The 2014 Toronto International Film Festival unveils first wave of films

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The 39th Toronto International Film Festival, which will run from September 4 to 14, has revealed its first slate of films. Year after year, it’s world-premier line-up has rivaled most film festivals out there (including Sundance) and after checking out what’s playing, it’s easy to see why. This initial lineup includes 37 world premieres from directors including Noah Baumbach, Susanne Bier, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, David Dobkin, Philippe Falardeau, Mia Hansen-Løve, Ning Hao, François Ozon, Christian Petzold, Lone Scherfig and Chris Rock. You can check out the full list here, but I’ve included some of the highlights below.

THE EQUALIZER Antoine Fuqua, World Premiere

An ex-CIA agent (Denzel Washington) uses his lethal skills to protect an imperiled young woman (Chloë Grace Moretz) from the Russian mob, in this hard-edged big-screen adaptation of the cult ’80s TV show from director Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY).

FOXCATCHER Bennett Miller, Canadian Premiere

Two brothers, both former Olympic wrestling champions (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo) become involved in a fateful and fatal friendship with a neurotic millionaire (Steve Carell), in this true-life drama from director Bennett Miller (CAPOTE, MONEYBALL) that is already one of the year’s most buzzed-about films.

PAWN SACRIFICE Ed Zwick, World Premiere

In this remarkable true story set in the height of the Cold War, chess legend Bobby Fischer is locked in a gripping champions hip clash with the Soviets as he struggles against his own psychological demons while the whole world anxiously awaits the outcome. Starring
Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard and Liev Schreiber.

BEFORE WE GO Chris Evans, World Premiere

Set in Manhattan, the story follows two strangers after their serendipitous meeting in Grand Central. Over the course of one night, they form an unlikely bond and the conflicts in
their own lives become the basis for exploration into each other and themselves. Starring
Chris Evans and Alice Eve.

GOOD KILL Andrew Niccol, World Premiere

A Las Vegas-based fighter pilot turned drone pilot fights the Taliban by remote control for 12 hours a day, then goes home to the suburbs and feuds with his wife and kids for the other 12. But the pilot is starting to question the mission. Is he creating more terrorists
than he’s killing? Is he fighting a war without end? This story follows one soldier’s tale with epic implications. Starring Ethan Hawke and January Jones.

THE IMITATION GAME Morten Tyldum, Canadian Premiere

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers
at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.

MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN Jason Reitman, World Premiere

MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. Starring
Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler and Judy Greer.

NIGHTCRAWLER Dan Gilroy, World Premiere

Lou Bloom, a driven young man, discovers the nocturnal world of L.A. crime journalism. Joining a group of freelance camera crews who film marketable mayhem, Lou makes his own place at the table, aided by Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news. Blurring the line between observer and perpetrator, Lou finds his calling in a murderous world reduced to transactions. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Bill Paxton.

TOP FIVE Chris Rock, World Premiere

Written, directed by, and starring Chris Rock, TOP FIVE tells the story of New York City
comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen, whose unexpected encounter with a journalist forces him to confront both the career that made him famous and the life he left behind. Starring Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Jay Pharoah, Anders Holm
and Michael Che.

WHILE WE’RE YOUNG Noah Baumbach, World Premiere

Noah Baumbach’s exploration of aging, ambition and success, stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged couple whose career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives. Also starring Amanda Seyfried, Adam Driver, Charles Grodin, Maria Dizzia and Adam Horovitz.

If those wasn’t cool enough, Alan Rickman‘s A LITTLE CHAOS (pictured above), starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci, will close out the 2014 festival. If you think you’ll be in the area in September, you can purchase ticket packages here. I, on the other hand, will just stand outside and stare in the general direction of Toronto, hoping to catch a whiff of all the cinematic goodness going on up there.