TORONTO – The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) opened its 50th edition on Thursday with pointed political remarks from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and former US president Barack Obama, ahead of the arrival of Hollywood stars set to dominate the red carpet in the days ahead.
North America’s largest film festival will run for 11 days and feature premieres from actors including Daniel Craig, Sydney Sweeney and Matthew McConaughey.
This year’s celebrations come amid heightened political tensions, with US President Donald Trump having made repeated remarks about taking over Canada, a theme that loomed over the opening night.
Speaking before the screening of the festival’s opening film, a documentary on Canadian comedy icon John Candy, Carney warned that “our sovereignty, our identity has come under threat”.
“When Canadians heard those threats, they channelled their inner John Candy,” he said, drawing loud applause from the audience.
Later in the evening, Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama introduced The Eyes of Ghana, a new documentary produced by Higher Ground, the film and television company they founded after leaving the White House.
The documentary features previously unseen footage of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, who was later overthrown in a coup after cultivating a personality cult around his role as the country’s “Redeemer”.
