娱乐英语新闻:Toronto Film Festival unveils 2013 lineup, focusing on high-profile titles

BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled Wednesday most of its lineup, including the adaptation of Pulitzer winner "August: Osage County", the Nelson Mandela biopic "Long Walk to Freedom" , and the WikiLeaks drama "The Fifth Estate."

Bill Condon's "The Fifth Estate," starring Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will kick off the 38th edition of the festival.

The film chronicles the beginnings of WikiLeaks and asks "the defining question of modern time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society -- and what are the costs of exposing them?"

This marks the third straight year the festival opens with a high-profile title, after years of using the opening slot to highlight smaller Canadian films.

"It's a film about what we believe is one of the most important issues of the day: information and who controls it," festival artistic director Cameron Bailey told a press conference.

Bailey also announced screenings for some 40 films by directors from South Africa, France, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Germany, the United States and Britain that he said "capture the mood of the times."

These include Justin Chadwick's "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," based on the former South African president's autobiography chronicling his early life, coming of age, education, and 27 years in prison before working to rebuild his country's once-segregated society.

"Blue is the Warmest Color," the lesbian love story that won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes Film Festival, will have its North American debut at the festival.

Launched in 1976, Toronto's film festival ranks among the world's top movie events and often serves as a launchpad for international films seeking North American distribution.

It has a solid track record of unearthing films that go on to succeed at the Academy Awards, such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech," which won best film Oscars. Last year's winner of the People's Choice award, the festival's top prize, was "Silver Linings Playbook," an Oscar nominee for best picture.

The film festival will get underway on September 5 and run through September 15.