'We Live In Time' Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival

If the Cannes Film Festival is the place where films test the waters to see if they have the juice to play for awards season, the dual arrivals of the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival are the hard launch for those who think they can go all the way. Venice, of course, has the cred of being in, well, Venice and going first. However, the Toronto Edition (which follows all of a week later), known colloquially as TIFF, has the good fortune of being on the North American continent, which means it's the best chance for U.S. buyers and reviewers to see a lot of the stuff that's been playing overseas for the first time as well as a lineup of World Premieres.

The 2024 lineup of films has been announced (the TV portion will be announced closer to the festival's September debut), and viewers can look forward to several highly-anticipated premieres. The first one is We Live In Time, the Florence Pugh/Andrew Garfield romance produced by Benedict Cumberbatch's SunnyMarch, which will get its World Premiere. Also premiering worldwide, The Return, starring Ralph Fiennes; it'll be one of two starring the oldest Fiennes sibling. The other, Conclave, will get its North American debut. Fiennes isn't the only one doing double duty, either. Barry Keoghan also has two films: Bring Them Down, which gets its world premiere, and Bird, which is debuting in North America.

As for other titles Anglophiles should keep an eye out for, there is The Penguin Lessons with PBS favorite Jonathan Pryce; The Cut, which stars Outlander's own Caitríona Balfe; and The Assessment, which has Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Olsen facing off. Plus, there are three American films with all British casts, including All of You, Relay, and The Life of Chuck.

Here's the full lineup of UK/Irish/Australian/New Zealand films premiering at TIFF:

• Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe (Director Cosima Spender; starring Andrea Bocelli) UK
• The Penguin Lessons (Director Peter Cattaneo; starring Steve Coogan, Jonathan Pryce) Spain/UK
• The Return (Director Uberto Pasolini; starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer) Italy/UK 
• Hard Truths (Director Mike Leigh; starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste) UK/Spain
• The Assessment (Director Fleur Fortuné; starring Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen) | UK/Germany/USA
• The Cut (Director Sean Ellis; starring Orlando Bloom, Caitríona Balfe, John Turturro) UK
• We Live in Time (Director John Crowley; starring Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield) UK/France
• Went Up the Hill (Director Samuel Van Grinsven; starring Vicky Kriep, Dacre Montgomery, Sarah Peirse; New Zealand/Australia)
• Bring Them Down (Director Christopher Andrews; starring Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney) Ireland/Belgium
• Sharp Corner (Director Jason Buxton; starring Ben Foster, Cobie Smulders) Canada/Ireland
• The Deb (Director & starring Rebel Wilson) Australia

Here are the US-produced films starring British casts having their World Premieres:

• All of You (Director William Bridges; starring Brett Goldstein, Imogen Poots, Steven Cree, Zawe Ashton) 
• Relay (Director David Mackenzie; starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James)
• The Life of Chuck (Director Mike Flanagan; starring Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan)

Finally, here are the films that have already premiered at other European-based festivals and are making their debut on this side of the pond.

• The Shrouds (Starring Vincent Cassel, Guy Pearce - North American Premiere)
• Bird (Starring Barry Keoghan - North American Premiere)
• On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (Starring Elizabeth Chisela - North American Premiere)
• Harvest (Starring Harry Melling - North American Premiere)
• The Order (Starring Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult - North American Premiere)
• Rumours (Starring Cate Blanchett, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Charles Dance - North American Premiere)
• Conclave (Starring Ralph Fiennes - International Premiere)
• The End (Starring Tilda Swinton - Canadian Premiere)

The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival returns September 5 through 15, 2024.