Toronto International Film Festival --------------------------------------- Joaquin Phoenix plays titular comic book villain, Joker --------------------------------------- Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star in horror film, The Lighthouse --------------------------------------- TIFF is one of world’s largest film festivals, attracting almost 500,000 visitors --------------------------------------- GALA PRESENTATIONS Director A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Marielle Heller Abominable Jill Culton American Woman Semi Chellas Blackbird Roger Michell Clemency Chinonye Chukwu Ford v Ferrari James Mangold Harriet Kasi Lemmons Honey Boy Alma Har’el Hustlers Lorene Scafaria Joker (above left) Todd Phillips Just Mercy Destin Daniel Cretton Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band* Daniel Roher Radioactive Marjane Satrapi The Aeronauts Tom Harper The Burnt Orange Heresy Giuseppe Capotondi The Goldfinch John Crowley The Sky Is Pink Shonali Bose The Song of Names François Girard True History of the Kelly Gang Justin Kurzel Western Stars Thom Zimny & Bruce Springsteen --------------------------------------- SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS – Over 50 movies, including: Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi Knives Out Rian Johnson The Lighthouse (above right) Robert Eggers --------------------------------------- Highly sought-after People’s Choice Award, presented to movie best- received by festival audiences, often predicts Oscar nominees and winners --------------------------------------- Sources: TIFF, Vulture *Opening film Pictures: © DC Films, © A24 © GRAPHIC NEWS 186 words