TIFF is finally here

The Toronto International Film Festival has opened today, casting the spotlight on over 325 titles from around the world. For the next ten days, the 34th annual celebration will be filled with movie and celebrity watching, launching the latest films as they aspire for awards.Films from the TIFF move forward; take Slumdog Millionaire, for example, a favourite at the 2008 show resulting in Oscar-worthy results.

Anticipation is in the air with nearly 100 world premieres this year. Among them are big celebrity names, including A Serious Man from Joel and Ethan Coen, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It! and Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, starring George Clooney. Also included are Penelope Cruz (Broken Embraces), Julianne Moore (Chloe), Michael Caine (Harry Brown) and Oprah Winfrey, who has produced Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.

The Charles Darwin drama Creation starts the festival tonight, then continues through Sept. 19, closing with Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallée’s royal costume drama The Young Victoria.

See more at TIFF.net

Image: The Spine. Academy Award-winner Chris Landreth em- ploys his signature style for his latest animation, creating a wholly original account of a co-dependent couples’ support group. Dan and Mary are facing very real issues. Their marriage having broken into tiny fragments, they must dig deep to tell their real story and rediscover the ties that brought them together in the first place.