TIFF 2019 lineup includes world premieres of Harriet, Jojo Rabbit, Dolemite is My Name, Just Mercy and more

TIFF Co-Heads Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente today announced the first round
of titles selected for the Gala and Special Presentations programmes at the 44th Toronto
International Film Festival. This first batch of films from the 2019 Official Selection features 18 Galas and 38 Special Presentations.

“Some of the year’s biggest films will land in Toronto this September,” said Bailey, Co-Head and Artistic Director of TIFF. “We’re thrilled to unveil Galas and Special Presentations that bring the brightest lights in film to our Festival audience. Our new programming team has been hard at work for months to deliver the compelling stories, acclaimed filmmakers, and top onscreen talent that mark our two highest-profile sections.”

“I’m delighted to step into my first Festival as TIFF Co-Head to such a powerful slate of films,” said Vicente, Co-Head and Executive Director of TIFF. “Fast-paced, boundary-pushing, satirical — this lineup has films representing every corner of the cinematic landscape on top of a strong number of World Premieres. It’s a pleasure to be able to share these films with audiences for the first time.”

Of the Gala films announced today, 50% of titles are directed or co-directed by women — a record number for the programme. This year’s selection also includes 29 World Premieres, six International Premieres, 13 North American Premieres, and eight Canadian Premieres.

The designation of the type of premiere a film is at TIFF gives us a lot of information about the upcoming announcements from Venice on the 25th and Telluride next month. A World Premiere is just as it sounds, the first ever look for any audience at any festival. Jojo Rabbit, Harriet, Knives Out, The Personal History of David Copperfield will all have their first showings at TIFF. Then we have International Premiere, which implies the first showing a film outside the United States. From the list below, that tells us that Ford v Ferrari, Judy and Uncut Gems will hit Telluride first. A film with a North American premiere will find itself at Venice first, like Joker and The Laundromat. A Canadian premiere, like Marriage Story and The Two Popes, means it’s likely to hit both Venice and Telluride.

Check out the initial list of both Galas and Special Presentations below. Keep updated here for more programming announcements in the days to come.

The 44th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5–15, 2019.

GALAS 2019

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Marielle Heller | USA
World Premiere

Abominable Jill Culton | USA
World Premiere

American Woman Semi Chellas | Canada
Canadian Premiere

Blackbird Roger Michell | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Clemency Chinonye Chukwu | USA
International Premiere

Ford v Ferrari James Mangold | USA
Canadian Premiere

The Goldfinch John Crowley | USA
World Premiere

Harriet Kasi Lemmons | USA
World Premiere

Hustlers Lorene Scafaria | USA
World Premiere

Joker Todd Phillips | USA
North American Premiere

Just Mercy Destin Daniel Cretton | USA
World Premiere

*Opening Night Film*
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band Daniel Roher | Canada
World Premiere

Ordinary Love Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*Closing Night Film*
Radioactive Marjane Satrapi | United Kingdom
World Premiere

The Sky Is Pink Shonali Bose | India
World Premiere

The Song of Names François Girard | Canada
World Premiere

True History of the Kelly Gang Justin Kurzel | Australia
World Premiere

Western Stars Thom Zimny, Bruce Springsteen | USA
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2019

A Herdade Tiago Guedes | Portugal
North American Premiere

Bad Education Cory Finley | USA
World Premiere

Coming Home Again Wayne Wang | USA/South Korea
World Premiere

Dolemite Is My Name Craig Brewer | USA
World Premiere

Ema Pablo Larraín | Chile
North American Premiere

Endings, Beginnings Drake Doremus | USA
World Premiere

Frankie Ira Sachs | France/Portugal
North American Premiere

The Friend Gabriela Cowperthwaite | USA
World Premiere

Greed Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Guest of Honour Atom Egoyan | Canada
North American Premiere

Heroic Losers (La odisea de los giles) Sebastian Borensztein | Argentina/Spain
International Premiere

Honey Boy Alma Har’el | USA
International Premiere

Hope Gap William Nicholson | United Kingdom
World Premiere

How to Build a Girl Coky Giedroyc | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*Opening Special Presentations Film*
I Am Woman Unjoo Moon | Australia
World Premiere

Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi | USA
World Premiere

Judy Rupert Goold | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

Knives Out Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere

La Belle Époque Nicolas Bedos | France
North American Premiere

The Laundromat Steven Soderbergh | USA
North American Premiere

The Lighthouse Robert Eggers | USA
North American Premiere

Marriage Story Noah Baumbach | USA
Canadian Premiere

Military Wives Peter Cattaneo | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Motherless Brooklyn Edward Norton | USA
International Premiere

No.7 Cherry Lane Yonfan | Hong Kong
North American Premiere

The Other Lamb Malgorzata Szumowska | Belgium/Ireland/USA
World Premiere

Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar | Spain
Canadian Premiere

The Painted Bird Václav Marhoul | Czech Republic/Ukraine/Slovakia
North American Premiere

Parasite (Gisaengchung) Bong Joon-ho | South Korea
Canadian Premiere

Pelican Blood (Pelikanblut) Katrin Gebbe | Germany/Bulgaria
North American Premiere

The Personal History of David Copperfield Armando Iannucci | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) Céline Sciamma | France
Canadian Premiere

The Report Scott Z. Burns | USA
International Premiere

Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan) Lou Ye | China
North American Premiere

The Two Popes Fernando Meirelles | USA/United Kingdom/Italy/Argentina
Canadian Premiere

Uncut Gems Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie | USA
International Premiere

Weathering With You Makoto Shinkai | Japan
North American Premiere

While at War (Mientras Dure La Guerra) Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Argentina
World Premiere