We can always count on the Toronto International Film Festival to kick off the award season and give us countless Oscar-worthy films. That will certainly be the case when this festival opens this year, with the premiere of the star-studded musical Dear Evan Hansen.
TIFF’s co-head and artistic director, Cameron Bailey, described Dear Evan Hansen as the ideal film to launch the festival this year because it “reaffirms how connected and essential we all are to one another” and the co-head and executive director Joana Vicente echoed his words.
“We felt it was important to open this year’s festival with a film that connects to our shared humanity and that reminds us how deeply we need one another, need to be seen by one another, especially in times of loneliness and despair,” said Vicente in a statement.
Dear Evan Hansen centers on a shy teen, who uses the personal tragedy of a fellow classmate to advance his social status. It stars Ben Platt, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams, and it’s set to open Toronto International Film Festival on September 9th, before heading to theaters in the U.S. on September 24th.
