“Best. Fest. Ever.”

That was the assessment by Cliff Froehlich, the executive director of Cinema St. Louis, as he unveiled the line-up for the 17th annual St. Louis International Film Festival on Wednesday.

The festival, which runs Nov. 13-23 at venues including the Tivoli and Plaza Frontenac, will be almost twice the size of last year’s, with 45 documentaries and 90 feature films. And just as last year’s fest was the local launching pad for Academy Award contenders like “Juno” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” several of this year’s features will be powered by Oscar buzz and carrying a payload of prizes from other festivals.

Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” which won the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival, stars comeback-kid Mickey Rourke as an aging grappler.

Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won the audience choice award at the this year’s Toronto Film Festival, is the story of a poor lad from India who hits the jackpot on a quiz show.

Laurent Cantet’s “The Class,” which won the grand prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a docudrama about a year in the life of a Parisian high school.

Paul Schrader’s “Adam Resurrected” earned raves at the recent Telluride Film Festival for Jeff Goldblum’s performance as a German clown who uses humor to escape the Holocaust.

Schrader, the writer of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull,” is among more than 60 special guests who will be coming to St. Louis for the festival. He will be presenting a new print of his 1985 film “Mishima.”

Another legendary filmmaker on his way to the Gateway City is Michael Apted. the director of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and the “7 Up” documentary series. The latter project has been chronicling the lives of some representative Britons for more than 40 years.

No guest will have more stories to tell than Marsha Hunt, a 90-year-old actress who was blacklisted during the anti-Communist witch-hunt of the 1950s.

The festival organizers have doubled their efforts to promote filmmakers with local connections. Former St. Louisan Jeremy Lasky, who was the director of photography for animated hits such as “Cars” and “Finding Nemo,” will be in town to present a free program of Pixar shorts and another one about the making of “Wall-E.”

Brian Jun, the Alton native whose “Steel City” premiered at the Sundance film Festival in 2006, will present his follow-up film, the legal thriller “The Thacker Case.”

And the opening-night gala presentation is “Humboldt County,” a wack comedy by former St. Louisans Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs.

Froehlich says he is especially excited about the line-up of documentaries. They include “Waltz with Bashir,” an animated doc about an Israeli incursion into Lebanon; “American Swing,” which commemorates the New York sex club Plato’s Retreat; “Fuel,” which delves into the world of alternative energy; and “Dear Zachary,” a filmmaker’s tribute to his murdered friend that Froehlich says is a guaranteed tear-jerker and Oscar finalist.

For ticket information and schedule updates, check the festival Web site at cinemastlouis.org.