Awards season will start to take shape in Toronto, with a number of exciting premieres and previous debuts making a play for early recognition.

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced its first official slate, with titles in its Gala and Special Presentations program, including some of the most anticipated movies of the year. The 2018 edition will premiere much-anticipated titles like the world premiere of Steve McQueen’s female-driven heist film “Widows,” the world premiere of the Timothée Chalamet-starring drama “Beautiful Boy,” the world premiere of Claire Denis’ much-hyped English-language debut “High Life,” and the world premiere of Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” and several awards season prospects anticipated across the festival circuit.

The slate also boasts a number of films already locked down for other festival premieres during the jam-packed fall season, including Venice premieres like Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” followup “First Man,” which will open the Venice Film Festival, and Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut “A Star Is Born,” along with Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” which has already locked up a centerpiece screening at NYFF.

This first look at the slate also features buzzy titles like Jason Reitman’s “The Front Runner,” Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Maya,” and David Lowery’s “The Old Man & the Gun.” The lineup includes a number of titles that previously debuted at other festivals, including a slew of Sundance titles (“What They Had,” “Monsters and Men,” and “Wildlife”) and a number of picks from Cannes (“Burning,” “Everybody Knows,” “Dogman,” “Girls of the Sun,” “Capernaum,” “Cold War,” and the Palme d’or winner “Shoplifters”).

Additionally, there are a handful of directors set to debut followups to standout films, including Nicole Holofcener’s “The Land of Steady Habits,” (her first film since “Enough Said”), Olivier Assayas’ “Non-Fiction” (his first film since “Personal Shopper”), Amma Asante “Where Hands Touch” (following “A United Kingdom”), Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (her first film since “Diary of a Teenage Girl”), and László Nemes’ “Sunset” (his first film since his Oscar-winning “Son of Saul”).

Below are the first additions to the TIFF 2018 lineup, including both Galas and Special Presentations. Stay tuned for more programming announcements in the days to come.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 6 – 16 in Toronto, Canada.

GALAS 2018

“Beautiful Boy,” ​Felix van Groeningen, USA, World Premiere

“Everybody Knows​,” Asghar Farhadi, Spain/France/Italy, North American Premiere

“First Man,” ​Damien Chazelle, USA, Canadian Premiere

“Galveston,” Mélanie Laurent, USA, Canadian Premiere

“The Hate U Give,” G​eorge Tillman, Jr., USA, World Premiere

“Hidden Man​,” Jiang Wen, China, International Premiere

“High Life​,” Claire Denis, Germany/France/Poland/United Kingdom, World Premiere

“Husband Material​,” Anurag Kashyap, India, World Premiere

“The Kindergarten Teacher,” ​Sara Colangelo, USA, Canadian Premiere

“The Land of Steady Habits,” ​Nicole Holofcener, USA, World Premiere

“Life Itself,” Dan Fogelman, USA, World Premiere

“The Public,” ​Emilio Estevez, USA, World Premiere

“Red Joan,” ​Sir​ ​Trevor Nunn, United Kingdom, World Premiere

Warner Bros.

“A Star is Born,” ​Bradley Cooper, USA, North American Premiere

“Shadow,” Z​hang Yimou, China, North American Premiere

“What They Had,” Elizabeth Chomko, USA, International Premiere

“Widows,” ​Steve M​cQ​ueen, United Kingdom/USA, World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2018

“Ben is Back,” ​Peter Hedges, USA, World Premiere

“Burning,” L​ee Chang-dong, South Korea, North American Premiere

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Marielle Heller, USA, International Premiere

“Capernaum​,” Nadine Labaki, Lebanon, North American Premiere

“Cold War,” P​aweł Pawlikowski, Poland/UnitedKingdom/France, Canadian Premiere

“Colette,” W​ash Westmoreland, United Kingdom, Canadian Premiere

“Dogman,” Matteo Garrone, Italy/France, Canadian Premiere

“The Front Runner,” ​Jason Reitman, USA, International Premiere

“Giant Little Ones,” K​eith Behrman, Canada, World Premiere

Cohen Media Group

“Girls of the Sun” (Les filles du soleil), ​Eva Husson, France, International Premiere

“Hotel Mumbai,” ​Anthony Maras, Australia, World Premiere

“The Hummingbird Project,”​ Kim Nguyen, Canada, World Premiere

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins, USA, World Premiere

“Maya,” Mia Hansen-Løve, France, World Premiere

“Manto,” ​Nandita Das, India, North American Premiere

“Monsters and Men,” R​einaldo Marcus Green, USA, Canadian Premiere

“Mouthpiece,” Patricia Rozema, Canada, World Premiere Special Presentations Opening Night

“Non-Fiction​,” Olivier Assayas, France, Canadian Premiere

Fox Searchlight

“The Old Man & the Gun,” David Lowery, USA, International Premiere

“Papi Chulo,” J​ohn Butler, Ireland, World Premiere

“Roma​,” Alfonso Cuarón, Mexico/USA, Canadian Premiere

“Shoplifters​,” Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan, Canadian Premiere Special Presentations Closing Night

“The Sisters Brothers,” ​Jacques Audiard, USA/France/Romania/Spain, North American Premiere

“Sunset,” László Nemes, Hungary/France, North American Premiere

“Through Black Spruce,” D​on McKellar, Canada, World Premiere

“The Wedding Guest,” Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom, World Premiere

“The Weekend​,” Stella Meghie, USA, World Premiere

Tantrum Films/Pinewood Pictures

“Where Hands Touch,” A​mma Asante, United Kingdom, World Premiere

“White Boy Rick,” ​Yann Demange, USA, International Premiere

“Wildlife​,” Paul Dano, USA, Canadian Premiere

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