40th film festival unveils line-up

Piers Handling, CEO and Director of the Toronto International Film Festival and artistic director Cameron Bailey announced the first round of titles premiering in the 15 Galas and 34 Special Presentations of the 40th TIFF on July 28 in Toronto.

The initial lineup includes films from such acclaimed directors as Ridley Scott, Michael Moore, Deepa Mehta and Brian Helgeland.

Special presentations include Mountains May Depart (Shan He Gu Ren) directed by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke, which jumps from the recent past to the speculative near-future as it examines how China's economic boom has affected the bonds of family, tradition and love.

Another Chinese film joining the special presentations category is the world premier of Office, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, depicting the revelations and inside stories discovered when an IPO team enters a company to audit its accounts.

"We are celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2015 and this first round of films offers a taste of the incredible lineup at this year's festival," said Handling. "Made by both established and emerging filmmakers from around the world, these films offer a global snapshot of our times."

"This year we are thrilled to share a diverse array of filmmakers from Australia, India, France, China, the United Kingdom and the USA," said Bailey. "We look forward to sharing these fantastic films with Toronto audiences - the most engaged and enthusiastic in the world."

Jean-Marc Vallée's Demolition will open the festival. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper, Demolition will have its world premiere on September 10 at Roy Thomson Hall.

The Asian Film Summit returns to the TIFF Industry programming on September 15, and for the first time will take place at the Glenn Gould Studio.

The Summit is part of the festival's ongoing commitment to build bridges between Asian cinema and the West, and features an international guest list of industry experts and programming that explores the East-West relationship. The summit will include a master class with director Jia Zhang-ke.

The 40th Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 10 to 20.

renali@chinadailyusa.com