Family drama was top of mind for many filmmakers who submitted their work for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, which on Tuesday announced 15 galas and 35 special presentations including the latest offerings by prominent filmmakers such as Robert Redford, Woody Allen and Darren Aronofsky.

‘[We saw] many family stories, especially from American filmmakers, that were exploring tough issues,’ festival co-director Cameron Bailey told Playback Daily following the Toronto press conference, pointing to David Schwimmer’s Trust, starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, as a ‘very challenging film about what can happen in a family.’

The Canadian contingent at TIFF so far is led by producer Robert Lantos’ Barney’s Version, which will have its North American premiere as a gala presentation; the Canada/South Africa copro The Bang Bang Club from director Steven Silver; and the Hamilton-shot Casino Jack, starring Kevin Spacey and directed by George Hickenlooper (Dogtown). All three are distributed by Entertainment One Film. The films follow the previously announced festival opener, Michael McGowan’s Score: A Hockey Musical.

Redford is bringing his Lincoln assassination tale The Conspirator, featuring James McAvoy and Robin Wright, which should spur distributor interest, according to Bailey.

‘We have lots of acquisition titles coming in this year…certainly some major ones like [Conspirator] will be coming without a distributor,’ he observes.

Aronofsky, who brought his award-winning The Wrestler in 2008, is back with the drama Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman, while Allen is headed to TIFF with the comedy romance You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, featuring Antonio Banderas and Naomi Watts.

Among the other gala and special presentations announced for the 35th anniversary of the fest are: John Madden’s The Debt, France’s Little White Lies featuring Marion Cotillard, Emilio Estevez’s The Way, Ben Affleck’s The Town, the Hilary Swank-starrer Conviction, John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole, featuring Nicole Kidman, and the thriller Stone with Robert De Niro and Edward Norton.

Bailey says the recession had an impact on some countries, as organizers saw fewer films from European countries such as Greece and Spain.

Organizers also announced that the festival will screen free classic movies including The Big Chill, Water and Crash at the Bell Lightbox as part of the new TIFF for Free program to celebrate its anniversary. More details will be announced at a later date.