The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off in just 44 days. Films directed by Ben Affleck and Robert Redford are among the gala presentations this year.

The festival’s opening night film is the action-packed, time-travelling thriller “Looper” with Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Emily Blunt.  

Given the gun violence in the film and the recent mass shooting in Colorado, festival director Piers Handling reexamined the opener but decided to go ahead with it but the festival will increase security at theatres during the run September 6 until September 16.

Other galas announced include:

• Ben Affleck’s political thriller “Argo”
• Tom Hanks’ epic “Cloud Atlas”
• “Thanks for Sharing,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Ruffalo
• Deepa Mehta’s adaptation of the Salman Rushdie novel, “Midnight’s Children” (world premiere)
• Robert Redford’s drama “The Company you Keep,” (North American premiere)
• Canadian director Ruba Nadda’s Middle East thriller “Inescapable” (starring Alexander Siddig, Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson)