Water, a new movie from director Deepa Mehta, will kick off this year's Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday.

"The big question, I guess, is what to wear,'' Mehta joked at a news conference.

The gala on Sept. 8 will mark the world premiere of Water, which tells the story of a child bride in pre-independence India who is exiled to a widow's ashram after her husband's death.

The film is the final instalment in Mehta's trilogy named after the elements, following the 1996 film Fire and 1998's Earth, which both premiered at the festival. She also directed Bollywood/Hollywood.

Mehta, who was born in India and is based in Toronto, said she was "ecstatic'' that her film was chosen for the prestigious opening night spot.

"We know that Canada is multicultural. We all feel that, hear it. But somehow it's never been affirmed the way it has been here today. And that is an important day for me,'' she said. "It means a lot.''

The festival, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, will also feature the North American premieres of films by Toronto directors Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg.

Both men recently showed the movies at Cannes but said the Toronto event has special significance.

"We all know that Cannes is terrific and fun, but this is the real festival, we all know that too,'' Cronenberg said to cheers from the crowd.

"So we go out to Cannes and we play and then we bring it back home. And that's the screening that's really the most meaningful to us.''

Cronenberg's A History of Violence was shot in Toronto and stars William Hurt, Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris. It's a thriller about a family man from Indiana forced to battle gangsters who claim he's an old acquaintance.

Egoyan's film, Where the Truth Lies, delves into the dark secrets of a musical comedy duo played by Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth. The explicit sex in the film, which also stars Alison Lohman, caused a buzz at Cannes.

"I am really, really proud of this movie,'' Egoyan said Tuesday. "I think it's going to surprise a lot of people.''

This year's Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 8 to 17. During that time, more than 300 films will be shown on 23 screens.