By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Halle Berry’s three-decades plus Hollywood career, which includes winning Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, gets another first this week as she’ll discuss her directorial debut “Bruised” at the Toronto Film Festival. Berry is also the featured star in the production about a disgraced MMA fighter Jackie “Justice,” seeking redemption and a career revival. Berry will be featured on Friday as part of the Festival’s “Conversation With” series organizers told The Hollywood Reporter Monday.
Berry previously produced the thriller “Kidnap” in 2017, and was also part of “John Wick: Chapter 3.” But she hadn’t originally planned to direct “Bruised.” She took that over after Nick Cassavetes dropped out. The film also delves into custody issues as part of Justice’s struggle involves trying to regain full custody of her six-year-old while simultaneously trying to rebuild her career.
There are several other top films featured at this year’s festival, among them Regina King’s “A Night In Miami.” Others include Ricky Staub’s Idris Elba-starring drama “Concrete Cowboys,” the Kate Winslet/Saoirse Ronan same-sex romance “Ammonite” (which was previously confirmed as part of this year’s canceled Cannes lineup), and Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “Good Joe Bell,” which stars Mark Wahlberg as a father who sets out on a walk across America in honor of his son. Some additional titles are Nicolás Pereda’s “Fauna,” Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” Suzanne Lindon’s “Spring Blossom,” and Naomi Kawase’s “True Mothers.”
The festival will also be enhanced by the presence of several top directors, actors and producers serving as ambassadors The list of those expected to attend includes Ava DuVernay, Taika Waititi, Anurag Kashyap, Nicole Kidman, Martin Scorsese, Nadine Labaki, Alfonso Cuarón, Tantoo Cardinal, Riz Ahmed, Rian Johnson, Jason Reitman, Isabelle Huppert, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Priyanka Chopra, Viggo Mortensen, Zhang Ziyi, David Oyelowo, Lulu Wang, Rosamund Pike, Sarah Gadon, and Denis Villeneuve, among others.
