Elizabeth, Tracey set for TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday officially unveiled the first batch of roughly 30 Canadian and international films that will unspool at its 32nd installment later this year, including Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Bruce McDonald’s The Tracey Fragments.

The Golden Age, a sequel to 1998’s Oscar-nominated Elizabeth, will screen as a gala presentation, with Kapur back in the directing chair, while Cate Blanchett reprises her role as the 16th century British matriarch, who faces new threats for her throne, family betrayal, and temptation in the form of dapper seafarer Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen).

The Golden Age, Fragments and others were reported to be in the festival last week, though TIFF held off on its official word. Fragments, which earlier this year picked up a prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, will screen in the Visions program, along with Mexican director Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light, a jury prize winner at Cannes last month.

The Coen Brothers’ buzzed-about crime thriller No Country for Old Men, starring Josh Brolin (Grindhouse) and Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive) will premiere at TIFF as a special presentation.

Films unspooling in the Masters program include veteran Russian director Alexander Sokurov’s drama Alexandra, nominated for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes, and Italian filmmaker Ermanno Olmi’s drama One Hundred Nails, billed as the last feature of the Palme d’Or-winner’s career.

In the Contemporary World Cinema program, 14 titles were unveiled, including the Turkish drama The Edge of Heaven, a best screenplay winner at Cannes this year, the romantic comedy Secret Sunshine, from South Korean filmmaker Chang-dong Lee, and the Mexican drama Under the Same Moon, starring America Ferrera of TV’s Ugly Betty.

The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival runs September 6-15, opening with Jeremy Podeswa’s Fugitive Pieces. Other titles are due to be announced in the coming weeks.