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We’re thrilled to have Joker here, as well. But, in addition to that, there are a strong number of films from women directors — Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet is one; and our closing night film Radioactive, which stars Rosamund Pike as Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie, is another. Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez is another anticipated film and we’re glad to be premiering that as well.

What film was the hardest get?

Thankfully, going into our 44th festival, it’s not so much the films are hard to get. It’s whether they’ll be ready in time for us. All of the major players in the film industry know the value of launching a film in Toronto. We’ve seen this as recently as last year. Green Book had its world premiere as a Gala in Toronto and went on to have tremendous success. So all these (film) companies are bringing movies to us. It’s more a question of: are we going to have it in time to see it? There were a few titles that squeaked through at the last minute, but we’re happy with the ones that are coming here.

Speaking of Green Book. Canadians might not know this, but Toronto audiences have a nose for picking films that will go on to success once awards season rolls around. What is it about Toronto audiences that make them so adept at picking crowd-pleasers?

What I love about Toronto audiences is I can’t predict what they are going to choose. I just love bringing these films to Toronto audiences every September and watching how they react. I was in the room when Green Book launched last year and at the end of the screening you could feel the excitement from everyone at what they all had just discovered. You don’t really know that until you’re there. There are lots of films that we’ve loved that have come to the festival, but you can’t predict the chemistry that a certain movie will have with an audience. That chemistry determines what wins the People’s Choice Award.