A new film from director Thom Zimny and American legend Bruce Springsteen isn’t exactly big news — the pair have, after all, worked on such wide-ranging projects as “Springsteen on Broadway” and “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town” together over the years — but their latest filmed spin on Springsteen’s music does offer something fresh: Springsteen as co-director.

This year’s Toronto International Film Festival will play home to “Western Stars,” credited to both Zimny (just Emmy nominated last week for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special for the Netflix special “Springsteen on Broadway”) and Springsteen in his feature filmmaking debut.

“We have Bruce Springsteen’s directorial debut at the festival, I think he’s got a big future ahead of him,” Tiff Artistic Director & Co-Head Cameron Bailey told IndieWire during a recent interview about the festival’s newly-announced first slate.

In June, Variety reported...