TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival brings the stars to Toronto and for two weeks, the city becomes a buzzing, vibrant hub for the film industry. Chérie City was privileged to be invited to explore city of Toronto and attend TIFF 2011 as part of a group of UK press.
Now on to its 36th year, TIFF is recognised as the most important film festival after Cannes and has become a launch pad for the best of international, Hollywood and Canadian cinema.
Major actors, directors and emerging film-makers decend annually on downtown Toronto to promote their new films, seek distribution deals and present their films to the public and press, often for the first time.
TIFF is fast-paced and manic with a full schedule of red carpet galas at Roy Thomson Hall, public and press screenings, film industry talks and star-studded parties (Soho House hosted a pop up bar this year).
This year, TIFF celebrates the first anniversary of its new year-round home, TIFF Bell Lightbox – an impressive cultural centre and cinematheque, showcasing Canadian and world films.
One of the most anticipated films at TIFF 2011 has arguably been Take This Waltz by Sarah Polley, a quirky indie romantic comedy by Canadian director Sarah Polley, featuring Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams. Also hotly tipped have been The Ides of March, starring and directed by George Clooney and David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, narrating the troubled friendship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, featuring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley.
My TIFF highlight was the gala screening of Christophe Honoré’s Beloved, starring Catherine Deneuve and her real-life daughter Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier and my favourite French actor, and long-term Honoré collaborator, Louis Garrel. But more about that later…
For more information on TIFF and TIFF Bell Lightbox, visit: http://tiff.net
All TIFF Bell Lightbox images: Sam Santos/WireImage for TIFF
Take This Waltz: Michael Gibson