure La Guerra)
Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Argentina

Photo Credit: Courtesy of TIFF