Toronto (Canada), September 7 (EFE).- The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) begins its 48th edition this Thursday marked by the strikes of Hollywood actors and screenwriters and the tribute that the Canadian sample will pay to the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.

The competition officially begins with the screening of the Japanese animated film “The Boy and the Heron”, by director Hayao Miyazaki, author of films such as “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) and “Spirited Away” (2001), which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

The choice of Miyazaki’s film, the 82-year-old Japanese director’s first in a decade, to open the festival is unusual: it’s the first time in Toronto’s 48-year history that Toronto has opened with an animated film.

In addition, it will not be the world premiere of “The Boy and the Heron”, the screening of which in Japan already began in early July with great success at the box office.

In contrast, this year TIFF will pay tribute to Almodóvar, 73 and winner of two Oscars with “All About My Mother” and “Talk to Her”, presenting him with one of the festival’s Tribute Awards on September 10.

TIFF said the award is in recognition of the “profound impact” his filmography has had through “his artistic vision, bold storytelling and unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of cinema.”

Almodóvar will be joined at the awards ceremony by other big names in world cinema also honored this year by TIFF: directors Spike Lee (USA), Carolina Markowicz (Brazil), Lukasz Zal (Poland) and Shawn Levy (Canada), as well as actors Patricia Arquette, Colman Domingo, Vicky Krieps and Andy Lau.

The presence of names like Almodóvar, Lee or Arquette at the 48th edition of the Toronto festival, considered one of the most important in the world, is a relief for the show, which takes place this year amid strikes by actors and screenwriters who They crippled Hollywood.

If in previous editions the streets of Toronto were filled with Hollywood stars, especially during the first four days of the show, this year the strikes have emptied the TIFF of a significant part of its glamour.

American, or American-based, directors will flock to TIFF thanks to their union, the Directors Guild of America (DGA), which reached a working agreement with production companies earlier this summer.

And filmmakers and actors from outside the United States will also be present since they are not subject to the rules of American unions.

But Hollywood actors, with few exceptions, will be absent, leaving the festival’s traditional red carpets barer than ever.

Names like Michael Fassbender, Emily Blunt, Jodie Foster, Sylvester Stallone, Annette Bening, Vincent D’Onofrio, America Ferrera, Seth Rogen or Tommy Lee Jones will not be able to attend the premiere of their films.

In fact, this year the organization of the festival did not publish its traditional list with the dozens of names of Hollywood stars who were to attend the sample.

However, all is not lost for the thousands of people who flock each year to the entrances of the cinemas where TIFF films are screened to try to see some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Because this year the Canadian festival welcomes a large number of films directed by actors: Michael Keaton is present with “Knox Goes Away”; Viggo Mortensen with “The Dead Don’t Hurt”; Anna Kendrick with “Woman of the Hour”; Chris Pine with “Poolman” and Ethan Hawke with “Wildcat”.

Julius Caesar Rivas