U2 documentary to open TIFF

From the Sky Down, a documentary about U2 by American Davis Guggenheim, is to open the Toronto International Film Festival.

Itis the first time in 40 years that a documentary has been chosen for the prestigious opening night slot at TIFF.

Guggenheim, who produced and directed the Academy Award-winning environmental film An Inconvenient Truth, also directed the rock documentary It Might Get Loud and Waiting for Superman. He looks at U2's 1991 album Achtung Baby and tries to account for the longevity of the band.

Guggenheim and members of U2 are expected to make an appreance at the festival.

Unexpected choice

The unexpected choice strays from the tradition of picking a Canadian film to open the festival. But Cameron says this was a good fit.

"In the end this was the one that we felt really summed up what were about,"Bailey says."This was about the artist's creative process. We have hundreds of artists, filmmakers and actors here and we liked the insight it gave us into this incredibly popular band."

Bailey announced 40 premieres and special presentations at a press conference Tuesday.

After the success of last year's Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, festival organizers have programmed another high-profile rock documentary.

Pearl Jam Twenty, directed by American Cameron Crowe, chronicles the entire history of the band up to now. "We're fans," Bailey said. "We're fans of music just like we arefilm fans."

Piers Handling, TIFF director and CEO says while the festival will feature two big music documentaries, there is a wide variety of films.

Premiere for The Lady

"As for teasing out a theme, it's still too early," Handling says. "However, there a lot of political films this year."

The Lady, Luc Besson's controversial film about Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is among the world premieres at TIFF.

HongKong-basedactress Michelle Yeoh, who stars in the film as Suu Kyi, wasdeported from Burma in June when she tried to enter the country's main city.

Two award-winning Canadian directors will also be featured in this year's festival.

Sarah Polley's film, Take this Waltz,a bittersweet romancestarring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, will premiere at TIFF.

"Our idea for this film and our dream for this film was that it would launch in Toronto,"Polley says."The film is a love story and it's about a marriage but it's also really a love song to Toronto."

Polley made her directorial debut at TIFF in 2006 with the movie Away from Her.

The festival will also set the stage for the North American premiere of David Cronenberg's film A Dangerous Method about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

9/11 anniversary

The festival will coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Handling saysfestival organizershavecommissioned a short filmto honour the occasion.

"It's just our way of acknowledging the anniversary ... and saying that we were involved in some way but more importantly this is about the people that died in this terrible tragedy," Handling says.

Other premieres for TIFF include:

• The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney, which opens the Venice Film Festival before bowing at TIFF.
• Money Ball, directed by Bennett Miller is based on the true story of American baseball team the Oakland As, and stars Brad Pitt.
• Countdown, a suspense film by South Korea's Hugh Jong-Ho starring Jeon Do-yeon, who won best actress at Cannes in 2007 for Secret Sunshine.
• W.E., directed by Madonna, explores the relationship between Wallis Simpson and Edward the VII.
• Trishna by Britain's Michael Winterbottom, a contemporary adaptation of Tess of The d'Urbervilles set in India and starring Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire.
• Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's latest film The Skin I Live In gets its North American premiere.
• 360 by Brazil's Fernando Mereilles, starring Jude Law and Rachel Weisz.

TIFF, one of the world's mostimportant film festivals, is set for Sept. 8-18.