Gary Oldman, Barbie producer Robbie Brenner, and Obsession director Curry Barker are among the speakers confirmed for the Toronto International Film Festival's first-ever market event. TIFF: The Market runs September 10 through 16 and includes two programming strands called Visionaries and Dialogues.
According to Variety, Oldman's appearance will be anchored in his creative process and will celebrate a career that includes the espionage drama Slow Horses, which is premiering its sixth season at the festival in the Primetime section.
Brenner, who has received two Oscar nominations as a producer on Barbie and Dallas Buyers Club, is also president and chief content officer of Mattel Studios. She is bringing the psychological historical drama The Housewife to this year's festival, where it will world premiere as a Special Presentation. The film stars Naomi Watts and Tye Sheridan.
Korean director Lee Chang-dong will also participate in the Visionaries strand. He will be in Toronto for the North American premiere of his new film Possible Love and will receive the Ebert Director Tribute Award at this year's festival. The conversation will focus on his naturalistic style, shaped by his background as a novelist and playwright, and his consistent focus on the human experience.
In the Dialogues program, Barker and Obsession star Inde Navarrette will discuss the making of the film and its journey from TIFF's Midnight Madness sidebar last year to becoming one of the year's biggest box office successes for Focus Features. Killer Films co-founders Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will also appear in that strand to discuss their approach to producing and working with filmmakers.
The previously announced guests include Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs and CEOs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca. A live recording of Matthew Belloni's podcast The Town is also scheduled, with Fox Searchlight Pictures president Matthew Greenfield as a guest.
Charles Tremblay, head of TIFF: The Market, said, "The high caliber of speakers participating in our first market reflects the industry's strong support for our vision and the intentional efforts we're making to build on TIFF's long-standing reputation as a welcoming space for creativity and commerce to co-exist."
Additional speakers and programming are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
