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Multiple Oscar-winning auteur Steven Spielberg's 'The Fabelmans' earned a roaring standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Saturday, as the crowd of movie lovers cheered loudly for the producer-director making his first appearance at the gathering, reports 'Variety'.

"I'm really glad we came to Toronto," a visibly moved Spielberg said after taking the stage as the credits rolled. The director said he was inspired by the Covid pandemic to tell his most personal story yet, a look at his early filmmaking efforts, his childhood in Arizona and Northern California, and the dissolution of his family.

"As things got worse and worse, I felt that if I was going to leave anything behind, what was the thing that I really need to resolve and unpack about my mom, my dad," Spielberg said.

He reassured the crowd at TIFF that despite having made peace with his past, 'The Fabelmans' will not serve as his farewell to movies. "This is not because I'm going to retire and this is my swan song," he said. "Don't believe any of that."

The film started about 15 minutes late, a small miracle given the crush of audience members waiting outside the Princess of Wales Theatre, because the premiere of 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery', starring Daniel Craig, had bled into the launch of 'The Fabelmans'.