Festival fix

Day 1, Thursday Sept 10th

Once a year, for the last 34 years, Toronto has been the home of one of the largest and most reputable film festivals around the globe. And, like all good things do in the world of film, the festival has steadily grown into a major Hollywood affair with a buffet of celeb-studded gala soirees, lounges boasting swag upon swag and of course throngs of fans lining the street of every festival venue, in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the their actor d’jour. For me the festival is an extended experiment in sleep deprivation and malnutrition. In case you didn’t know, living on sporadic helpings of hors d'oeuvres is not a sustainable diet. But when you’re attending 9 AM screenings and parties that don’t peter our till 4 AM officially and 5 AM usually, food becomes an unnecessary distraction from a much needed nap or the small window of time you have each evening to erase the day’s fatigue and look worthy of even nearing the red carpet.

Black ties were pulled out even before today’s official festival madness. Last night, Hollywood starlet Ann-Margret was honored at a pre-TIFF celebration in support of Best Buddies, a community for helping people with intellectual disabilities. The screen legend had the room roaring in amorous laughter when she began her speech by worrying that the slit in her dress may be too high now that she was on a raised stage. Giggling, she accepted a shawl from a front row table to cover up.

With glamour already in the air, day one begins with grand hullabaloo. Festival energy is best gauged by the size of diehard stargazers congregating outside the Intercontinental in Yorkville (where the bulk of festival interviews are done) and Roy Thompson Hall where the gala presentations take place. Today the mass gathering of people suggests that no one quite yet knows who’s in town but they do know that the opening night gala Creation, directed by Jon Amie and starring the happily wedded Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, is sure to bring out the stars. Timed perfectly with the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, the biopic about the life of the late great scientist saw stars Bettany and Connelly walk down the red carpet, the latter dressed in a stunning Bottega Veneta dress.

Away from the bright light of the gala, I step onto the rooftop of men’s department store giant Harry Rosen, where Canadian golden boy, NBA player Steve Nash, is guest hosting the night’s most fashionable festival party. It’s a shoulder to shoulder event here—just cozy enough for me to inconspicuously measure my height against that of Nash’s. Surprisingly he’s not that tall; in 4 inch heels, this 5.4 girl was near eye level!

Tomorrow night the city will be full up to the brim with stars. Tonight, it’s critical to be in bed before sunup and rest before the weekend — expected to be a literal war of hot ticket events.

Blogs from Day 2 on the next page ...