Toronto (Canada) (AFP)

Actress Julianne Moore, starring in "Dear Evan Hansen," walked the red carpet for the opening of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), North America's biggest film festival, marking the Hollywood stars return for the first time in two years.

Usually, half a million moviegoers flock to the festival to see the Hollywood gratin on its red carpet.

The stars were conspicuous by their absence last year, due to the closure of borders linked to the pandemic which had forced them to present their films remotely in a virtual format.

"It's a great moment, I love this festival!" Julianne Moore, who plays the mother of Evan, a teenager, in the musical told AFP on Thursday.

“I felt so lucky to be working on something that was so important and about the human condition at a time when people were really struggling,” she explained.

The film follows Evan, a high school student suffering from social anxiety, whose life is turned upside down after the suicide of one of his classmates.

A rather complex creation around suicide, adolescence and social norms, "Dear Evan Hansen", an event show like "Hamilton" had been in 2015-16, received six Tony Awards in 2017, including that of the best musical comedy.

Ben Platt, who played Evan Hansen in the 2015 musical, resumes his role on the big screen at 27, four years after receiving the trophy for best actor in a musical.

The Canadian festival, which does not award a palm or a bear like in Cannes or Berlin but only an audience award, often sets the pace for winter awards in Hollywood.

If other festivals like Venice and Cannes have almost returned to the "normal" version, the Toronto edition is a mix of virtual and real screenings, with reduced capacity in theaters.

The stars are fewer on site, but Jessica Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sigourney Weaver and Denis Villeneuve, Canadian director of the new version of "Dune", are expected.

"I think we have been affected differently," said Joana Vicente, the managing director of TIFF, who until a few months ago was not sure that physical previews could take place.

Hard hit in recent months by the pandemic, the Canadian metropolis began its deconfinement this summer.

In total, nearly 200 films will be screened until September 18, compared to around 50 last year, but still below the 300 feature and short films usually screened in Toronto.

© 2021 AFP