(Recasts with opening night films, Gyllenhaal and Moore
interviews)
By Jeffrey Hodgson
TORONTO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A Jake Gyllenhaal drama about a
grieving banker kicked off the Toronto International Film
Festival on Thursday, which this year will include topical
movies on transgender youth and gay rights among the usual Oscar
hopefuls.
Now in its 40th year, the 10-day festival has become a key
launching pad for Hollywood's award season, with films like "12
Years a Slave", "The King's Speech" and "Slumdog Millionaire"
all gaining critical momentum at the event before going on to
win the Academy Award for best picture.
The festival started with the world premiere of
"Demolition", starring Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.
Directed by Canadian Jean-Marc Vallee, it tells the story of
an investment banker whose life unravels following the death of
his wife. An unlikely connection with a vending machine company
employee, played by Watts, helps him rebuild.
Vallee previously won praise for "Dallas Buyers Club" and
"Wild". Gyllenhaal said, to give the movie a realistic feel, the
director allowed him to tear apart a house during one of his
character's key scenes.
"It was incredibly cathartic. You feel like a kid," he told
Reuters Television in a red carpet interview ahead of the
premiere.
Thursday also saw the world premiere of Michael Moore's
"Where to Invade Next", in which the "Fahrenheit 9/11" director
looks at what former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower described
as the military-industrial complex.
"It's what happened to the United States by not listening to
Dwight Eisenhower, by not listening to his warning," Moore said.
The festival, which runs from Sept. 10 to 20, will go on to
screen nearly 300 feature films from more than 70 countries.
Notable themes this year include the political and legal
battles fought for gay rights, the subject of two movies in the
festival's high-profile gala program.
Roland Emmerich, best known for Hollywood blockbusters like
"The Day After Tomorrow", directs "Stonewall", a drama about the
1969 New York riots which became a landmark event in North
America's gay rights movement.
"Freeheld" stars Ellen Page and Julianne Moore, fresh off
winning an Oscar for last year's "Still Alice", in the true
story Laurel Hester. Dying of cancer, the New Jersey police
officer fought a legal battle to pass her pension benefits on to
her same-sex partner.
The festival will also screen the world premiere of "About
Ray", which stars Elle Fanning as a teenager whose decision to
transition from female to male triggers family turmoil.
(With additional reporting by Robert Mezan and Sharon Reich;
Editing by Christian Plumb)