Xavier Dolan’s Long-Awaited ‘The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan’ To Premiere At TIFF

It’s been a long time coming, but filmmaker Xavier Dolan’s latest project is about to have its world premiere.

According to the folks over at the Toronto International Film Festival, Dolan’s “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan” will finally premiere this September at the festival. The surprise addition to the already-stacked TIFF lineup came today at the TIFF Canadian press conference.

‘John F. Donovan’ follows a young actor who remembers being a penpal with an older American TV star. As he reminisces, he discovers the impact the letters had on both their lives, a decade after the TV star passed. The film stars Jacob Tremblay as the young actor and Kit Harrington as the titular Donovan. The film also stars Natalie Portman, Ben Schnetzer, Susan Sarandon, Jared Keeso, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Emily Hampshire, and former TIFF Rising Star Sarah Gadon. One name not in the cast is Jessica Chastain, but her exclusion has been known for a while.

“In only a few short years, Xavier Dolan has drawn film lovers all over the world into his personal vision,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “That vision and his remarkable skill as a filmmaker are on full display in his English-language debut. We are honored to premiere it in Toronto.”

There’s been quite a bit of speculation surrounding Dolan’s latest film. ‘John F. Donovan’ was thought to maybe premiere earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, with rumors swirling as to why. Reports surfaced recently about the behind-the-scenes drama between the filmmaker and the distributor, causing issues with finding a festival. However, all that seems to be water under the bridge, so to speak, as the film is finally going to see the light of day.

Dolan is an actor-turned-director, who rose to filmmaking prominence with his films “I Killed My Mother” and “Mommy.” As an actor, his work dates back to the ’90s, and will next be seen in the awards season contender “Boy Erased,” as well as the highly-anticipated “IT: Chapter Two.”

TIFF begins September 6.