Malaysian movie to be screened at Toronto International Film Festival

Malaysian movie Lelaki Harapan Dunia directed by Liew Seng Tat will be making its North American premiere at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival this year. The film will also be competing in the festival's Contemporary World Cinema category. The comedy which stars Wan Hanafi Su, Soffi Jikan, Harun Salim Bachik, Jalil Hamid and Azhan Rani takes place in a village that turns topsy-turvy after an abandoned house is thought to be haunted. One of the villagers, Pak Awang tries to convince the villagers that he does not believe in superstitions, but nobody pays attention to him.

Lelaki Harapan Dunia

Liew Seng Tat's 'Lelaki Harapan Dunia' will be competing in the festival's Contemporary World Cinema category - File Photo

The Toronto film fest kicked off Thursday until Sept 14. The festival opened Thursday amid criticism over new rules meant to cement the event's reputation as an Oscar kingmaker.

The legal drama The Judge -- starring Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. as father and son -- kicked off North America's largest film festival.

In the film, Downey as a slick Chicago defense lawyer returns to his Indiana hometown and must defend his father in a murder trial, despite their bitterly dysfunctional relationship.

In an interview with Canada's public broadcaster, Downey said he empathised with the dynamic.

"I just love that there's so many people that are grown up and still act like kids around their folks," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

"There's some part of that relationship that was halted or there's some unrequited aspect to it and certainly I can relate to that."

Downey, Duvall and the rest of the cast, including Vera Farmiga, Dax Shepard and Vincent D'Onofrio, were cheered as they arrived for the gala presentation.

The audience reaction at an earlier press and industry screening, however, was subdued.

Over the next four days, organisers will for the first time showcase only world premieres, including from directors Noah Baumbach, Susanne Bier, Francois Ozon, Lone Scherfig and Chris Rock.

The new policy was put in place as festivals compete to land more buzz-creating film debuts, explained the Toronto event's co-director Piers Handling.

"There's a lot more focus on film festivals and a lot more prominence," Handling said.

"It doesn't affect the selection of the films at all -- it only affects the scheduling."

Critics, however, accuse Toronto organizers of using their considerable clout to lure high-profile films, to the detriment of smaller events like the Telluride festival in the US state of Colorado.

Actors are usually contractually obligated to show up for premieres -- with top names drawing big media and critical attention. It could thus be devastating for other festivals if stars decide to only attend the Toronto fest.

Distributors have also expressed fears that the new rules could result in less critical attention to their films.

Organisers in Toronto say there is a need to clarify what actually counts as a world premiere, after complaints in past years that some films had first screened at the Venice or Telluride film festivals, which overlap with the Canadian event.

At stake are also bragging rights for showcasing films that go on to win awards, especially the coveted Oscars.

Several films that were said to have premiered in Toronto in recent years went on to win a best picture Oscar, including 12 Years a Slave, Argo, The Artist, The King's Speech and Slumdog Millionaire.

But those films had all first quietly screened to film industry crowds at Telluride.

European, Chinese films in focus

Several well-regarded European filmmakers chose Toronto for their premieres this year.

On the schedule are Bier's A Second Chance, Scherfig's The Riot Club, The New Girlfriend featuring rising French star Anais Demoustier, Christian Petzold's Phoenix and Norwegian master Bent Hamer's 1001 Grams.

Top Chinese filmmakers Zhang Yimou (Coming Home), Ning Hao (Breakup Buddies), Peter Chan (Dearest) and Wang Xiaoshuai (Red Amnesia) are also expected to hit the red carpet in Toronto.

Many eyes are on actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars as codebreaker Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game."

He appeared in Toronto in three films last year: The Fifth Estate, August: Osage County and 12 Years a Slave but was overlooked at awards time.

Insiders said this could be his year.

Reese Witherspoon is also expected to kick off a "big year" with two films in Toronto: The Good Lie about an American woman who takes in a Sudanese refugee, and Wild, the film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling memoir.

As well, James Gandolfini will make a posthumous return to the big screen in the gangland tale The Drop shot just before his death in June 2013.

But other industry heavyweights such as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, whose film Birdman stars Michael Keaton, have opted to skip Toronto.

The Mexico-born director previously brought Biutiful and Babel to the Canada event.

After emerging at the Venice film festival last week as an Oscar contender, Birdman will now make its North American premiere at the boutique New York Film Festival.

In all, the Toronto festival will showcase 268 feature films, including 143 world premieres from 70 countries.

Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, John Cusack, Tina Fey, Al Pacino, Adam Sandler and John Travolta are also expected to grace the red carpet.