ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's biggest independent film festival !f celebrates its 10th anniversary this month by showcasing films and directors from the Sundance Film Festival, the grand dame of independent cinema.

'Beginners' features Christopher Plummer in his first gay role, at the age of 80. Focus Features has released the first trailer for the mature coming out gay film Beginners starring Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor. Writer-Director Mike Mills' Beginners features 80-year-old Plummer in his first gay role. Oliver (played by Ewan McGregor) tells the story of his father, Hal, trying to catch up on lost time after coming out gay at the age of 75. Hal begins to openly embrace his sexuality by socializing with other gay men and dating a man about the same age as his son (Goran Visnjic). Hal is also attempting to reconnect with his son after being told he's terminally ill. The film premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival and lit a bidding war for distribution rights. Focus Features, the company that brought us Milk and Oscar-nominated The Kids Are All Right, acquired worldwide rights, excluding Canada, France, Australia, Scandinavia and the Benelux nations. Focus Fe

TORONTO (Reuters) - Western film fans who thought they knew Indian city Mumbai after seeing "Slumdog Millionaire" can forget that, and Indian moviegoers expecting a Bollywood spectacle should be prepared. "Dhobi Ghat" is no musical.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - And they're off. And it's The King's Speech in the lead. No, wait, it's The Social Network by a nose. Hold on, The Fighter is coming up fast on the inside track.

TORONTO (Reuters) - In a long career, director Tim Burton has distinguished himself as the top Hollywood director for things weird, wacky, macabre and beautiful with his films ranging from "Edward Scissorhands" to "Alice in Wonderland."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Who are the frontrunners in this year's best picture Oscar race? Here are some early contenders, but don't rule out the surprises yet to come.

Springsteen attends Rome film fest for screening of documentary on his 1978 album. Bruce Springsteen rocked the Rome Film Festival when he showed up for the screening of a documentary on his famous 1978 album "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

Knightley, Mendes movie 'Last Night' opens Rome fest but protest steals the show. The marital drama "Last Night," which deals with questions of temptation, betrayal and defining infidelity, opened the Rome Film Festival on Thursday but a red-carpet protest by hundreds of Italian movie-industry workers stole the show.

'Slumdog Millionaire' star turns defiant Palestinian girl eager to fight Israel in new movie. The Indian actress who starred in "Slumdog Millionaire" has moved from the slums of Mumbai to the squalid refugee camps of the West Bank in a new film: the story of a defiant Palestinian girl who wants to fight against Israel in a coming of age story with a Mideast twists.

'Beginners' features Christopher Plummer in his first gay role, at the age of 80. Another coming out gay movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, but don't yawn, because this story is told from a unique perspective. Writer-Director Mike Mills' Beginners features 80-year-old Christopher Plummer in his first gay role. Oliver (played by Ewan McGregor) tells the story of his father, Hal, trying to catch up on lost time after coming out gay at the age of 75. Hal begins to openly embrace his sexuality by socializing with other gay men and dating a man about the same age as his son (Goran Visnjic). Did we mention that Hal is terminally ill and that he and Oliver are trying to reconnect? The story is made more compelling by the fact that it is partially based on Mills' own true-life experience with his father. Beginners tackles many difficult subjects, including traveling the last mile of life, mending a father-son relationship, and coming out gay in the twilight of life. Af

Troubles of US education system get big screen close-up in 4 new documentaries. The troubles of the U.S. education system are getting a big screen close-up.

Microsoft's Gates joins 'Superman' mission to promote film on fixing public schools. Bill Gates had the good fortune to attend private school, and he sends his children there, too. Yet the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist has a passion to fix America's public schools.

Suns star Steve Nash makes director debut with documentary about fellow Canadian Terry Fox. Six-year-old Steve Nash woke up every morning eager to turn on the TV to see where Terry was.

Kelly McGillis, star of 'Witness' and 'Top Gun,' joins Musak executive in NJ civil union. Actress Kelly McGillis has been joined in a civil union with her girlfriend in New Jersey.

'The King's Speech' chosen at fans' favorite at Toronto International Film Festival. "The King's Speech" was crowned the fan favorite at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, a possible precursor to an Academy Award nomination.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Director Gareth Edwards' sci-fi pic "Monsters" is being hyped as this year's "District 9," which does the movie a disservice as it sets it up against an unrealistic standard.

'The King's Speech' chosen at fans' favorite at Toronto International Film Festival. "The King's Speech" was crowned the fan favorite at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, a possible precursor to an Academy Award nomination.

TORONTO (Reuters) - "The King's Speech" won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, giving the Tom Hooper-directed film some early momentum heading into Oscar awards season.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ben Affleck made off with a bigger-than-expected haul at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday as his heist thriller "The Town" surprised observers with a strong No. 1 opening.

Bank-robber drama 'The Town' makes off with $23.8M to top box office in debut. "The Town" is the talk of the box office, opening with $23.8 million to take the No. 1 spot.