From climate change and overpopulation to terrorism, North Korea and fringe right-wing groups in America, people worldwide are facing “an atmosphere of great uncertainty and a real fear about certain issues,” he says. “I think it’s a very unsettling time for many of us.”

“Some of the films are absolutely uplifting, showing that individually or collectively, you can overcome if you harness your resources and work together. But of course, not all the films have a happy ending,” he says.

Handling cites The Mountain Between Us, starring Idris Elba and Kate Winslet as two strangers fighting to survive after a plane crash in the wilderness, or Stronger about the 2013 Boston Marathon attack, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, as examples of films showing individuals trying to survive.

By contrast, American director Alexander Payne offers a quirky solution to the issue of human consumption rapidly exhausting the Earth’s resources. His science fiction social satire Downsizing, about a man who chooses to shrink himself to simplify his life, stars Matt Damon.

Other featured films chronicle efforts to live on in times of war and chaos.

Among those expected to generate buzz are the Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour starring Gary Oldman, Angelina Jolie’s Cambodian genocide drama First They Killed My Father, and Kings, based on the 1992 Los Angeles riots, starring Daniel Craig and Halle Berry.

In previous years, films such as Spotlight , 12 Years a Slave , and Slumdog Millionaire went on from winning the Toronto festival’s People’s Choice award for best picture to take the top honour at the Oscars.

Last year, the musical La La Land won the prize and took home six Oscars including best actress and best director – but not the top prize, despite the shocking mix-up with Moonlight .

Many of the films being positioned for accolades this year will have already premiered at the Venice, New York or Telluride film festivals before screening in Toronto.

“The season is very crowded,” says Handling.

They include Battle of the Sexes with Emma Stone and Steve Carell as tennis stars Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence and George Clooney’s Coen brothers-scripted Suburbicon.

But Handling insists Toronto continues to be the launch pad for Oscar contenders.

“I think Toronto is still seen as the key place to amplify films going into awards season. Films may premiere in Venice or Telluride but the amplification actually happens here in Toronto,” he says.

Notably among the hundreds of guests expected to grace the red carpet in Toronto are Clooney, Stone, Lawrence, Elba, Damon, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain and Liam Neeson.

The festival will also host intimate talks with Jolie, Javier Bardem, Gael Garcia Bernal and Helen Mirren.

From the music world, rock legend Eric Clapton will be on hand for the premiere of the documentary Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, as will Eminem for his film Bodied about rap battling, and Drake, who produced a documentary The Carter Effect about NBA star Vince Carter, who played for years in Canada.

Lady Gaga will perform following the screening of the documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two.