Toronto festival to offer Oscar clues

By Janet Guttsman

TORONTO (Reuters) - Red carpets, Oscar hopefuls and a grim bite of political reality make up the agenda of this year's Toronto film festival, where producers strut their stuff and Hollywood stars party into the night.

The Toronto International Film Festival opens on Thursday with a gala presentation of "Fugitive Pieces," Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa's take on the story of a Polish man haunted by childhood memories from World War Two.

One of the world's top movie festivals, TIFF is in its 32nd year. While it dovetails with the more glamorous Venice festival in Italy, and showcases some of the same movies, Toronto is a key launching point for North American premieres and for movies vying to win Oscars.

This year's roster comprises 349 films from 55 countries screening over 10 days, including directing debuts for Helen Hunt, who won an acting Oscar in "As Good as it Gets," with "Then She Found Me," and for Alison Eastwood, daughter of Clint, who is screening "Rails and Ties".

"Toronto is going to be a first place for a lot of the Oscar contenders," said Pete Hammond, a film critic for Maxim magazine and a veteran Oscar handicapper.

"It is extremely important in getting the critical support right out there, and somehow getting attention from the 340 other movies that are in the festival."

Films already tipped for the Oscar race include "Elizabeth, the Golden Age," in which Cate Blanchett revisits her acclaimed role as Queen Elizabeth I from the 1998 movie "Elizabeth." Brad Pitt looks to generate heat for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."

BEYOND THE HYPE