TIFF announced today that Matthew Heineman’s A Private War will make its world premiere at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, September 14, at Roy Thomson Hall — joining the Festival’s Gala Presentations lineup. It will replace the film Galveston which now won’t be shown.
A statement from TIFF officials said: “We have recently learned director and cast for Galveston are no longer available to attend the Canadian Premiere in Toronto due to work commitments. Our Gala Presentations require filmmaker and key cast to be present at the premiere screening at Roy Thomson Hall, and unfortunately, we cannot move forward with Galveston in this selection. At this time, all our other programming slots are in place so we have regretfully withdrawn the film. We wish Mélanie Laurent and the film’s production team the very best, and hope Toronto audiences will have the opportunity to see Galveston in the near future.”
A Private War marks the feature narrative debut of critically acclaimed director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts) whose previous work in documentary filmmaking has earned him an Academy Award nomination, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two DGA wins for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary Award.
A Private War, a biopic based on the true story of award-winning war correspondent Marie Colvin, stars Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Hostiles) in one of her most intense roles to date. Based on a blistering 2012 Vanity Fair article by Marie Brenner, the drama follows Colvin to the front lines of conflicts around the globe as she risks everything to reveal the truth. Pike is joined by supporting cast which includes Jamie Dornan (The Fall, Fifty Shades of Grey), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones, Spotlight), and Tom Hollander (The Night Manager).
“Gone Girl showed the fire Rosamund Pike can bring to the big screen, and we’re thrilled to give Toronto audiences the first chance to see Pike play the complex, real-life hero Marie Colvin in one of her strongest performances ever,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “Heineman’s narrative feature debut has been greatly anticipated — and having just wrapped post-production, the film’s completion is now perfectly timed for it to become the exciting new addition to our Gala line-up.”
“It has been a deeply personal journey sharing the extraordinary story of Marie Colvin in A Private War,” stated filmmaker Matthew Heineman. “We are so thrilled to be able to finish the film in time to premiere at TIFF and honored to share with the audiences there.”
At a time when journalism itself is under attack, Marie Colvin is one of the world’s most celebrated war correspondents. She is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the front lines of conflicts around the globe to give voice to the voiceless, while constantly testing the limit between bravery and bravado. After being wounded by a grenade in Sri Lanka, she wears a distinctive eye patch and is still as comfortable sipping martinis with London’s elite as she is confronting dictators. Colvin sacrifices loving relationships, and over time her personal life starts to unravel as the trauma she has witnessed takes its toll. Yet her mission to show the true cost of war leads her to embark — along with renowned war photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) — on the most dangerous assignment of her life, in the besieged Syrian city of Homs.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018. Full coverage here on THN.
