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Canadians get gala treatment at fest
by Peter Howell, Toronto Star
The Toronto Star
June 29, 2005 Wednesday
The surprising choice of this year's opening-night gala selection
for the Toronto International Film Festival could easily have led
to a catfight between contending filmmakers David Cronenberg, Atom
Egoyan and Deepa Mehta.
But in true Canadian fashion, the announcement yesterday that Mehta's
Water had been chosen over Cronenberg's A History of Violence and
Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies for gala honours was an occasion for
celebration, mutual admiration and a little bit of savvy marketing.
All three filmmakers were on hand yesterday at the Royal York Hotel's
Imperial Room for the festival event.
It had been assumed by many that either Cronenberg or Egoyan would
open the 30th edition of the festival on Sept. 8 at Roy Thomson Hall.
Both men premiered their films at Cannes last month, and often the
year's main Canuck flag carrier gets the nod for Toronto.
But instead the festival will bow with Mehta's Water, the final chapter
of her Elements Trilogy, following Earth (1998) and Fire (1996). It's
the story of a child bride, living in 1930s India just before the
rise of Mahatma Gandhi, who is exiled to a widow's ashram after her
husband's death. She thirsts for freedom, as do many of her countrymen.
Mehta thanked Cronenberg and Egoyan for graciously accepting her
selection, only the second time in the festival's history that a female
director has been chosen to open the event. Water, five years in the
making, had a troubled start because the director's original plan
to shoot it in India was met with death threats, destroyed sets and
denunciation by fundamentalists who objected to the script. Mehta
eventually moved the production to Sri Lanka, where it was shot
secretly under the title River Moon.
She called it "the understatement of the year" to say that she was
thrilled to be the gala opener, but she also thanked the festival
for being brave enough to "expand the boundaries of what defines a
Canadian film."
"We know that Canada is multicultural ... but somehow it's never been
affirmed the way it has here today. That is an important day for me."
Egoyan and Cronenberg seconded her sentiments. Egoyan added he's
pleased the festival was willing to take a chance on a controversial
film, just as it did for him in 2002 when he opened the festival
with the contentious Ararat, which concerns the genocide of Armenians
early in the last century.
But both men added that it suited the marketing strategy of their
films to skip the opening-night slot and to take one of the 17 other
gala posts, a move that was also confirmed yesterday. A History
of Violence and Where the Truth Lies are both scheduled for a fall
release, aimed at an adult audience that isn't necessarily interested
in film festivals.
"The distributors of my film, and I think, Atom's, really didn't want
to have the opening night," Cronenberg said in an interview.
"Because they felt that the opening night is a lot about the
festival. They want to control the party and the press and whatever
else. I'm just interested in having it released as well as it can be
and, if that's part of it, then go ahead and do that.
"You gradually realize what is worth getting upset about and what
isn't. If I had insisted on having my film at least proposed as
the opening film, they probably would have. But I'm not looking for
honours, I'm looking for the film to have a strong release."
Festival co-director Piers Handling praised Mehta for persevering in
making Water, which will have its world premiere at the festival.
"Deepa has matured and grown, and she had pretty deep convictions
to make a film like this, with all the trouble she had with the
production. She got terrific performances. It's basically a women's
film, told from their perspective, and it's very powerful and
emotional. Its power comes through understatement."
Cronenberg heaped high praise upon the Toronto festival, saying it's
better than Cannes.
"Well, we all know that Cannes is perfect and fun. But this is the
real festival," he said, to solid applause from the room.
Handling and fellow festival co-director Noah Cowan sought to live
up to the superlatives. Along with the gala program choices, they
announced a total of 25 films to add to the 20 announced last week,
still just a small portion of the 250-odd features that will screen
from Sept. 8-17.
They also unwrapped new selections for the Special Presentations,
Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery, Masters and Visions programs.
Highlights include Shopgirl, Anand Tucker's adaptation of Steve
Martin's comic novella about romance and retail, starring Martin,
Clare Danes and Jason Schwartzmann; Thank You For Smoking, Jason
Reitman's satire on corporate lobbyists, starring Aaron Eckhart,
Robert Duvall and Katie Holmes; and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain,
an epic cowboy love story starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal,
set in the Texas and Wyoming of 1963.
New ticket categories and screens have been added this year,
allowing for a promised 10 per cent boost in available seats. The
first ticket-sale deadline, for passes and coupon books, is July 18
at 10 a.m.
For more information, call 416-968-FILM or click www.bell.ca/filmfest.
