Comedian Ben Stiller says thrilled Nutcrackers opening Toronto Film Festival

ComedianBenStillersaid he wasthrilledthat his latest drama-comedy Nutcrackerswas chosen to open theTorontoFilmFestival, with thefilmalso making its debut at the ten dayfilmevent.

"We made this littlefilmindependently... it was such a labor of love. I was sothrilledthatTorontosaw it and wanted to open thefestivalwith it," saidStilleras he walked the red carpet with director David Gordon Green and other cast members.

Nutcrackerstells the heartwarming story of hotshot Chicago real estate developer Michael who is forced to care for his orphaned nephews in a small Ohio town after his sister and her husband have a terrible accident.

Michael then discovers the boys - played by brothers Homer, Ulysses, Arlo and Atlas Janson - are trained in ballet, and thefilmfollows their antics in their farm, whereStiller's character chases hogs and chickens.

Unlike a traditional movie release, "Nutcrackers" made its debut at TIFF, without launching teasers or previews.

"This is the first audience,"Stillersaid. "I never really imagined it when we were making the movie because we made it in this little farmhouse, very small budget, just us and the kids and the animals and hoping that we would figure out a place that people would see it.

"This is it. We're going to show it and we'll see who likes it, which is fun," he added.

Thefilm, which also stars Linda Cardellini, is yet to land a distributor deal.

The 49th edition of theTorontoInternationalFilmFestivalkicked off on Thursday with Hollywood stars making a comeback on the red carpet after last year's screen writer's strike.