Robert Downey Jr.'s 'The Judge' To Open The Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off Thursday, Sept. 4, with the premiere of Robert Downey Jr.’s new drama, The Judge.

Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers), The Judge is the first film to come out of Downey’s production company, Team Downey, and marks Downey’s first big return to TIFF since 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

“David Dobkin has delivered a moving, textured story about family, duty and the way we remember our past. We couldn’t have asked for a better start to this year’s event,” said TIFF CEO Piers Handling.

The Judge stars Downey as Hank Palmer, a ruthless attorney, who returns home to Indiana after his mother dies only to find that his estranged father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), is accused of murder.

Dobkin, who screened his feature debut, Clay Pigeons, at the Toronto Film Festival in 1999, released a statement saying that he was happy to be celebrating the world premiere of The Judge at TIFF. “The festival audiences are terrific, and I know I speak for everyone involved in the film when I say we are so pleased to be unveiling it there,” he said.

The Judge is just one of 143 world premieres scheduled to take place at the 10-day festival.