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 Now in its 40th year, the 10-day festival has become a key
launching pad for Hollywood's award season, with films like "12
Years a Slave", "The King's Speech" and "Slumdog Millionaire"
all gaining critical momentum at the event before going on to
win the Academy Award for best picture.
The festival started with the world premiere of "Demolition",
starring Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.
Directed by Canadian Jean-Marc Vallee, it tells the story of an
investment banker whose life unravels following the death of his
wife. An unlikely connection with a vending machine company
employee, played by Watts, helps him rebuild.
Vallee previously won praise for "Dallas Buyers Club" and
"Wild". Gyllenhaal said, to give the movie a realistic feel, the
director allowed him to tear apart a house during one of his
character's key scenes.
"It was incredibly cathartic. You feel like a kid," he told
Reuters Television in a red carpet interview ahead of the
premiere.
Thursday also saw the world premiere of Michael Moore's "Where
to Invade Next", in which the "Fahrenheit 9/11" director looks
at what former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower described as the
military–industrial complex.
"It’s what happened to the United States by not listening to
Dwight Eisenhower, by not listening to his warning," Moore said.
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The festival, which runs from Sept. 10 to 20, will go on to screen
nearly 300 feature films from more than 70 countries.
Notable themes this year include the political and legal battles
fought for gay rights, the subject of two movies in the festival's
high-profile gala program.
Roland Emmerich, best known for Hollywood blockbusters like "The Day
After Tomorrow", directs "Stonewall", a drama about the 1969 New
York riots which became a landmark event in North America's gay
rights movement.
"Freeheld" stars Ellen Page and Julianne Moore, fresh off winning an
Oscar for last year's "Still Alice", in the true story Laurel
Hester. Dying of cancer, the New Jersey police officer fought a
legal battle to pass her pension benefits on to her same-sex
partner.
The festival will also screen the world premiere of "About Ray",
which stars Elle Fanning as a teenager whose decision to transition
from female to male triggers family turmoil.
(With additional reporting by Robert Mezan and Sharon Reich; Editing
by Christian Plumb)
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