Toronto film festival adds latest from Reitman, Jeunet, Morgan

A Jason Reitman comedy starring George Clooney, a Peter Morgan-Michael Sheen collaboration delving into the world of British football and the latest from Amélie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet are the newest movies added to the Toronto International Film Festival's burgeoning lineup.

Organizers announced eight more films Thursday morning: four galas and four special presentations.

The typically glitzy and high-profile gala program will include The Damned United, a film from acclaimed British screenwriter Peter Morgan and director Tom Hooper about the short-lived tenure of famed English football manager Brian Clough (portrayed by Michael Sheen) as manager of champions Leeds United in the 1970s.

Two Indian films will also get the gala treatment: Anurag Singh's Dil Bole Hadippa, about a girl who disguises herself as a man to pursue her dream of playing cricket, and Ashutosh Gowariker's romantic comedy What's Your Raashee?, about a man given a 10-day deadline to find his dream girl.

Micmacs, a fantastical comedy from Amélie and Delicatessen director Jeunet, will also be a TIFF gala.

Programmers have added Up in the Air, a new comedy from Montreal-born Reitman, to the special presentation bill. The film stars marquee idol Clooney as a high-flying corporate downsizing consultant whose cherished life of constant travel is threatened just as he approaches his goal of reaching 10 million frequent flyer miles.

Rounding out the new additions are:

• Gremlins director Joe Dante's supernatural thriller, The Hole, follows two young brothers who find a bottomless hole in the basement of their new house. When they decide to investigate, along with a new neighbour, they find that their discovery unleashes each person's worst fears and nightmares.
• Romantic comedy Soul Kitchen, from German filmmaker Fatih Akin, about a young man who must juggle dealing with his restaurant business and his messy personal life.
• The Good Heart, Icelandic arthouse director Dagur Kari's first English-language feature about a grizzled bartender who, after suffering a fifth heart attack, takes an aimless, homeless young man under his wing.

Organizers will continue to reveal new films joining the festival, including the complete Canadian lineup on Tuesday.

The 34th Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 10-19.