Starring Frank Grillo, Margaret Qualley, James Badge Dale and Jamie Bell, the film is Sutton’s fourth directorial effort, most ambitious project to date, and his first title at the Festival.

“Tim Sutton’s unflinching portrayal of the American heartland masterfully captures many of the anxieties that exist in our society today,” said TIFF Director and CEO Piers Handling.

“Donnybrook is the perfect choice to open Platform, showcasing not only the calibre of filmmaking in the lineup, but also the depth of the challenging stories that make up the programme.”

Set in the shadows of today’s America, Donnybrook tells the story of a young veteran who — seeing no way out for his poverty-stricken family — robs a gun shop to fund his entry fee into a legendary, bare-knuckle tournament, where the winner gets $100,000 and a chance for a new life.

“It’s a profound honour that Donnybrook was chosen to open this year’s Platform section at TIFF,” said Sutton.

“I set out to make a film that reckons with the extreme times we are living in. Donnybrook is about the fight to survive — physically, financially, and emotionally. While creating it I found not only darkness, fear, and violence, but also beauty, tenderness, and wonder. I’m thrilled the programmers responded to the film, and I look forward to presenting it to audiences on the big screen with the cast and crew by my side.”

Donnybrook is a Backup Studios presentation and a Rumble Films production in association with Sierra/Affinity. It is produced by David Lancaster and Stephanie Wilcox.

Executive Producers from Backup Studios include Joël Thibout, David Atlan-Jackson and Jean-Baptiste Babin.

Executive producers from Rumble include Jon Shiffman and Andrew Schwartzberg. UTA Independent Film Group is handling North American sales.

Sierra/Affinity is handling world sales.

The 43rd TIFF will run from Sept 6 to 16, 2018.

The Platform programme is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Air France.