Toronto Film Festival 2014: British films set to make a splash
- Published
The 39th Toronto International Film Festival is due to begin later with Robert Downey Jr film The Judge opening proceedings.
More than 20 British films are being screened as part of the festivities featuring the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet and Timothy Spall.
There's also a host of other British talent appearing at the festival, in front of the camera and behind it.
Here is a look at some of the British films likely to create a buzz in the Canadian city.
The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing in the drama which follows how the British computing pioneer cracked the German Enigma codes during World War Two.
After opening last year's festival with the critically panned WikiLeaks film The Fifth Estate, the Sherlock actor will be hoping his latest film is better received.
Keira Knightly co-stars as Turing's friend and fellow codebreaker Joan Clarke.
The film will also open the London Film Festival in October.
The Theory of Everything
The life of celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking is told in The Theory of Everything, based on the memoir by his wife Jane.
Les Miserables star Eddie Redmayne stars as Hawking opposite Felicity Jones, beginning with their meeting at Cambridge University before the scientist was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
Benedict Cumberbatch also starred as Hawking in a 2004 BBC film which saw Bafta TV nominations for both the drama and the actor.
Redmayne's performance could also see him highly recognised when the major award nominations are announced next year.
The Riot Club
A big screen adaptation of the hit West End play Posh, The Riot Club is a fictionalised version of Oxford University's Bullingdon Club - the exclusive society known for its boisterous behaviour.
Max Irons (son of Jeremy), Hunger Games' Sam Claflin and Romeo and Juliet's Douglas Booth star as some of the students selected to join the elite dining club full of Hooray Henrys.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson are noted as previous members of the real club - although whether the activities back in their day were as riotous as their fictional counterparts remains to be seen.
Mr Turner
Mike Leigh's biopic about the celebrated painter JMW Turner was met with acclaim when it screened in Cannes earlier this year.
Star Timothy Spall told the BBC News website he was "very pleased" the movie was showing in Toronto.
"I'm obviously very apprehensive about how it's going to go down to a new audience, but I'm absolutely delighted with what people are saying about the film," he said.
Spall's son Rafe will also be attending the festival with his own film, X+Y.
"We often meet at places like [festivals]. We had a lovely time when we worked together in Florence - we went out to dinner every night," the elder Spall said.
X+Y
Rafe Spall stars as an anarchic maths teacher in this film about an autistic maths prodigy played by Ender's Game star Asa Butterfield (pictured above).
Inspired by the 2007 BBC documentary Beautiful Young Minds, it follows socially awkward teen Nathan as he competes on the British team at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
It is the fiction feature debut from Bafta-winning film-maker Morgan Matthews, who also directed the original documentary.
Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan also star.
A Little Chaos
This period drama has been given the honour of closing the festival. It sees Alan Rickman make his second directorial effort while also starring in front of the camera as King Louis XIV.
It also stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet as a landscaper invited to design one of the fountains at the Palace of Versailles, with support from The Devil Wears Prada actor Stanley Tucci.
It is not due for release in the UK until February 2015.
Other British talent
Shelter sees Paul Bettany make his directorial debut in this drama about the homeless on the streets of New York. As well as penning the script, he's also cast his wife Jennifer Connelly (pictured above) in the movie, whom he met while filming the 2001 Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind.
Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield swaps his superhero hat for gritty drama in 99 Homes with Michael Shannon.
Tom Hardy plays a bartender in crime drama The Drop opposite James Gandolfini in the actor's last film role.
As well as starring in The Imitation Game, Keira Knightley also stars in romantic comedy Laggies (or to give its UK release title, Say When) opposite Sam Rockwell and Chloe Grace Moretz.
Documentary film-maker Nick Broomfield returns with Tales of the Grim Sleeper, examining a serial killer responsible for a string of Los Angeles murders.
Director Michael Winterbottom brings The Face of an Angel to Toronto, based on the story of Amanda Knox who was found guilty, but then acquitted, of the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007. An Italian court has since reinstated Knox's guilty verdict.
The festival runs 4 - 14 September.