By Mathew Kumar

It may not be happening till September 7th, but following ‘an unprecedented presence for the Festival during the global awards season’ the Toronto International Film Festival Group have chosen to reveal the opening night gala for the festival – Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn’s The Journals of Knud Rasmussen. Exploring the transition of the Inuit people and their culture through the eyes of a father and daughter in Igloolik, 1922, during the encroachment of western culture, it follows Kunuk’s Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, winner of the Camera d’Or (for best first feature) at Cannes 2001.
It’s a little strange for the festival to be revealing the opening gala so early, with no award winners over the season being particularly related to Canada (William Hurt’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Cronenberg’s A History of Violence was about as close to high profile Canadian film managed). You can see this as little more than the festival slapping itself on the back for debuting pretty much all of the award winners (Crash, for example, premiered at the 2004 Festival) but at least they’ve chosen the opportunity to spotlight new Canadian cinema.