Hotly anticipated films like Joker (starring Joaquin Phoenix), A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (starring Tom Hanks), Ford v Ferrari ​(starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon) and many more will have gala screenings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, offering the potential of Toronto visits by any of those stars and countless others besides.

TIFF announced Tuesday morning that the closing-night film for the Sept. 5-15 festival is Radioactive, directed​ by Persepolis’ Marjane Satrapi. The live-action historical drama tells the story of Marie Curie (Rosamund Pike) and her extraordinary scientific discoveries, including radium, as well as her marriage to a fellow scientist. Satrapi has said the film “tells the story of radioactivity from its discovery until today, the humanist approach of the Curie couple with their discovery, the cynicism of some about its use and the effect it has had on our world until today.” (The opening-night gala, previously announced, is Daniel Roher’s documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band.)

Other films getting TIFF galas star the likes of Kate Winslet, Jennifer Lopez, Michael B. Jordan, Cardi B, Brie Larson, Nicole Kidman, Liam Neeson, and Russell Crowe — though as with the above names, it won’t be clear for a few weeks which of them are bound for Toronto.

A breakdown of the movies tapped for galas, the directors and what we know about the films:

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, ​Marielle Heller: Tom Hanks stars as real-life children’s TV titan Fred Rogers, touching the life of a magazine writer (Matthew Rhys) assigned to profile him. The Canadian Press reports that this will be the film’s world premiere.

Abominable, Jill Culton: an ​animated film about the mythical Yeti (coming less than a year after Smallfoot), starring the voice of young Albert Tsai (star of Disney TV’s Coop and Cami Ask the World).

American Woman, Semi Chellas: A drama inspired by the ordeal of 1970s political hostage turned radical Patty Hearst. Not to be confused (though it surely will be) with the Sienna Miller film from earlier this year of the same title.

Blackbird, ​Roger Michell: a drama about a dying woman’s bid to bring her family together one last time. Stars Kate Winslet and Sam Neill.

Clemency, Chinonye Chukwu: Alfre Woodard stars as a prison warden struggling with the burdens of preparing to execute an inmate.

Ford v Ferrari, ​James Mangold: the real-life story of car designer Caroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and their bid to revolutionize auto racing.

Harriet, ​Kasi Lemmons: a biopic of freedom fighter Harriet Tubman and her efforts to free slaves via the Underground Railroad. Stars Cynthia Erivo (Widows) and Janelle Monae.

Hustlers, ​Lorene Scafaria: a group of former strip-club employees discover a way to deceive and rob their sleazy Wall Street clientele.

Joker, ​Todd Phillips: A gritty take on the origin of Batman’s nemesis, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, makes its North American premiere.

Just Mercy, ​Destin Daniel Cretton: Based on the memoir of a civil-rights attorney (Michael B. Jordan) and his efforts on behalf of a death-row prisoner (Jamie Foxx). Co-stars Brie Larson.

Ordinary Love, ​Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn: A breast-cancer diagnosis tests the longstanding relationship (Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville) of a couple in Northern Ireland.

The Goldfinch, ​John Crowley: The film adaptation of the popular Donna Tartt novel about a boy whose mother’s death in a museum bombing radically alters his life’s trajectory. Nicole Kidman and Ansel Elgort star.

The Sky Is Pink​, ​Shonali Bose: an Indian film about the life and family of Aisha Chaudhary, who becomes a motivational speaker after receiving a terminal diagnosis. Stars Priyanka Chopra.

The Song of Names, ​François Girard: An emotional detective story about classical musicians, mystery and loss, starring Tim Roth and Clive Owen.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

True History of the Kelly Gang, ​Justin Kurzel: Based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Peter Carey and bringing to life the historical adventures of the famous clan of Australian robbers. Stars Russell Crowe and Charlie Hunnam.

Western Stars, ​Thom Zimny, Bruce Springsteen: A concert documentary capturing Springsteen and his band playing his latest album of the same name.

Fifty per cent of the galas are directed or co-directed by women, which TIFF co-head and executive director Joana Vicente said is a first.

Also announced on Tuesday were TIFF’s 2019, Special Presentations, films arriving with either major stars or directors. They include: Dolemite Is My Name, ​Craig Brewer’s latest starring Eddie Murphy; Jojo Rabbit, ​Taika Waititi’s oddball World War Two tale starring Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and the director as Adolf Hitler himself; ​Rian Johnson’s mystery Knives Out, starring Chris Evans; Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory; The Laundromat,​ Steven Soderbergh account of the Panama Papers; and The Personal History of David Copperfield,​ Armando Iannucci’s take on the classic Dickens novel; and dozens more.

Have your say:

Other special presentations (listed with their directors) include: A Herdade, ​Tiago Guedes; Bad Education, ​Cory Finley; Coming Home​ ​Again, ​Wayne Wang; Ema, ​Pablo Larrain; Endings, Beginnings, ​Drake Doremus; Frankie, ​Ira Sachs; Greed, ​Michael Winterbottom; Guest of Honour, ​Atom Egoyan; Heroic Loser​s,​ ​​Sebastian Borensztein; Honey Boy, ​Alma Har’el; Hope Gap, ​William Nicholson; How to Build a Girl​, Coky Giedroyc; I Am Woman, ​Unjoo Moon; Judy, ​Rupert Goold; La Belle Époque, ​Nicolas Bedos; Marriage Story, ​Noah Baumbach; Military Wives, ​Peter Cattaneo; Motherless Brooklyn, ​Edward Norton; No. 7 Cherry Lane, ​Yonfan; Parasite, ​Bong Joon-ho; Pelican Blood, ​Katrin Gebbe; Portrait of a Lady on Fire, ​Céline Sciamma; Saturday Fiction,. ​Lou Ye; The Friend. ​Gabriela Cowperthwaite; The Lighthouse, ​Robert Eggers; The Other Lamb. ​Malgorzata Szumowska; The Painted Bird, ​Vaclav Marhoul; The Report, ​Scott Z. Burns; The Two Popes, ​Fernando Meirelles; Uncut Gems,​ Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie; Weathering With You, ​Makoto Shinkai; While at War, ​Alejandro Amenabar.