‘The Wild Robot’

DreamWorks

The Toronto Film Festival unveiled its first raft of titles for its 49th edition in September, presenting a lineup that will include the world premiere of R.J. Culter’s new documentary Elton John: Never Too Late about the legendary British singer; the Korean drama Harbin from director Woo Min-ho (Inside Men) starring Hyun Bin, Lee Dong-wook, Park Jeong-min, and Jeon Yeo-been; and Nightbitch, a horror comedy from director Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Diary of a Teenage Girl) starring Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mom whose life takes a surreal turn. Adams will also be honored this year with the TIFF Tribute Performer Award for her life’s work.

“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,” said Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer. “TIFF is renowned for showcasing works from both emerging and established filmmakers worldwide.”

Nightbitch will screen as part of TIFF’s special presentations section this year. Other 2024 special presentations will include Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, a genre-bending story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz, adapted from the Stephen King short story, and starring Jacob Tremblay, David Dastmalchian and Tom Hiddleston; and Netflix’s Rez Ball, a coming-of-age tale about Indigenous basketball, directed by Sydney Freeland (Reservation Dogs, Echo) and produced by LeBron James.

DreamWorks Animation’s animated feature The Wild Robot, from three-time Oscar nominee Chris Sanders (The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon, Lily & Stitch), which features an ensemble voice cast led by Lupita Nyong’o as a robot stranded on an uninhabited island who must learn to connect with the untrusting animals, will also get its world premiere at TIFF this year as part of the festival’s gala celebrations.

The 49th Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 5-15.