Spielberg headlines return of stars to Toronto film festival

LOS ANGELES,  Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lawrence, and Harry Styles will take their world premieres to Toronto after  The World’s biggest film festival announced a full-throttle return on Thursday with the unveiling of a star-studded lineup.

The Toronto International  Film Festival (TIFF),  whose founder Henk Van Der Kolk inspired the creation of Panama’s festival while resident in the capital city has unveiled countless Oscar winners, will once again welcome stars to the glamorous red carpets as the exclusive parties, after two very reduced editions during the pandemic.

“The Fabelmans,” a long-awaited and deeply personal feature film from Spielberg, will be one of the main draws at the festival, which kicks off on September 8.

Based on the revered director’s childhood in Arizona, the film explores the family secrets of a young man with an early passion for film and stars Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, and Seth.

Director Rian Johnson releases “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” a Netflix sequel in which Daniel Craig’s gentleman sleuth meets a new star-studded cast including Edward Norton, Ethan Hawke, and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Peter Farrelly, whose 2018 racial drama “Green Book: A Friendship Without Borders” began its path to Oscar glory in Toronto, will bring “The Greatest Beer Run Ever,” another world premiere starring Zac Efron, Bill Murray, and Russell Crowe.

TIFF is a key part of the fall festival lineup, along with Venice and Telluride, where films hoping to get an early Oscar push often hold lavish premieres.

Toronto’s annual People’s Choice Award has become an increasingly accurate indicator of the Oscars, predicting potential best picture winners such as “Nomadland,” which took home the Oscar in 2021, and “Green Book: A friendship without borders.

Last year, organizers held a scaled-down event in person due to covid fears, while a year earlier the festival took place almost entirely online.

Stars expected to return to Toronto’s red carpets this year include Oscar winners Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne in “The Good Nurse” and pop megastar Harry Styles, who plays a 1980s cop. 50 in “My Policeman“.

Jennifer Lawrence stars in “Causeway,” a drama about a soldier who suffers a traumatic brain injury.