U2 documentary to open Toronto film fest

MONTREAL—The Toronto film festival will open this year with a documentary about Irish rockers U2, and will see world premieres of new works by Luc Besson and Francis Ford Coppola, organizers said Tuesday.

The festival, which runs from September 8-18, will also feature the North American premieres of films by Pedro Almodovar, Nanni Moretti, George Clooney, Madonna and controversial Danish director Lars von Trier.

“For the first time in 36 years, the Toronto International Film Festival will open with a documentary,” said event co-director Cameron Bailey.

“From The Sky Down,” which tells the story of the popular Irish band, is directed by David Guggenheim, who won an Oscar for “An Inconvenient Truth” on climate change featuring former US vice president Al Gore.

The Toronto event is North America’s largest film festival and has traditionally been a key event for Oscar-conscious studios and distributors because it is attended by a sizable contingent of North American media.

Unlike the Cannes and Berlin festivals, Toronto does not have an official competition or award jury prizes, but an audience prize is handed out.

Frenchman Besson will unveil “The Lady,” about Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, while Coppola — the director of classics including “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” — will show “Twixt,” a horror film starring Val Kilmer.