TIFF 2021: ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ to open fest, plus world premieres of ‘The Guilty,’ The Starling’ and more

Zhang Yimou’s One Second will close the 46th Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 9–18, 2021

TIFF Co-Heads Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente announced today that the feature-film adaptation of the Tony Award–winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is the Opening Night Gala Presentation at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival and will screen Thursday, September 9 at Roy Thomson Hall. Additional screenings of Dear Evan Hansen will take place at the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre, at the RBC Lakeside Drive-In at Ontario Place, and digitally on the digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform.

“There was no question that Dear Evan Hansen was the ideal film to launch the Festival this year,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head, TIFF. “This film is ultimately about healing, forgiveness, and reaffirms how connected and essential we all are to one another. We couldn’t think of a more important idea to celebrate this year as we come together once again to share the power and joy of cinema in theatres together.”

“Some of the year’s biggest films will screen at TIFF this year,” added Bailey. “We’re thrilled to announce these films as Galas and Special Presentations. Our programming team has been hard at work for months searching for the most compelling stories, acclaimed filmmakers, and top onscreen talent that comprise two of TIFF’s highest-profile sections.”

The Closing Night Gala of TIFF 2021, One Second, is the newest offering from the acclaimed Chinese director of Raise the Red Lantern and Hero, Zhang Yimou. The film tells the story of a travelling film projectionist and an escaped prisoner connected through cinema. One Second is a love letter to movies and a reminder of how they can unite people, regardless of our differences. “Every September we invite the whole film world to Toronto, one of the most diverse, movie-mad cities in the world,” said Bailey. “And to have Zhang Yimou’s film here, now, is a true joy.”

TIFF also announced the first list of films from the 2021 Official Selection features 11 Galas and 21 Special Presentations. They include the previously announced Belfast, from Kenneth Branagh and Clifford the Big Red Dog, both of which are world premieres, as well as the Canadian premiere of Will Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and Mélanie Laurent’s The Mad Woman’s Ball.

In the Special Presentations section we have The Eyes of Tammy Faye, starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as disgraced televangelists Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Cannes winner Drive My Car, Antoine Fuqua’s The Guilty with Jake Gyllenhaal, Theodore Melfi’s The Starling with Melissa McCarthy and Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, starring 2021 Cannes Best Actress winner Renate Reinsve.

Curiously missing from this list is the previously announced Dune, from Denis Villeneuve. On June 23, TIFF revealed 12 titles that would be appearing at the festival (all of which are listed below). Recently, Warner Bros moved the release date for the film from October 1 to October 22, the same day as Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (which also stars Timothée Chalamet) and Edgar Wright’s The Last Night in Soho. The film, which is to have a special IMAX, is set to take place take place at the Cinesphere Theatre at Ontario Place, the first permanent IMAX venue in the world, after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. “It was literally a big get for us,” Bailey said in June. “Denis Villeneuve a Canadian filmmaker using Canadian technology and we’re showing it at the first theater to show the IMAX. I think the film will have a different kind of impact. It’s going to be spectacular to watch it that way.” TIFF is saying the film has not been pulled from the festival at this time.

It was just announced yesterday that Canada would be re-opening its border to visitors on August 9 after 18 months of lockdown, with Americans the first allowed in. This had been a major issue for journalists across the U.S. who didn’t know how or even if they would be able to cover this year’s festival in person.

“As TIFF resumed this year in the wake of a pandemic that marked and changed all of our lives, we felt it was important to open this year’s Festival with a film that connects to our shared humanity and that reminds us how deeply we need one another, need to be seen by one another, especially in times of loneliness and despair,” stated Joana Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head, TIFF.

This year’s festival will include in-person screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Roy Thomson Hall, the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre, and Festival Village at the iconic Ontario Place.

Here is the full list of today’s Gala and Special Presentation films. Films selected for TIFF’s other programs, including Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery, TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness, Primetime, and Wavelengths, will be announced on July 28. TIFF Short Cuts and the Platform Program will be announced on August 11. The complete lineup will be announced in the coming weeks and full schedule on August 24.

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2021
*previously announced 

*Belfast Kenneth Branagh | United Kingdom 
World Premiere
 
Clifford the Big Red Dog Walt Becker | USA/United Kingdom/Canada
World Premiere

Opening Night Film
Dear Evan Hansen Stephen Chbosky | USA
World Premiere

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Will Sharpe | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

*Jagged Alison Klayman | USA 
World Premiere

*Last Night in Soho Edgar Wright | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

*The Mad Women’s Ball (Le Bal des folles) Mélanie Laurent | France
World Premiere

*Night Raiders Danis Goulet | Canada/New Zealand
North American Premiere

Closing Night Film
One Second Zhang Yimou | China
North American Premiere

The Survivor Barry Levinson | USA/Canada/Hungary
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2021
*previously announced 

Ali & Ava Clio Barnard | United Kingdom 
North American Premiere

All My Puny Sorrows Michael McGowan | Canada
World Premiere

*Benediction Terence Davies | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Bergman Island Mia Hansen-Løve | France
International Premiere

*Charlotte Eric Warin, Tahir Rana | Canada/France/Belgium
World Premiere

*Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner | USA
World Premiere

Drive My Car Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan 
North American Premiere

Encounter Michael Pearce | United Kingdom/USA 
International Premiere

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Michael Showalter | USA 
World Premiere

*The Guilty Antoine Fuqua | USA
World Premiere

I’m Your Man Maria Schrader | Germany 
North American Premiere

Inexorable Fabrice du Welz | Belgium/France 
International Premiere

*Lakewood Phillip Noyce | Canada 
World Premiere

The Middle Man Bent Hamer | Norway/Canada/Germany/Denmark
World Premiere

Official Competition (Competencia Oficial) Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat | Spain/Argentina
North American Premiere

Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades) Jacques Audiard | France
North American Premiere

*Petite Maman Céline Sciamma | France 
Canadian Premiere

*The Starling Theodore Melfi | USA
World Premiere

The Story of My Wife Ildikó Enyedi | Hungary/Germany/Italy/France 
North American Premiere

Three Floors (Tre Piani) Nanni Moretti | Italy/France
North American Premiere

Violet Justine Bateman | USA 
International Premiere

The Worst Person In The World (Verdens Verste Menneske) Joachim Trier | Norway/France/Sweden/Denmark
North American Premiere