PETER Capaldi and Benedict Cumberbatch's new movie, about the WikiLeaks website, is among an array of films featuring British stars to receive their world premieres at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.

Cumberbatch stars as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate also featuring Capaldi as Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens and Harry Potter star David Thewlis. It will open the festival on September 5.

Cumberbatch also stars in two other films to have their first screenings at TIFF – Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, co-starring Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt, and an adaptation of August: Osage County with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.