Elton John: Never Too Late, a feature documentary about pop legend Elton John, will have its world premiere as a gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. So too will Nightbitch, a dark comedy starring Amy Adams about a stay-at-home mom whose life takes a surreal turn.
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The two films are among the first six titles announced by the high-profile festival, as Toronto organizers pulled back the curtain on some of the prestige presentations and honorees planned for this year’s 49th edition, as well as preparations for Toronto’s 2026 launch of an organized film market.
Elton John: Never Too Late hails from Disney+ and is jointly directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, John’s husband. Nightbitch is directed by Marielle Heller and is represented by Searchlight Pictures.
Canadian director David Cronenberg will receive the 2024 Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award. Organizers described Cronenberg as having “developed a dramatic oeuvre of outstanding depth and breadth, and consequently [he] has been lauded as one of the world’s most influential filmmakers.”
Sandra Oh, the Ottawa-based actor with credits including Grey’s Anatomy, Killing Eve and The Sympathizer, will receive the 2024 TIFF Tribute Awards Honorary Chair.
Describing Oh as “incomparable,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said, “We’re grateful that artists of this stature will gather in Toronto to help TIFF turn the spotlight on increasing inclusion throughout our industry.” While the festival runs from September 5-15, the tribute awards gala will be held on September 8 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
The other gala titles are: South Korean war actioner Harbin, directed by Woo Min-ho and starring Hyun Bin, Lee Dong-wook, Park Jeong-min and Jeon Yeo-been; Tom Hiddleston-starring The Life of Chuck, directed by Mika Flanagan and based on the 2020 Stephen King short story of the same name; Rez Ball, a Netflix-backed coming-of-age film about Indigenous basketball directed by Sydney Freeland and produced by LeBron James; and Dreamworks Animation’s The Wild Robot, a live animation film directed Chris Sanders. It features a huge ensemble cast, including Lupita Nyong’o as a robot forced to come to terms with its new surroundings.
“We know the TIFF audience has been eagerly anticipating what films will be coming to Toronto this September, and today’s announcement is a perfect snapshot of what’s to come this year,” Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer, said in a statement. “TIFF is renowned for showcasing works from both emerging and established filmmakers worldwide.”
Earlier this year, Elton John and Bernie Taupin received the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on March 20 at Washington, D.C.’s Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall.
The star-studded concert, which is by invitation only, premiered on PBS stations on April 8. The iconic songwriting duo is only the third pair to receive the award, following Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 2012, and Gloria and Emilio Estefan in 2019.
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