GRAPHIC: Peter Power TORONTO STAR Three Toronto-based directors who
have made their mark on world cinema, from left, David Cronenberg,
Deepa Mehta and Atom Egoyan, pose at yesterday's film festival press
conference.
by Peter Howell, Toronto Star
The Toronto Star
June 29, 2005 Wednesday
The surprising choice of this year's opening-night gala selection
for the Toronto International Film Festival could easily have led
to a catfight between contending filmmakers David Cronenberg, Atom
Egoyan and Deepa Mehta.
But in true Canadian fashion, the announcement yesterday that Mehta's
Water had been chosen over Cronenberg's A History of Violence and
Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies for gala honours was an occasion for
celebration, mutual admiration and a little bit of savvy marketing.
All three filmmakers were on hand yesterday at the Royal York Hotel's
Imperial Room for the festival event.
It had been assumed by many that either Cronenberg or Egoyan would
open the 30th edition of the festival on Sept. 8 at Roy Thomson Hall.
Both men premiered their films at Cannes last month, and often the
year's main Canuck flag carrier gets the nod for Toronto.
But instead the festival will bow with Mehta's Water, the final chapter
of her Elements Trilogy, following Earth (1998) and Fire (1996). It's
the story of a child bride, living in 1930s India just before the
rise of Mahatma Gandhi, who is exiled to a widow's ashram after her
husband's death. She thirsts for freedom, as do many of her countrymen.
Mehta thanked Cronenberg and Egoyan for graciously accepting her
selection, only the second time in the festival's history that a female
director has been chosen to open the event. Water, five years in the
making, had a troubled start because the director's original plan
to shoot it in India was met with death threats, destroyed sets and
denunciation by fundamentalists who objected to the script. Mehta
eventually moved the production to Sri Lanka, where it was shot
secretly under the title River Moon.
She called it "the understatement of the year" to say that she was
thrilled to be the gala opener, but she also thanked the festival
for being brave enough to "expand the boundaries of what defines a
Canadian film."
"We know that Canada is multicultural ... but somehow it's never been
affirmed the way it has here today. That is an important day for me."
Egoyan and Cronenberg seconded her sentiments. Egoyan added he's
pleased the festival was willing to take a chance on a controversial
film, just as it did for him in 2002 when he opened the festival
with the contentious Ararat, which concerns the genocide of Armenians
early in the last century.
But both men added that it suited the marketing strategy of their
films to skip the opening-night slot and to take one of the 17 other
gala posts, a move that was also confirmed yesterday. A History
of Violence and Where the Truth Lies are both scheduled for a fall
release, aimed at an adult audience that isn't necessarily interested
in film festivals.
"The distributors of my film, and I think, Atom's, really didn't want
to have the opening night," Cronenberg said in an interview.
"Because they felt that the opening night is a lot about the
festival. They want to control the party and the press and whatever
else. I'm just interested in having it released as well as it can be
and, if that's part of it, then go ahead and do that.
"You gradually realize what is worth getting upset about and what
isn't. If I had insisted on having my film at least proposed as
the opening film, they probably would have. But I'm not looking for
honours, I'm looking for the film to have a strong release."
Festival co-director Piers Handling praised Mehta for persevering in
making Water, which will have its world premiere at the festival.
"Deepa has matured and grown, and she had pretty deep convictions
to make a film like this, with all the trouble she had with the
production. She got terrific performances. It's basically a women's
film, told from their perspective, and it's very powerful and
emotional. Its power comes through understatement."
Cronenberg heaped high praise upon the Toronto festival, saying it's
better than Cannes.
"Well, we all know that Cannes is perfect and fun. But this is the
real festival," he said, to solid applause from the room.
Handling and fellow festival co-director Noah Cowan sought to live
up to the superlatives. Along with the gala program choices, they
announced a total of 25 films to add to the 20 announced last week,
still just a small portion of the 250-odd features that will screen
from Sept. 8-17.
They also unwrapped new selections for the Special Presentations,
Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery, Masters and Visions programs.
Highlights include Shopgirl, Anand Tucker's adaptation of Steve
Martin's comic novella about romance and retail, starring Martin,
Clare Danes and Jason Schwartzmann; Thank You For Smoking, Jason
Reitman's satire on corporate lobbyists, starring Aaron Eckhart,
Robert Duvall and Katie Holmes; and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain,
an epic cowboy love story starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal,
set in the Texas and Wyoming of 1963.
New ticket categories and screens have been added this year,
allowing for a promised 10 per cent boost in available seats. The
first ticket-sale deadline, for passes and coupon books, is July 18
at 10 a.m.
For more information, call 416-968-FILM or click www.bell.ca/filmfest.
GRAPHIC: Peter Power TORONTO STAR Three Toronto-based directors who
have made their mark on world cinema, from left, David Cronenberg,
Deepa Mehta and Atom Egoyan, pose at yesterday's film festival press
conference.