Indian International star Priyanka Chopra and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap are among the 50 celebrated film personalities invited as the ambassadors of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

 

Chopra and Kashyap will join Oscar winners and celebrated international names, including filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Alfonso Cuaron, Taika Waititi, Ava DuVernay, Rian Johnson, Denis Villeneuve, and actors Nicole Kidman, Nadine Labaki, Riz Ahmed, Isabelle Huppert, Zhang Ziyi, the organisers said in a press statement.

 

The 45th edition of the festival, planned to be held from September 10-19, will be opting for digital screenings and virtual red carpets for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Altogether, 50 films are being planned to be screened during its first five days in physical theatres through socially-distanced screenings depending on the approval from the health authorities of the city.

 

Notably, for the first time in its history, TIFF will also host digital screenings, talks and special events for the festival to connect with audiences beyond Toronto.

 

“We could never have anticipated the global seismic changes we would be facing in 2020. We tapped into the original spirit of the Festival from when it began in 1976 as our guiding light. The distilled edition of TIFF 2020 reflects a deep love of film, passion for our loyal audiences, commitment to the industry, and a whole lot of heart,” said Joana Vicente, executive director and co-head, TIFF.

 

The festival's annual TIFF Tribute Awards event, which acknowledges and celebrates outstanding contributors in the film industry, is also going virtual this year.

 

The festival line up includes Ammonite, directed by Francis Lee from UK; Another Round by director Thomas Vinterberg from Denmark; Bruised, the debut film from director Halle Berry from US; Concrete Cowboys by filmmaker Ricky Staub from US; Fauna directed by Nicolas Pereda from Mexico/Canada; Good Joe Bell by Reinaldo Marcus Green from US; Spring Blossom, the debut film of Suzanne Lindon from France and True Mothers by director Naomi Kawase from Japan.

 

It may be mentioned that many international cultural events including Cannes and Tribeca film festivals had been cancelled due to the pandemic this year.