Actor-filmmaker Paul Gross has landed the coveted opening-night slot at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival with “Passchendaele,” a First World War drama inspired by his grandfather’s experiences in battle.

TIFF director and CEO Piers Handling announced the film, which is still in post-production, as the festival opener Tuesday morning.

“It is rare that Canadians get to experience their own histories via the moving image, particularly on the big screen,” Handling said in a statement.

“We are honoured to open TIFF 2008 with a work as personal and passionate, as significant to both Canadian film and Canadian history as ‘Passchendaele.’”

Gross wrote, directed, produced and co-stars in the film, which tells the story of the famous Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium.

The movie, which also stars Caroline Dhavernas, Gil Bellows and Joe Dinicol, was inspired by the war stories Gross heard from his grandfather, who was a veteran of the 1917 battle.

Gross plays injured Alberta soldier Michael Dunne, who returns home to recover and falls in love. When his new love’s younger brother enlists, Dunne decides to head back to war.

“Passchendaele,” which will have its world premiere at TIFF, is Gross’s second directorial effort, following the 2002 curling comedy “Men With Brooms.”

The movie was mostly shot around Calgary and, at a budget of $20 million, is the largest homegrown Canadian movie ever made.

TIFF, now in its 33rd year, runs Sept. 4 to 13.






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