|
 The film, an adaptation of the
Broadway production, stars Tony Award winner Ben
Platt reprising his role as a high school
student with social anxiety who gets caught up
in a lie. Julianne Moore, Amy Adams and Kaitlyn
Dever are among the cast.
"I love the story very deeply. It's been very
close to my heart for many years so the fact
that it's going so be on such a larger platform
and seen by so many is really an exciting gift,"
Platt told reporters on the red carpet.
Platt, 27, said he had his own struggles with
anxiety and that he had tried to make the
character "as human and connected" as possible.
Moore, who plays Evan Hansen's mother, said she
had been a fan of the stage musical for years.
"So to suddenly find myself in the middle of
this story - how really lucky I was as an
actor," she said.
The Toronto festival will be a mix of in-person
and digital events, screening almost 200 films
over ten days.
Other premieres include "The Eyes of Tammy
Faye," starring Jessica Chastain as the
flamboyant U.S. televangelist, documentaries
about singers Dionne Warwick and Alanis
Morissette, and films starring Jake Gyllenhaal,
Keira Knightley and Melissa McCarthy.
Warwick, Chastain, British actor Benedict
Cumberbatch and "Dune" director Denis Villeneuve
are among those who will receive honorary
awards.
[to top of second column]
|
 The Toronto festival has
traditionally been seen as a showcase for movies
that go on to win Oscars, including this year's
best picture winner, "Nomadland."
Last year's event was scaled back dramatically,
but while film festivals in Cannes and Venice
this year had exclusively physical events,
Toronto organizers said months ago that they
would move forward with a hybrid model.
Films will be shown online and outdoors with
some screenings in movie theaters before limited
capacity audiences. Attendees must provide proof
of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test
before entering a physical venue.
Canada only recently reopened its borders to
fully vaccinated American tourists and opened to
international visitors two days ago.
Canada is currently experiencing a fourth wave
of COVID-19 driven by the Delta variant, despite
relatively high vaccination rates nationwide.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton, Editing by Jill
Serjeant and Karishma Singh)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
