TORONTO - Big stars, glitzy premieres and red-carpet drama put the 35th Toronto International Film Festival on the world stage once again in 2010. But it's movie magic that rules the show. From a gorgeous ballerina driven to madness by her ambition to political crooks and everyday Joes with links to the hereafter, here's your sneak peek of what the world will be watching in September.
Film: Barney's Version, directed by Richard J. Lewis
The stars: Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Scott Speedman, Rachelle Lefevre, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike
Country of Origin: Canada/Italy
Paul Giamatti breathes life, at last, into the hard-drinking hero of Mordecai Richler's 1997 prize-winning novel. After 65 years of blustery tete-a-tetes with three ex-wives, Barney Panofsky recounts the highs and lows of his life as he runs from death.
Film: Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky
The stars: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
Country of Origin: USA
Natalie Portman delves into her dark side in this eerie psychological tale of ballet-world rivalry and twisted ambitions. Cast as Nina, a dancer desperate to play the lead in Swan Lake at any cost, Portman puts on that tutu and lets the duplicity rip.
Film: The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town, director Thom Zimny
The stars: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Country of origin: USA
Thom Zimny's hugely-anticipated documentary ventures into the studio with Springsteen and the E Street Band as they record their fourth album. Revealing interviews and never-before-seen footage shot between 1976 and 1978 showcase The Boss like you've never seen him before.
Film: Biutiful, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
The star: Javier Bardem
Country of Origin: Spain/Mexico
Starring in Inarritu's first film since "Babel," Javier Bardem knocks it out of the park as the tragic hero Uxbal -- a loving father and Barcelona crook who tries to find forgiveness in life before dying. A hands-down Oscar frontrunner in 2011 for Best Actor.
Film: Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood
The stars: Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jay Mohr, Cécile de France
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Eastwood's unusual new thriller about the afterlife stars Matt Damon as a U.S. factory worker who can talk to the dead. He is not alone. A French reporter and London schoolboy share the same disquieting gift, one that haunts these people in different ways.
Film: Casino Jack, directed by George Hickenlooper
The stars: Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Rachelle Lefevre, Jon Lovitz
Country of Origin: Canada
Spacey brings it on as Jack Abramoff, the real-life U.S. lobbyist who tried to build a dynasty that would surpass the Kennedy's. But greed and fraudulent dealings with Indian casinos landed Abramoff in jail, sparking the biggest scandal to hit Washington since Watergate.
Film: The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford
The stars: Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood
Country of Origin: USA
Robert Redford serves up a taut drama about Mary Surrat (Wright), the lone female co-conspirator charged in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the nation cries for Mary's blood, her reluctant lawyer (McAvoy) tries to uncover the truth before she hangs.
Film: The King's Speech, directed by Tom Hooper
The stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush
Country of Origin: United Kingdom/Australia
"A Single Man's" Colin Firth returns to TIFF as England's King George VI. Forced onto the throne after his brother abdicates, this stuttering, insecure monarch finds his voice with the help of a radical speech therapist (Rush). A moving, nuanced look at the powerlessness of a powerful man.
Film: Another Year, directed by Mike Leigh
The stars: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wright, Oliver Maltman
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
"Life is not always kind," as one character tells us in "Another Year." That harsh truth drives this new drama about a happy, middle-aged couple (Broadbent, Sheen) and their downcast London friends. But trouble brews when one of these lonely hearts falls for the couple's son.
Film: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, directed by Woody Allen
The stars: Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones, Lucy Punch
Country of Origin: United Kingdom/USA/Spain
Opening to 1940's tune "When You Wish upon a Star," Allen's latest follows two London couples as they struggle with their failing marriages and fears of aging. Allen skewers everyone here, including a fake psychic linking these players who may know more about the future than anyone suspected.
Film: Beginners, directed by Mike Mills
The stars: Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor
Country of Origin: USA
Christopher Plummer lays it all on the line as a divorced, 75-year-old father who comes out of the closet after he is diagnosed with cancer. The liberated man finds new love and real contentment for the first time in his life, something that inspires his son (McGregor) to reexamine his own stifled life and shake things up while he can.
Film: The Illusionist, directed by Sylvain Chomet
The stars: voices of Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Chomet's animated follow-up to the 2003 hit, "The Triplets of Belleville," is almost silent and drips with the colours of an impressionist painting. Based on an unproduced script by French mime/director Jacques Tati, the film follows a shabby '50s magician who struggles to compete with rock and roll. Yet one lonely girl appreciates his magic.
Film: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
The stars: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Natthakarn Aphaiwonk, Geerasak Kulhong
Country of Origin: Thailand/UK/France /Germany/Spain
Winner of this year's Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Thai auteur Weerasethakul takes viewers on a journey through the afterlife and all its hidden, spiritual realms as one man nears his own death. A certain Oscar contender for Best Foreign film in 2011.
Film: Conviction, directed by Tony Goldwyn
The stars: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell
Country of Origin: USA
Based on the inspirational life of Betty Anne Waters, Swank digs in deep to portray a working class, single-mother who devotes her life to proving the innocence of her brother (Rockwell) after he is sentenced to life in prison for murder. Let those tears start rolling!
Film: Jack Goes Boating, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman
The stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega
Country of Origin: USA
Hoffman makes his directorial debut with this working-class tale adapted from Bob Glaudini's Off-Broadway play. Hoffman plays Jack, a shy New York City limo driver who tries to orchestrate the ultimate date possible for girl of his dreams. But his brilliant plan proves to be anything but ideal.
Film: Rabbit Hole, directed by John Cameron Mitchell
The stars: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Sandra Oh
Country of Origin: USA
After their son is killed by a hit-and-run accident, Becca and Howie Corbett (Kidman, Eckhart) struggle to mourn and save their marriage. When the upper-middle class couple can't connect, Becca reaches out to the teen who killed her son and finds a way to turn their suppressed rage into hope. Get out your handkerchiefs!
Film: Never Let Me Go, directed by Mark Romanek
The stars: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Though it seems postcard perfect, something is not right at Hailsham -- a boarding school set in the idyllic English countryside. When three students leave the shelter of this school, the eighteen-year-olds confront a terrible secret that threatens to tear their lives apart. A moody, haunting tale about love and sacrifice.
Film: The Debt, directed by John Madden
The stars: Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Marton Csokas, Jesper Christensen
Country of Origin: USA
Set in 1965, Madden's crackling political thriller follows three young Israeli Mossad agents on a secret mission to capture a Nazi war criminal. Thirty years later, the lone women in this spy trio (Mirren) finds herself embroiled once more in this mission's messy aftermath. The ruthless intrigue and Mirren will keep you guessing.
Film: Blue Valentine, by director Derek Cianfrance
The stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
Country of Origin: USA
Cutting between love's blissful highs and lows, "Blue Valentine" delivers a searing portrait of a relationship on the rocks. Dean (Gosling) is happy with his blue-collar life. Cindy (Williams) dreams of more. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, the two check into a cheap motel to talk. But the fallout of this crisis is just too much to handle.
Film: I'm Still Here, by director Casey Affleck
The star: Joaquin Phoenix
Country of Origin: USA
Casey Affleck's directorial debut scored huge buzz in 2010. No wonder. With remarkable access, Affleck's bizarre portrait of Joaquin Phoenix begins as the star announces his retirement from acting in 2008. What follows is Phoenix's ballsy attempt to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Is it real? A prank? Only Phoenix and Affleck know for sure.
