TIFF 2013: Jay-Z documentary to show at Toronto festival

A documentary about Jay-Z’s role as curator of new music festival Made In America has been added to the bill for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Ron Howard’s Made In America tells the story of the Philadelphia festival of the same name.

Widely considered as the kick-off to Oscar season, the 11-day film festival will feature 146 world premieres.

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are among a host of Oscar-winning stars expected to attend.

The pair are set to walk the red carpet for John Wells’ film August: Osage County, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts.

Colin Firth is also due to attend for the premiere of Jonathan Teplitzky’s film, The Railway Man, in which he plays the lead.

The Railway Man, a true story about the role of a British soldier who was captured by Japanese troops during WWII and for the rest of his life remained haunted by his captivity, also stars Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman.

Colin Firth previously won an Oscar for The King’s Speech, which went on to have award success after being shown at Toronto.

Other films included in the full programme, which was released on Tuesday, include Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey.

Matthew McConaughey, who plays real-life AIDS activist Ron Woodroof, lost nearly 40 lbs for the part and his performance has already been tipped for an Oscar nod.

Meanwhile, the film 12.12.12 about the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert will also feature.

Launched in 1976, TIFF is among the world’s top film events, and has served as a platform for international films seeking distribution in North America.

The 2013 festival, which opens with the WikiLeaks drama The Fifth Estate on September 5, will screen 366 feature and short films from 70 countries.