Day 10: I Heart a Day at the Spa

1 screening, and 1 party to go…and then 24 hours of much needed sleep; but first, a spurt of rejuvenation to bring my skin back to life for the final festival lap courtesy of The Spa at the Hazelton.

A favourite amongst stargazers, The Hazelton is a celebrity-preferred festival home away from home (not to mention nighttime hangout) where stars including Madonna and Bono stayed this TIFF. Today, it’s where I (like many a celeb before me this festival) turn for a time out and a much needed signature Valmont facial from one of the hotel spa’s expert technicians. And like magic, the Valmont Purifying Pack mask with its Kaolin clay, Pink algae extract and Burdock extract smoothes out my pores while calming my skin before the technician rolls out a cool 100% collagen mask over my face, treating me to a scalp and hand massage while the mask does its work. The result: I no longer need the aid of 5 pounds of concealer to get ready for the evening’s events. Thank you Valmont for bringing this tired festival-goer back to life, or at least making her look alive.

Magic moment of the day: Falling asleep 10 minutes into the facial with tired, zombie-esque skin and waking up less than an hour later refreshed with a bright dewy complexion.

Day 9: I Heart Winnie

Finally, a full 5 hours of sleep seems possible will many of the red carpets rolled up and tucked away as the city is emptied of visiting celebrities. But luckily, there is still one very long red carpet welcoming guests to Roy Thompson Hall where Winne saw its gala world premiere on Friday before a packed theatre.

Director Darrell Roodt and lead actor Terrance Howard, who plays the charismatic Nelson Mandela, were amongst the cast present to introduce the film, the actor taking time to first credit TIFF to be the home of his “cinematic birth,” it being the festival where Paul Haggis first screened Crash. Howard is magnetic on screen as the former South African President silencing and moving the audience with speeches taken directly from history. Playing opposite him in the film’s title role is Jennifer Hudson, as his wife Winne Mandela. Together, the two capture a monumental period in world history, dramatizing events with care and precision, creating a heartfelt picture of Nelson and Winnie Mandela never seen before.

Most Sentimental Moment of the Evening: The closing song of Winnie performed by Jennifer Hudson heard through the sound of sniffles in an otherwise silent theatre.

Miss Day One through Day Eight? Click here for the full report.

Day 8: I heart Canadian Talent

Music is to cinema what peanut butter is to chocolate — a necessity. It’s no wonder, that only in its second year running, the Festival Music House (FMH) should become the “it” spot for all those looking for an alternative to red carpets and flutes of champagne.

Featuring an impressive musical lineup of Canada’s best over the course of three days, including band of the moment The Sheepdogs (check out their Rolling Stones cover) and homegrown favourite, Sam Roberts Band, FMH makes you feel proud to be a local at TIFF.

With 2 days left to go and FMH packed away till next year, this festival goer — still fatigued from TIFF’s hectic first weekend — plans to play the takeaway FMH CD on repeat to keep her eyes open while walking to and from the last of the festival’s screenings.

Highlight of the festival: Staring out into a crowd of dancing people singing along to Sam Roberts Eileen.

Day 7: I Heart a Good Scare

With Halloween well over a month away, audiences hungry for the gory and the ghoulish turn to TIFF’s Midnight Madness to tide them over till October when the nation’s theatre’s are taken over by fright night flicks. And while the dramatization of spilled blood in a Midnight Madness film is about as revolutionary as spilled tears in a British period drama, this year director Ed Sanchez (best know as the co-director of The Blair Witch Project) gifts the festival with the psychological drama Lovely Molly, a film that revitalizes the genre with a fresh take on first person horror, just as The Blair Witch Project did before it. “I wanted to make something that lingered,” says Sanchez of Lovely Molly, and linger — the uncertain terror — does.

To kick off their festival, Sanchez, along with cast and crew including leads Alexandra Holden, Gretchen Lodge and Johnny Lewis gathered for an intimate pre-screening cocktail reception at Malena restaurant in Yorkville. Seeming to be totally relaxed as he joined in the many toasts for the film that evening, the director admits to having pre-screening jitters, saying “I would have more fun if it wasn’t my party.”

Gauging from the excited and satisfied gasps of the audience at the premiere that night, Sanchez has once again proven himself the horror genre’s cowboy director, inventing the rules as he goes — injecting fear all the way.

Tip of the day: Always bring flats in your bag when going to a party, suggests Lovely Molly star Alexandra Holden as she changes into a pair herself while at the cocktail party.

Day 6: I Heart Actress Carrie MacLemore

Actress Carrie MacLemore might not be on your radar yet, but after the glowing response to the premiere of TIFF Special Presentation, Damsels in Distress by cinema icon, director Whit Stillman (Last Days of Disco) last night, it’s safe to say MacLemore — a lead in the feature — is soon to be a familiar face in the pages of your favouite glossies.

A film heavy with style (think Audrey Hepburn) and light with wit (British in its undertone), Damsels in Distress is well-worth the thirteen-year wait between it and Stillman’s last film. Set on the campus of a privileged East Coast university, this quirky story weaves its way though the lives of four young women, as they navigate through the treacherous terrain of college, love and self-identity.Petit and sugary sweet in demeanor, MacLemore is instantly engaging in person as much as on screen as Heather, the Type-A friend in the  group who states the obvious, as MacLemore puts it. This being the actress’s first red carpet appearance, she is both excited and nervous  to slip into the silver blue Dior number she’s selected for the  evening. An admirer of ìclassic Dior (not to mention Prada), it’s no wonder with such style sensibility that Grace Kelly should be the  demur MacLemoreís fashion icon. And like Kelly before her, MacLemore  has a timeless quality, an immediate warm charm and naturalness on  screen that audiences can’t help but adore, making this damsel one to watch.

