Toronto truly a premiere festival

THE Toronto International Film Festival promises a higher number of world and international premieres than ever before.

The 30th edition of the festival will also present a slate of Chinese films in honor of 100 years of cinema in China, as well as the 35th anniversary of Canada’s diplomatic relations with the country.

The festival -- counted among Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Sundance as one of the world’s most influential -- will screen 335 films over 10 days after it kicks off Sept. 8.

Of the 256 features to be shown, 109 will be world premieres, while 28 others are international premieres, meaning they have not been shown outside their country of production.

“If you put world and international premieres together, that makes 54% of our lineup, an amazing number that we have hit for the first time this year,” said festival co-director Noah Cowan, noting that 78 films will make their North American debuts.

The festival will open with the world premiere of Indian-born director Deepa Mehta’s “Water,” a film that triggered violent protests and death threats when it began filming in India five years ago.

It will close with the North American premiere of David J. Burke’s “Edison,” a crime drama starring Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman and Justin Timberlake.

Films from 52 countries will be presented, including five from South Korea.

The heavy dose of world premieres will include films from Roman Polanski, who will debut his take on the Charles Dickens classic “Oliver Twist”; Terry Gilliam, who will present “Tideland”; and Martin Scorsese, who will screen “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,” a documentary about the early career of the legendary singer.

The music theme will continue with Stephen Woolley’s “Stoned,” a chronicle of the drug- and sex-fueled demise of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, and “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey,” a Canadian film directed by Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen and Jessica Joy-Wise.

Guy Ritchie will show his thriller “Revolver,” starring Jason Statham and Ray Liotta, and actor-director Tommy Lee Jones will present the North American premiere of his “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.”