Day#1 OF TIFF2023-Thurs.,Sept.7th,2023

By THE BKONTHESCENE TEAM

Day #1 TIFF 2023 – The Toronto International Film Festival 2023 started with Breakfast held at the beautiful BISHA Hotel main floor bar area-Mister C. for Press,Media & Industry. A chance to meet other Press and Industry people and share TIFF plans. An energizing start to TIFF . Then on to the films and the TIFF Street Festival…

The location of the cinemas where TIFF films screened in close proximity allowed film attendees to easily walk from Scotiabank Cinemas, to TIFF Lightbox, to Roy Thomson Hall, to Royal Alex Theatre and to Princess of Wales Theatre.

The many Volunteers were helpful and attentive the whole festival! They’d been very well trained with excellent people skills and knowledge of the festival. TIFF – goers were very grateful for the volunteers’ time devoted to the TIFF Festival.

We were at A Difficult Year screener.
A Difficult Year, the latest from writer-directors Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (C’est la vie!, TIFF ’17) is a poignant French comedy about ecological angst versus consumerism gone amuck, featuring fantastic performances from Pio Marmaï, Jonathan Cohen, Noémie Merlant, and Mathieu Amalric, A Difficult Year is social satire with an unlikely romance between a beautiful eco-anxious climate change activist and a hapless airport-employed homeless overconsumer, who himself befriends his equally downtrodden side-kick, an unsuccessful suicide attempter.

Need stop was-The Critic.
Gemma Arterton and Ian McKellen star in this tragic dramatic intertwined story of a monstrous critic with perverted proclivities, and a devastated ambitious theatrical starlet as adversaries in the year 1936 when fascism was abundant and non-typical sexuality was outlawed in pre-WW2 England. This fascinating tale of ambition and deceit is a pleasurable display of intrigue in the theatrical and personal world. Destroyed lives are the collateral damage of this adversarial relationship.

Our next film screener was-The Boy and the Heron-POW.
Acclaimed as a masterpiece in Japan, master animator Hayao Miyazaki’s new film begins as a simple story of loss of a little boy’s mother in a wartime tragedy to a wonderful magical animated journey, with the help of a strange-acting mysterious heron, through a time tunnel in an abandoned castle for a young boy in search of his dead mother. Greater significance is attached to this magical film because of his announcement of retirement leading to animation fans having this one last chance to savour his great artistry.

Now we were At The Visa Infinite Lounge-POW
NorthStar-POW

North Star is the dramatic story of a dysfunctional family during the wedding of the twice-widowed matriarch in her third marriage after 2 war hero pilot fathers. Kristin Scott Thomas, in her directorial debut, and also playing the matriarch of the starring leads Scarlett Johansson and Sienna Miller, carefully crafts a lovely story about three sisters with dysfunctional relationships with the men in their lives, as their mother consummates her third wedding, this time to an ordinary non-war-hero. Katherine (Scarlett Johansson) gets promoted to captain of her own ship in the navy., while Victoria (Sienna Miller), the Hollywood actor, recounts her family tragedy in interviews to gain attention and sympathy. Then the youngest sister, Georgina (Emily Beecham), who works as a nurse, persistently worries about the fidelity of her husband.

REPTILE was our next stop at TIFF Lightbox. Listed as a thriller, it definitely kept you on the edge of your seat with moments of jumping at the scenes. Benicio Del Toro, Justin Timberlake and Eric Bogosian are the actors in this film about a hardened detective who uncovers a complicated web of deception as he searches to solve the brutal murder of a female real estate agent. Acting by Del Toro is brilliant as viewers read his face for his thoughts. A riveting plot, beautiful sets with a twist at the end. Reptile is an American mystery crime thriller film directed by Grant Singer. It is his feature film directorial debut.

On the Street Festival Stage on John Street, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow joyfully officially opened TIFF speaking about how TIFF is an important event for Toronto, for the film industry. For our city Toronto. Music concerts followed starting with Toronto composer and pianist, Thompson Egbo-Egbo. Deeply rooted in his upbringing – moving to Canada from Nigeria at age four, EGBO-EGBO, his concert was a great way to start the weekend long TIFF Stage.

Next on our agenda was-Gonzo Girl director Patricia Arquette is based on the book of the same title by Cheryl Della Pietra. Screening at Royal Alexandra Theatre 8:45PM Gonzo Girl written by Rebecca Thomas and Jessica Caldwell, directed by Patricia Arquette and starring Camila Morrone, Willem Dafoe and Arquette. An American drama film. The sets perfectly show the lifestyle of legendary father of gonzo journalism Walker Reade. Willem Dafoe and Camila Morrone star in Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut. In this semi-autobiographical story, it chronicles her time as Hunter S. Thompson’s personal assistant. a “three-day trial period involving a .44 magnum, purple-pyramid acid, violent verbal outbursts, brushes with fame and the law, a bevy of peacocks, and a whole lot of cocaine” to work for Hunter S. Thompson. Dealing with the drinking, the drugs, the abusive outbursts, one clearly understands how he has gone through 8 previous assistants. Life is very difficult under these circumstances and we feel it. This fast-paced with its interesting sets keep you focussed from start to finish.

We had the opportunity to be invited to Hollywood North at Campbell House.The event was just setting up and the iconic building had a gifting lounge for the guest to indulge and enjoy.But we would return later tonight for their gala.

We returned to Hollywood North with their opening Night of TIFF23 Latinx Night VIP Gala hosted by HWN INC x TLN Media at the Campbell House.

A vibrant celebration to kick off TIFF23 hosted by HWN Inc. and TLN Media. Latinx Night VIP Gala ignited the soul with pulsating rhythms and the rich cultural heritage of Latin America while showcasing the universal language of dance and music. Electrifying performances by Free The Revolution, Roberto VIP, Dance Migration and many others dazzled the night filled with glamorous red carpet arrivals and an array of delicious Latinx cuisine. Industry professionals, celebrities, and fellow film enthusiasts mixed and mingled while celebrating the immense talent and contributions of the Latinx community.

HWN-Campbell House-Latina Night
HWN-AdamXAtelier