Films for 2011 TIFF unveiled

TORONTO, Ont. – It’s almost that time of year again.

With the event being just over six weeks away, a list of some special features and galas films to be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival was announced at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Irish rock band U2 will open the festival with a documentary by Davis Guggenheim called From the Sky Down, making TIFF history – the first time in 36 years it has begun with a documentary.

“It produced a great film, and I think it spoke to a lot of what we do in terms of showcasing the creative process of artists, trying to allow our audiences a window into that creative process, and it’s really all there in this one film,” said TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey.

“It’s not a puff piece at all,” said the festival’s other co-director Piers Handling. “It really is a group of four artists together in a room, working out what’s right for them.”

However, Bailey and Handling will not say if Bono and friends will be at the red carpet premiere.

Next, Canadian Sarah Polley will premiere her film Take This Waltz starring Michelle Williams.

“She’s amazing,” said Polley. “I don’t think there are many actors that talented in the world right now, and she’s constantly surprising and unpredictable and fascinating and poetic, and she’s also incredibly collaborative and kind of made the whole thing a joy.”

Also on the list include David Cronenberg’s Dangerous Method starring Viggo Mortensen, Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt, baseball flick Moneyballs starring Brad Pitt, the Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman comedy Butter, and The Ides of March and The Descendants, both starring George Clooney.

Other music-related films to take to the big screen include Cameron Crowe’s documentary Pearl Jam Twenty, and Madonna’s romantic tale W E.

The 11-day 2011 Toronto International Film Festival begins September 8.

Some galas and special presentations are:

Galas:
From the Sky Down (Davis Guggenheim, )
Albert Nobbs (Rodrigo Garcia, Ireland)
Butter (Jim Field Smith, USA)
A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, France/Ireland/United Kingdom/Germany/Canada)
A Happy Event (Rémi Bezancon, France)
The Ides of March (George Clooney, USA)
The Lady (Luc Besson, France/United Kingdom)
Moneyball (Bennett Miller, USA)
Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding (Bruce Beresford, USA)
Take this Waltz (Sarah Polley, Canada)
W.E. (Madonna, United Kingdom)

Special Presentations:
11 Flowers (Wang Xiaoshuai, China/France)
50/50 (Jonathan Levine, USA)
360 (Fernando Meirelles UK/Austria/France/Brazil)
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, France)
Americano (Mathieu Demy, France)
Anonymous (Roland Emmerich, Germany)
A Better Life (Cédric Khan, France)
Burning Man (Jonathan Teplitzky, Australia)
Chicken with Plums (Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, France/Germany/Belgium)
Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes, United Kingdom)
Countdown (Huh Jong-ho, Korea)
Dark Horse (Todd Solondz, USA)
The Deep Blue Sea (Terence Davies, United Kingdom)
The Descendants (Alexander Payne, USA)
Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, USA)
Elles (Malgoska Szumowska, France/Poland/Germany)
The Eye of the Storm (Fred Schepisi, Australia)
Friends With Kids (Jennifer Westfeldt, USA)
Habemus Papam (Nanni Moretti, Italy/France)
Headhunters (Morten Tyldum, Norway)
Hick (Derick Martini, USA)
The Hunter (Daniel Nettheim, Australia)
Jeff, Who Lives at Home (Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, USA)
Killer Joe (William Friedkin, USA)
Like Crazy (Drake Doremus, USA)
Machine Gun Preacher (Marc Forster, USA)
Martha Marcy May Marlene (Sean Durkin, USA)
Melancholia (Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany)
The Oranges (Julian Farino, USA)
Pearl Jam Twenty (Cameron Crowe, USA)
Rampart( Oren Moverman, USA)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Lasse Hallstrom, United Kingdom)
Shame (Steve McQueen, United Kingdom)
A Simple Life (Ann Hui, Hong Kong, China)
The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)
Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols, USA)
Ten Year (Jamie Linden, USA)
Trishna (Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom)
Twixt (Francis Ford Coppola, USA)
Tyrannosaur (Paddy Considine, United Kingdom)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, United Kingdom)
Where Do We Go Now? (Nadine Labaki, France/Lebanon/Italy/Egypt)
Woman in the Fifth (Pawel Pawlikowski, France/Poland/United Kingdom)

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