Senior Film and Media Reporter

The Toronto International Film Festival kicked off its 49th edition with the world premiere of “Nutcrackers,” a crowd-pleasing fish-out-of-water comedy from director David Gordon Green and starring Ben Stiller in his first film role in seven years.

Stiller’s big-screen homecoming wasn’t the only major return to TIFF. Star power is back, baby! Last year’s festival was hampered by strikes that left actors and screenwriters on picket lines unable to promote their films. So it’s a huge relief not just for TIFF organizers but also for the studios and agencies (who were tasked with drumming up excitement for films without many big names on stage in 2023) that A-listers like Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong’o, Selena Gomez, Elton John, Ana de Armas, Dakota Johnson and Mark Hamill will be touching down in Toronto over the next 11 days.

It’s not just Hollywood that’s bringing energy to TIFF. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise appearance at Thursday’s premiere and was greeted with a warm welcome. He praised the country’s filmmaking efforts and thanked festival CEO Cameron Bailey for “helping to put Canada on the international film map, where it needs to be.”