Film festivals like Sundance and Telluride may be household names in the states, but film buffs and festival frequenters know that the Toronto International Film Festival is just as important and visible a platform for young and international filmmakers to showcase their work and maybe even have their films bought up by a studio.

The 2019 edition of the festival wraps up this Saturday after nearly two weeks of screenings and Q&As in Toronto, and on display have been both major studio films like Warner Brothers’ “Joker” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Sony Pictures biopic “Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers as well as indies like Trey Edward Shults’ drama “Waves” starring Sterling K. Brown and famed French filmmaker Agnès Varda’s final film “Varda By Agnès,” a moving scrapbook of her long and highly-acclaimed career.

Today on AirTalk, Larry Mantle talks with KPCC FilmWeek critic Peter Rainer, who has been in Toronto watching movies at TIFF and will share some of his highlights from the festival.

For more information on Toronto International Film Festival, and to see a full list of the films screening, click here.

Guest:

Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor; he is in Toronto attending TIFF 2019