Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater, Kore-eda Hirokazu and Justine Triet are among the directors whose latest works screens at the festival.

Payne’s The Holdovers is a comedy set in boarding school that reunites him with Sideways star Paul Giamatti, while Linklater is showing Hitman, an action-comedy with Glen Powell and Adria Arjona.

Cannes Fest Winners

Kore-eda and Triet will screen “Monster” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” both of which premiered at Cannes, where the latter won the Palme d’Or.

Movie studios are worried about opening these films if their stars are on the picket lines and can’t promote their work.

Some stars are working to get waivers from SAG-AFTRA to do press for films that are independently financed or are looking for distribution.

Other indie studios are just pushing ahead with their release plans, hoping that a resolution is reached before they debut their movies. The festival is taking place between Sept. 7 to Sept. 17, which is rapidly approaching, and since the guilds and the studios have yet to resume talks, it’s unclear if a deal will be hammered out by the time stars should be dusting off their passports to head up north.

Toronto will not be devoid of major premieres (even if its red carpets are less celebrity-packed). Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money,” a dramedy about the GameStop short squeeze from Sony that stars Seth Rogen and Paul Dano.

Several Netflix films like George C. Wolfe’s “Rustin,” David Yates’ “Pain Hustlers,” and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “Nyad,” will all screen at the festival.

Apple will bring “Flora and Son,” a heart-warming musical drama from “Sing Street” filmmaker John Carney,” after buying it out of Sundance for $20 million.

But many of the movies, such as “Lee” with Kate Winslet as photographer Elizabeth “Lee” Miller and the Jodie Comer survival drama “The End We Start From,” that hit the festival are looking to leverage strong reviews into a sale.

The festival’s backers have stressed that they plan to continue with their plans and in a statement TIFF’s CEO Cameron Bailey emphasized that breadth and depth of the lineup.

“This year’s Galas & Special Presentations showcase a rich tapestry of talent, vision, and storytelling,” he said. “From thought-provoking narratives to breathtaking visuals and stories so unreal they have to be real, each work embodies the power of cinema to inspire, challenge, and move audiences. Get ready to experience an unforgettable celebration of film and a memorable and star-studded festival, showcasing the best of global cinema for film lovers in September.”

Complete lineup below:

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

A Difficult Year 
Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache | France
International Premiere

A Normal Family 
Hur Jin-ho | South Korea
World Premiere

American Fiction 
Cord Jefferson | USA
World Premiere

Anatomy of a Fall 
Justine Triet | France
Canadian Premiere

Close to You 
Dominic Savage | Canada/United Kingdom
World Premiere

Days of Happiness 
Chloé Robichaud | Canada
World Premiere

Daniela Goggi | Argentina
North American Premiere

Ezra 
Tony Goldwyn | USA
World Premiere

Fingernails 
Christos Nikou | USA
International Premiere

Four Daughters 
Kaouther Ben Hania | France/Tunisia/Germany/Saudi Arabia
North American Premiere

His Three Daughters 
Azazel Jacobs | USA
World Premiere

Hitman 
Richard Linklater | USA
North American Premiere

In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon 
Alex Gibney | USA
World Premiere

Kidnapped 
Marco Bellocchio | Italy/France/Germany
North American Premiere

Knox Goes Away 
Michael Keaton | USA
World Premiere

La Chimera 
Alice Rohrwacher | Italy/France/Switzerland
North American Premiere

Last Summer 
Catherine Breillat | France
North American Premiere

Les Indésirables 
Ladj Ly | France
World Premiere

Memory 
Michel Franco | USA/Mexico
North American Premiere

Monster 
Kore-eda Hirokazu | Japan
North American Premiere

Mother Couch 
Niclas Larsson | USA
World Premiere

North Star 
Kristin Scott Thomas | United Kingdom
World Premiere

One Life 
James Hawes | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Pain Hustlers 
David Yates | USA
World Premiere

Poolman 
Chris Pine | USA
World Premiere

Reptile 
Grant Singer | USA
World Premiere

George C. Wolfe | USA
International Premiere

Seven Veils 
Atom Egoyan | Canada
World Premiere

Shoshana 
Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom/Italy
World Premiere

Sing Sing 
Greg Kwedar | USA
World Premiere

Smugglers
Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea
North American Premiere

Swan Song 
Chelsea McMullan | Canada
World Premiere

The Beast 
Bertrand Bonello | France/Canada
North American Premiere

The Burial 
Maggie Betts | USA
World Premiere

The Convert 
Lee Tamahori | Australia/New Zealand
World Premiere

The Critic 
Anand Tucker | United Kingdom
World Premiere

The Dead Don’t Hurt 
Viggo Mortensen | Mexico/Canada/Denmark
World Premiere

The Holdovers 
Alexander Payne | USA
International Premiere

The Peasants 
DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman | Poland/Serbia/Lithuania
World Premiere

The Zone of Interest 
Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom/Poland/USA
Canadian Premiere

Together 99 
Lukas Moodysson | Sweden/Denmark
World Premiere

Unicorns 
Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd | United Kingdom/USA/Sweden
World Premiere

Uproar 
Paul Middleditch, Hamish Bennett | New Zealand
World Premiere

Wicked Little Letters 
Thea Sharrock | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Wildcat 
Ethan Hawke | USA
International Premiere

Woman of the Hour 
Anna Kendrick | USA
World Premiere

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2023

Concrete Utopia 
Um Tae-Hwa | South Korea
North American Premiere

Dumb Money 
Craig Gillespie | USA
World Premiere

Fair Play 
Chloe Domont | USA
International Premiere

Flora and Son 
John Carney | Ireland/USA
Canadian Premiere

Hate to Love: Nickelback 
Leigh Brooks | Canada
World Premiere

Lee 
Ellen Kuras | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Next Goal Wins 
Taika Waititi | USA
World Premiere

NYAD
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | USA
International Premiere

Punjab ’95 
Honey Trehan | India
World Premiere

Solo 
Sophie Dupuis | Canada
World Premiere

The End We Start From 
Mahalia Belo | United Kingdom
World Premiere

The Movie Emperor 
Ning Hao | China
World Premiere

The New Boy 
Warwick Thornton | Australia
North American Premiere

The Royal Hotel 
Kitty Green | Australia/United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere