Dixie Chicks - Shut UpAnd Sing, by filmmakers BarbaraKopple and Cecilia Peck, will screen as a Gala presentation at the upcomingToronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

It was one of 23 documentaries unveiled today, 13 of them world premieres,including Kurt Cobain About A Sonby A J Schnack, featuring unreleased audio interview with the late father ofgrunge, and The Prisoner Or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair from Gunner Palace filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker, thestory of an Iraqi cameraman's wrongful arrest and interrogation by US forces.

Shut Up And Sing follows the UScountry and western trio through the aftermath of a controversial comment by lead singer Natalie Maines in a 2003 London concert on the eve of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas," Maines told the crowd, which incited a wave of condemnation that haunts the band to this day, and continues to underscore the extreme political polarity of the US.

Indeed, controversial material abounds in the films announced today: Tony Kaye's Lake Of Fire is a 15-years-in-the-making documentary about the abortion issue in the US whileMohammed Naqvi's Shame documentsthe sensational story of a Pakistani rape victim, and Vincenzo Marra's The Session Is Open charts the progressof anti-Mob campaigners in a Naples court.

Other titles of interest include: Jeff Garlin'sThis Filthy World, a filmed version of John Waters' one-man show; Blindsight, from UK director Lucy Walker, who followed a group of blind mountain climbers on anascent up a part of Mt Everest; and Primo Levi's Journey by Italy's Davide Ferrario, a documentary traveloguethat follows in the footsteps of the famous scholar from Auschwitz to his home town of Turin.

TIFF world premiere documentaries announced:
Blindsight dir. Lucy Walker (UK)
Dixie Chicks - Shut Up And Sing dir. Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Beck (US)
Ghost Of Cite Soleil dir. AsgerLeth (Denmark/Haiti/US)
The Killer Within dir. MackyAlston (US)
Kurt Cobain About A Son dir. AJSchnack (US)
Lake Of Fire dir. Tony Kaye (US)
Made In Jamaica dir. JeromeLaperrousaz (France/US)
Office Tigers dir. Liz Mermin(UK)
Primo Levi's Journey dir. DavideFerrario (Italy)
The Prisoner Or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair dir. Petra Epperlein, Michael
Tucker (Germany/US)
The Sugar Curtain dir. CamilaGuzman Urzua (France/Spain/Cuba)
This Filthy World Starring John Waters dir. Jeff Garlin (US)

International premieres announced:
Iran: Une Revolution Cinematographique dir: Nader Takmil Homayoun (France)
Yokohama Mary dir. TakayukiNakamura (Japan)

North American premieres announced:
My Life As A Terrorist: The Story Of Hans-Joachim Klein dir. Alexander Oey (Netherlands)
The Pervert's Guide To Cinemadir. Sophie Fiennes (UK/Austria/Netherlands)
The U.S. Vs. John Lennon dir.David Leaf, John Scheinfeld (US)

Canadian premieres announced:
American Hardcore dir. PaulRachman (US)
Summer Camp! dir. BradleyBeesley, Sarah Price (US)
Toi, Waguih dir. Namir AbdelMesseeh (France)