The 31st Toronto International Film Festival got underway on Thursday, with actors, filmmakers, industry insiders and cinephiles gathering for 10 days of movies, parties, networking and star-gazing.

The festival, which runs until September 16, opened with a gala presentation of "The Journals of Knud Rasmussen," a Canadian-Danish co-production from Nunavut filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and his Montreal-based co-producer, Norman Cohn.

"The Journals of Knud Rasmussen" is based on a true story of a Danish explorer and anthropologist who visited Canada's North in the 1920s. However, the film tells the story from the perspective of the Inuit people Rasmussen meets. Its dialogue is in Inuktitut with English subtitles.

The festival's 352-film lineup includes selections from 61 countries or regions, ranging from dramas and horror movies to documentaries, independent features and short films.

Notable selections this year include:

-- "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing," a documentary following the furor over the country trio after lead singer Natalie Maines publicly criticized U.S. President George W. Bush.

-- "All the King's Men," a new adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, starring Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo and Oscar-winner Sean Penn.

-- And "Death of a President," the headline-grabbing documentary-style drama about the fictional assassination of Bush.

The festival is largely regarded as a place to screen new movies in advance of theatrical release or for international releases to win larger distribution.

The festival ends on September 16 with the world premiere of "Amazing Grace," based on a story of 18th-century British abolitionist William Wilberforce and his campaign to end the slave trade.