Stars shone at TIFF 2023 parties

The opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival is usually 72 hours of screenings and festivities, which this year, for well-publicized reasons, was decidedly quieter. However, with less attention paid to the maelstrom of Hollywood megastars, there was an opportunity for a few important encounters to really shine.

Friday, September. 8 saw what was billed as the director’s advance premiere Atom Egoyan last work, Seven Veils. The screening took place at the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Canadian Opera Company, which, along with a number of its company members, plays something of a leading role in the film. Following the screening, which took place in the same auditorium where much of the film was filmed (a “Meta Moment” as they say), a reception was held at Jackman Hall for the cast (minus leading lady Amanda Seyfried), including Rebecca Liddiard, Douglas Smith And Lanette Wareand real-life opera stars from the Canadian Opera Company’s latest production. Salome (also directed by Egoyan), including Michael Schade And Ambur Spit.

The following evening, in the garden of a private home in Toronto, the annual Artists for Peace and Justice gala celebrated its 15th year at the festival. TIFF’s decade-and-a-half-long fundraising effort leveraged the festival’s buzz and celebrity presence to raise an impressive $35 million. The funds support education in Haiti, particularly the APJ Academy, which has served 28,000 students since its inception. Haitian musician Paul Beaubrun performed while the singer Nelly Furtado was recognized for her activism, and later Julien Christian Lutzknown professionally as Director Xreceived the Canadian Changemaker Award.

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On Sunday, September 9, the Fairmont Royal York Hotel was located there. 10 at the TIFF Tribute Awards Gala, which turned out to be the biggest party of the week. The gala concert, organized by regular festival sponsor Bulgari, celebrated the work of film legends, including Spike Lee, Pedro Almodóvar, Shawn Levy And Patricia Arquette, which was the winner of the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award. The evening has served as TIFF’s most important annual fundraiser for the past five years, with money raised this year going toward the Viola Desmond Cinema campaign, which was launched through the Every Story fund in 2022. The actor and director came to support her. Viggo Mortensen, wild cat director Ethan HawkeChairman of the Board of TIFF and CEO of Universal Music Canada Jeffrey Remedios, Willem Dafoewho stars in Arquette’s directorial debut, gonzo girland directors Taika Waititi And Clement Virgo.

The next day, another film legend, director Norman Jewisonwas celebrated uptown at the Hazelton Hotel, where the hotel’s luxurious theater was renamed in his honor. Jewison, known for his films including sleepwalker And violinist on the roof (he was nominated for an Academy Award for both), and beloved for founding the Canadian Film Center (which hosted its annual TIFF daytime fundraiser a couple of days ago), attended the event with his wife. Lynn. Directors were present in the hall, including Barry Avrich (which contributed to the renaming), Rajiv Majhuri And Paul Bronfmanand Executive Director of the Canadian Film Center Maxine Bailey.

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