Toronto Film Festival line-up announced as Oscars debate ensues

Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench, and James McAvoy lead a strong UK showing

Margot Robbie in I, Tonya

The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled their 2017 line-up, featuring much-talked about pictures from Darren Aronofsky, George Clooney, and Alexander Payne.

Gala screenings of Breathe, Darkest Hour, and Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool — from directors Andy Serkis, Joe Wright, and Paul McGuigan respectively — lead the charge for UK filmmakers, with Richard Eyre’s The Children Act also receiving a special screening.

Numerous stars from the UK appear throughout the line-up, including Benedict Cumberbatch (The Current War), Judi Dench (Victoria and Abdul), and James McAvoy (Submergence).

Aronofsky’s Mother! — starring Jennifer Lawrence — has been one of the more talked about films, as has Steve Carell and Emma Stone’s Battle of the Sexes. Margot Robbie will also make an appearance in I, Tonya, the Suicide Squad actor playing controversial athlete Tonya Harding.

Other big names are Paul Rudd, who appears alongside Guy Pearce, Jeff Daniels, and Sienna Miller in The Catcher Was A Spy, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Boston Marathon bombing film Stronger.

Influential filmmakers showing films include Guillermo del Toro with The Shape of Water, Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father, and Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird.

Last year, numerous Oscar winners made their festival debuts at the event, La La Land, Arrival, and Nocturnal Animals all showing. Oscar pundits are already eyeing Mother!, I, Tonya, and Dee Rees's Mudbound as potential contenders for next year's prize. See the full list of films on the TIFF website.