The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival is well underway and many casts are taking the red carpet by storm.
TIFF kicked off on September 5 and will run until Sunday, September 15. The prestigious festival opened with David Gordon Green‘s film Nutcrackers which stars Ben Stiller. It will close with The Deb which will be Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut.
Throughout its run, anywhere between 300 and 400 films are shown but this year 278 were selected for the prestigious viewings. Several movies have already picked up a lot of buzz including We Live in Time starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, the star-studded Saturday Night and more.
Keep scrolling to see some of the hottest casts during their TIFF debut:
‘The Piano Lesson’
The drama’s cast features Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Erykah Badu, Corey Hawkins, Danielle Deadwyler and more. In addition to John David starring in the production, his brother, Malcolm Washington, is making his directorial debut. Their father, Denzel Washington, serves as an executive producer.
The Piano Lesson is an adaptation of the 1987 play by August Wilson. The film is set during the aftermath of the Great Depression. A family must decide what to do with their family’s sentimental heirloom, a piano that has been decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.
During the film’s premiere at TIFF, Denzel showed his support for his sons by attending and posing with his family on the red carpet.
‘Saturday Night’
The dramedy is based on the first-ever broadcast of Saturday Night Live. The cast includes notable names like Dylan O’Brien, Kaia Gerber, Lamorne Morris, Rachel Sennott, Nicholas Braun, Willem Dafoe, Jon Batiste, Gabriel Labelle, Andrew Barth Feldman, Cory Michael Smith, Matt Wood and more.
The biopic’s A-List ensemble plays several iconic comedians and writers. Among the celebrities portrayed are Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jim Henson, Billy Crystal, Lorne Michaels and Jane Curtin. Jason Reitman serves as the director.
Throughout TIFF many of the movie’s stars posed on the red carpet. The entire cast and crew even took an epic group shot outside the theater where it premiered.
‘William Tell’
The medieval drama is based on the legendary tale of the Swiss folk hero of the same name. Claes Bang plays the titular character, who is tasked with defending his homeland after it is attacked by Austria.
In addition to Bang, Connor Swindells, Ellie Bamber, Golshifteh Farahani, Jonah Hauer-King, Rafe Spall, Emily Beecham, Jonathan Pryce and Ben Kingsley also have roles in the project.
Ahead of its TIFF premiere, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired North American rights to the historical epic.
‘The Substance’
The body horror film starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid made headlines earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival. It was up for the highly coveted award, the Palme d’Or, which ultimately went to Anora. However, it did take home Best Screenplay.
The Substance tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) who is fired from her aerobics show on her 50th birthday. After returning home feeling dejected, Elisabeth is offered a mysterious serum that will create a younger version of herself. The serum was a success and the new version of Elisabeth begins to go by Sue (Qualley). Sue takes over Elisabeth’s job but things go awry after Sue finds success.
‘We Live in Time’
The Pugh and Garfield-led romance premiered during the second day of TIFF. The story follows an up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée after a chance encounter brings them together.
Fans of both Garfield and Pugh have been obsessed with the pairing since the project was announced in March 2023. Fans gushed about the duo’s dynamic after first-look photos dropped of Pugh and Garfield in their roles. The pair kept their chemistry alive at TIFF as they posed on the red carpet together.
