(Above: Moritz Bleibtreu and Woody Harrelson play lovers in The Walker)

The Toronto Film Festival has become one of the biggest and most significant in the world in terms of deals and distribution. The fest recently announced its lineup, and it features some gay-related and gay-interest films in the bunch.

A Jihad for Love, by Parvez Sharma, is the first feature-length examination of the lives of gay and lesbian Muslims, whose lifestyles conflict with strict Islamic teachings.

Angel, directed by acclaimed queer(ish) filmmaker François Ozon, takes place in England, 1905. Angel Deverell is a gifted young writer who dreams of success, fame and love. But what will happen if all her dreams come true? The film stars Romola Garai, Lucy Russel, Michael Fassbender, Sam Neill and frequent collaborator Charlotte Rampling.

Barcelona (A Map) comes from director Ventura Pons, and according to the festival notes, "Incest, homosexuality and adultery are intertwined in the lives of six characters who come together in an old apartment in the heart of Barcelona." Nice to see homosexuality mentioned in such good company as incest and adultery, isn't it?

Chacun Son Cinema (Various directors): The Toronto International Film Festival is honoured to be showing this Cannes Film Festival favourite. More than 30 of the most distinguished contemporary filmmakers – including Canadians David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan as well as David Lynch, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Roman Polanski, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier, and Wong Kar Wai – celebrate the 60th anniversary of Cannes with short films inspired by the cinephile’s place of worship: the movie theatre.

Lust, Caution, while not gay, is the latest film from Ang Lee. Following his Academy Award™ win for Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee returns with an erotic espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai, in which a young woman (Tang Wei) gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure (the dashing Tony Leung from Happy Together and In the Mood for Love). Also starring Chui Wai, Joan Chen and Wang Leehom.

The Past follows the twists and turns in the life of Rimini (Hot 100 vet Gael García Bernal). After his divorce, he survives a string of relationships, loses his livelihood as a translator, becomes entangled in a child custody battle, lands in jail and recovers his ability to fall in love.

Smiley Face is the latest comedy from gay director Gregg Araki. (And by all accounts it actually already opened here in the States earlier this year, which is odd.) Jane F (Anna Faris), unsuccessful slacker actress, is having a bad day. Her misadventures begin when she treats herself to a batch of cupcakes left unattended by her psycho roommate (Danny Masterson) that prove not as innocent as they appear. Soon she is trying to cross town so she can repay an unforgiving drug dealer (Adam Brody), attend an audition, and somehow replace the precious cupcakes.

The Walker is the American Gigolo follow-up from Paul Schrader, starring Woody Harrelson as the titular hustler, who is in this incarnation a high-end society escort in Washington, DC (and this time around, gay). Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin, Willem Defoe, Ned Beatty, Moritz Bleibtreu and Mary Beth Hurt also appear.

So far, this year has seemed pretty bleak in terms of gay and lesbian content in the movies. There is, however, going to be at least one movie with a lead gay character gracing national screens. THINKFilm has just acquired the North American distribution rights to Paul Schrader’s The Walker starring Woody Harrelson, Kristen Scott Thomas and (the lesbilicous) Lily Tomlin, which premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Harrelson plays gay as Carter Page, the “Walker” of the title (walkers are gay male escorts who accompany socialites to all those parties their absentee powerful husbands can’t be bothered to attend). In his role of gay boyfriend to the Ladies of Washington D.C., Page finds himself immersed in scandal involving his best friend, Lynn Lockner (Scott Thomas), which careens horribly out of control.

Given Schrader’s past films Raging Bull and Taxi Driver (for which he wrote the screenplays), and American Gigolo and Cat People (which he directed), it’s probably safe to assume that isn’t the point at which “hilarity ensues”. A few of Schrader's other pictures, like Auto Focus and The Comfort of Strangers have contained some homoerotic (or at least suggestive) content, but usually as one of the many dark desires knocking around in the straight man's depraved libido. It will be interesting to see if Schrader's portrayal will be an honest depiction of a gay in crisis, or will he use Page's homosexuality as yet another dark color to paint his cast of disaffected characters.

Of course, it won’t be bad to see Harrelson in some natty tuxedos (every man looks great in a tux). Unfortunately it doesn’t seem that there is any chance of a Brokeback-style love scene, but a boy can daydream. I’ve attached below a clip of Harrelson during his stint on Will & Grace (though he didn’t play gay that time, he was around other gay men, so it kinda counts. Besides, Debra Messing’s red pleather suit is gay enough for both of them).

Expect to see The Walker in theaters late in the 2007 to position it for consideration for the Academy Awards. Let’s hope it’s worth the wait.