The city was alive last week with the International Toronto Film Festival.
King street was a buzzin' from University to John street. The Hyatt was full of industry delegates and filmmakers from all over the world.
Here I found a home amongst other cinephiles - dare I say cinefilles.
From entertainment, to networking, dining out, and watching a selection of 300 hundred, it's no wonder why Cameron Bailey loves his job so much:
"I invite everybody to 300 birthday parties and show movies" - Cameron Bailey, Twitter.
As an industry member, I was fortunate enough to witness keynote speakers from across the creative spectrum:
- Justin Benson (Director, Producer, & Filmmaker) and Aaron Moorhead (Writer, Producer, & Filmmaker), the creators of SPRING (2014)
- Stephen Frears, director of THE PROGRAM (2015)
- Jia Zhang-ke, director of Mountains May Depart (2015)
- Bianca Goodloe, legal concierge - state of financing and co-production
- Nicolas Chartier, producer of A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS (2015)
- Michael Moore, director of WHERE TO INVADE NEXT (2015)
- Barbara Twist (Art House Convergence), Mark Fishkin (California Film Institute), and John Vanco (IFC, NY)
- UPFRONT: Uncovering Unconscious Bias - Gender Issues
- David Garrett
- Phil Hunt (Producer), *thinks that MUFF is "brilliant"
- Asif Kapadia, director of AMY (2015)
- Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, directors of THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING (2015)
Stay tuned the next few weeks where I will be highlighting the major speakers and my most memorable moments.
The movies were spectacular. At least the select few I was able to see (12). ANGRY INDIAN GODDESS shook the ground and wrenched out my heart. A movie everyone needs to see. LEGEND, a gritty tale based on the true story of the gangster Kray twins, East Enders in 1960s London. One close to home, BEEBA BOYS by the brilliant Deepa Mehta, also had be rivetted to my seat!
An unforgettable time with the best people!
- Jenn