Beauty tip of the day: Carrie MacLemoreís considers a good moisturizer a girl’s best friend. Her pick: a special mixture by her New York  dermatologist Dr. Alison Gruen, MD.

Day 5: I Heart the Hidden Gems

In the rush of screenings and red carpet madness that is TIFF, to find a quiet film that acts as a temporary escape and a contemplative log to rest one’s head is a priceless sanctuary.

Experimental director’s Julia Loktev (Day Night Day) latest feature film, The Loneliest Planet — part of TIFF’s Vision’s programme — is exactly that: an all-absorbing piece of intelligent and nuanced cinema that audiences carry with them out the theatre. The story of young couple — Alex (Gael García Bernal) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg) — The Loneliest Planet tracks the events that unfold between the pair while on a hiking trip in Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains, and an unexpected “incident” that unravels the couple’s view of themselves, each other and their wider view of the world. A slower paced film, characterized by unconventional extended silences, star Gael García Bernal thinks that this quiet feature will still be able to appeal to wider audiences, “I think they’ll get something out of it,” adding, “I don’t like film to have a niche.” Completely free of restrictive genre constraints, The Loneliest Planet, is not a film to be missed by any cinema lover in need of a bit of a shakeup.

Refreshing moment of the day: Co-stars Gael García Bernal and Hani Furstenberg, unwinding and catching up over cookies and tea before our interview.

Last screening:
Sunday September 18
Isabel Bader Theatre
10:00am

Day 4: I Heart Swarovski

Image courtesy of Erin Palmer

I’m running out of things to wear and need to reinvent some outfits that have already had their debut at the festival. The dilemma is how to do this without a pack of talking mice and a fairy godmother on hand to transform the old into the stunningly new. Luckily, I knew of the next best thing to a magic wand: the pop-up Swarovski showroom.

Located in the Four Seasons Hotel (a favourite campout amongst festival stargazers), the space is decorated in the line’s crown jewels including impressive fashion pieces. It appears on the third floor of the hotel like a mirage, a fantasy of jewels, tempting and almost unreal in their come-hither-sparkle.

After a style consultation, I am relieved of my festival wardrobe worries and leave with a skip in my step and a tiny sparkly handbag in my hand.

Find of the Day: The discovery of Swarovski’s fall Wings of Fantasy line, love the whispers of purple.

Day 3: I Heart Saturdays

Image courtesy of Erin Palmer

Nothing says glamour like the long list of black tie affairs on the first Saturday of the festival. Starting with the Hello! Canada party, where celebrities were out by the dozens including many of our nation’s favourite stars (like CBC’s Being Erica star Erin Karpluk who looked effortlessly elegant in a short long sleeved, backless sequined number); on to the IFP Euphoria TIFF Party on the scenic rooftop of festival hotspot, The Thompson Hotel, where guests including actress Selma Blair sipped on free flowing champagne while dancing to tunes spun out by DJ Tony (best known for tracks and fancy feet as shown off on The Ellen DeGeneres Show), the clink of glasses across the city could be heard early in the evening Saturday straight on to the morning hours of Sun.

And then there was the secret anti-festival party at the Spy Film’s loft on Spadina Ave, only a few blocks from the throngs of well-heeled partygoers at The Thompson Hotel, which was also playing host to the ultra exclusive Vanity Fair party that evening. Here, those who either skipped or escaped the electric cocktail parties taking over the cities that night, gathered to watch a transatlantic rugby match, the US vs. Ireland.

Rare sighting of the night: Colin Ferrell in front of a big screen TV, standing at attention while the Irish rugby team sings Ireland’s national anthem.

Missed our posts on Day One and Two? Click here for all the details.

More pics from the IFP euphoria Calvin Klein event after the jump. Read the rest of this entry

Day 2: I Heart the Pop Ups

The takeover is in full effect: with popup lounges and clubs abound, the Toronto cityscape is a whole new playground for nocturnal festival goers to traverse.

Getting to be a landmark of TIFF, Grey Goose SoHo House — a home away from home for visiting celebs — has expanded to 2 floors this year. I checked out the dinner and intimate drinks level Friday at the Broken Cities party hosted by Inferno Films Production, also behind festival gala, Killer Elite. In the early stages of pre-production, Broken Cities is a noir-feature set to be directed by Allen Hughes (The Book of Eli) with actors, Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe cast in lead roles.

The highlight: Mark Wahlberg mixing Grey Goose cocktails behind the bar. Read the rest of this entry

Festival favourites

Field reporter Jennifer Lee takes us inside her Toronto International Film Festival.

Day 1: I heart Murale and Sally Hershberger TIFF Suite

To be prepared for the Toronto International Film Festival, taking care of the essentials the first day before the weekend festival rush of screenings and premiere soirees, is a must. Lucky for me, this can all be done in one stop: the Murale and Sally Hershberger TIFF Suite.

Back again for a second festival — located just around the corner from the TIFF Bell Lightbox — the lounge is a virtual popup transformation booth with beauty and hair stations helmed by expert makeup artists and hair stylists, hand treatments offered by Tips Nail Bar and Spa and red carpet ready jewellery by Lia Sophia on showcase.

I pop into the lounge before the flurry of displaced beauty mavens from Hollywood and abroad fully descend upon the city and find their way to the lounge. The visit not only repairs and beautifies my scullery maid-esque nails, but it endows me with the red carpet wisdom of its beauty and hair technicians. Read the rest of this entry