Mr. Rogers movie with Tom Hanks to get world premiere at TIFF in Toronto

TIFF just announced the first round of selections for the Gala and Special Presentations programmes at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival, and the list includes the world premiere of the highly-anticipated A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. 

Marielle Heller's film follows a journalist, played by Matthew Rhys, who accepts an assignment to profile the children’s television host Fred Rogers, played by Tom Hanks. 

Our #TIFF19 Galas include: Marielle Heller’s A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, starring @TomHanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper, Enrico Colantoni, and Wendy Makkena. #TIFF19 https://t.co/WxxPNCMIuH pic.twitter.com/teQjHzowW6

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) July 23, 2019

The trailer for the film was released yesterday and viewers already can't wait to see their favourite TV host portrayed by the beloved Tom Hanks. 

A documentary about Mr. Rogers, called Won't You Be My Neighbor?, was released last year and received 98 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The film is set to hit theatres this Thanksgiving.

Among the other notable TIFF announcements is the world premiere of Lorene Scafaria's Hustlers, which boasts a star studded-cast including Jennifer Lopez, Lili Reinhart, Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, Cardi B and more. 

Todd Phillips' Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy, will have its North American premiere at the festival.

Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat will also make its North American debut. The film stars Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Melissa Rauch and more. 

TIFF's announcement includes 18 Galas and 38 Special Presentations, and 50 per cent of titles are directed or co-directed by women. 

It was recently announced that Daniel Roher's Canadian documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band will open the festival, and TIFF just announced that Marjane Satrapi's Radioactive will close it.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5 to 15.

Here's the full list of film selections for Galas and Special Presentations. 

GALAS 2019

• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Marielle Heller | USA, World Premiere
• Abominable Jill Culton | USA, World Premiere
• American Woman Semi Chellas | Canada, Canadian Premiere
• Blackbird Roger Michell | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• Clemency Chinonye Chukwu | USA, International Premiere
• Ford v Ferrari James Mangold | USA, Canadian Premiere
• The Goldfinch John Crowley | USA, World Premiere
• Harriet Kasi Lemmons | USA, World Premiere
• Hustlers Lorene Scafaria | USA, World Premiere
• Joker Todd Phillips | USA, North American Premiere
• Just Mercy Destin Daniel Cretton | USA, World Premiere
• Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band Daniel Roher | Canada, World Premiere
• Ordinary Love Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• Radioactive Marjane Satrapi | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• The Sky Is Pink Shonali Bose | India, World Premiere
• The Song of Names François Girard | Canada, World Premiere
• True History of the Kelly Gang Justin Kurzel | Australia, World Premiere
• Western Stars Thom Zimny, Bruce Springsteen | USA, World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2019

• A Herdade Tiago Guedes | Portugal, North American Premiere
• Bad Education Cory Finley | USA, World Premiere
• Coming Home Again Wayne Wang | USA/South Korea, World Premiere
• Dolemite Is My Name Craig Brewer | USA, World Premiere
• Ema Pablo Larraín | Chile, North American Premiere
• Endings, Beginnings Drake Doremus | USA, World Premiere
• Frankie Ira Sachs | France/Portugal, North American Premiere
• The Friend Gabriela Cowperthwaite | USA, World Premiere
• Greed Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• Guest of Honour Atom Egoyan | Canada, North American Premiere
• Heroic Losers (La odisea de los giles) Sebastian Borensztein | Argentina/Spain, International Premiere
• Honey Boy Alma Har’el | USA, International Premiere
• Hope Gap William Nicholson | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• How to Build a Girl Coky Giedroyc | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• I Am Woman Unjoo Moon | Australia, World Premiere
• Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi | USA, World Premiere
• Judy Rupert Goold | United Kingdom, Canadian Premiere
• Knives Out Rian Johnson | USA, World Premiere
• La Belle Époque Nicolas Bedos | France, North American Premiere
• The Laundromat Steven Soderbergh | USA, North American Premiere
• The Lighthouse Robert Eggers | USA, North American Premiere
• Marriage Story Noah Baumbach | USA, Canadian Premiere
• Military Wives Peter Cattaneo | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• Motherless Brooklyn Edward Norton | USA, International Premiere
• No.7 Cherry Lane Yonfan | Hong Kong, North American Premiere
• The Other Lamb Małgorzata Szumowska | Belgium/Ireland/USA, World Premiere
• Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar | Spain, Canadian Premiere
• The Painted Bird Václav Marhoul | Czech Republic/Ukraine/Slovakia, North American Premiere
• Parasite (Gisaengchung) Bong Joon-ho | South Korea, Canadian Premiere
• Pelican Blood (Pelikanblut) Katrin Gebbe | Germany/Bulgaria, North American Premiere
• The Personal History of David Copperfield Armando Iannucci | United Kingdom, World Premiere
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) Céline Sciamma | France Canadian Premiere The Report Scott Z. Burns | USA, International Premiere
• Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan) Lou Ye | China,  North American Premiere
• The Two Popes Fernando Meirelles | USA/United Kingdom/Italy/Argentina, Canadian Premiere
• Uncut Gems Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie | USA, International Premiere
• Weathering With You Makoto Shinkai | Japan, North American Premiere
• While at War (Mientras Dure La Guerra) Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Argentina, World Premiere