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Toronto Internation Film Festival: Tom Ford, Xavier Dolan and more!
What do George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Mariah Carey, Colin Farrell, Michael Moore and Viggo Mortensen have in common? Well, not very much other than their current whereabouts. These big-name draws are just a handful of names in the over 500 guests set to make heads turn and impassioned fans shriek in Hogtown over the coming week during the 34th Toronto International Film Festival. North America’s premier monster film bash unofficially ushers in the fall movie season and serves as make-or-break territory for any film vying for Oscar visibility. Remember 2007’s Juno and last year’s Slumdog Millionaire? The fest opened last Thursday with the tepidly reviewed Charles Darwin big bang romance Creation, starring real-life couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as the British scientific genius and his main squeeze.
Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly in Creation With 335 films from 64 countries unspooling over a frenetic 10-day period, it’s easy for the standout gay-themed flicks to get lost in the shuffle. That’s why I’ll be keeping close tabs on the queer glitterati, the finest cinematic offerings and all the LGBT-inclined excitement and drama you could have hoped for via regular dispatches from TIFF headquarters. Here’s a look at what are shaping up to be the most talked-about moments: 1) Tom Ford’s directorial debut. Yes, yes. That Tom Ford. Fashion maven Tom Ford. His film A Single Man, about a gay professor mourning the passing of his partner, premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival where it won the the Queer Lion for Ford while Colin Firth was named best actor. It’s based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel, which is now recognized as an important piece of contemporary queer lit for its bold portrayal of gay commitment.
Colin Firth and Julianne Moore It stars Julianne Moore and Colin Firth as the academic in sorrow. Consider this no less than your gay gala and keep your fingers crossed for when it plays tonight. 2) Cannes-winning 20-year-old wonder boy Xavier Dolan. His debut feature I Killed My Mother, about the most antagonistic mother/son relationship you’re likely to see on screen in a long time, became the talk of the town on the croisette back in the Spring during the Venice Film Festival, and the hype machine has now taken on a life of its own. The openly gay, sprightly French Canadian kid is fast becoming gay media’s new It Boy and his good looks sure don’t hurt either. Dolan, and his trademark untamed curls, are already on the cover of two Toronto papers this week – Eye Weekly and Xtra.
Xavier Dolan 3) The John Greyson controversy. Ever since the prominent Canadian queer filmmaker (Lilies, Zero Patience, Proteus, the upcoming Fig Trees) withdrew his short film Uncovered – about the virulent homophobia experienced by organizers at Sarajevo’s Queer Film Fest – from TIFF in protest the festival’s inaugural City to City spotlight on the city of Tel Aviv, the resulting outpour of both high-profile support and condemnation for his decision has practically overshadowed all other TIFF news.
Greyson argues that this showcase of Israeli film is the culmination of a yearlong ‘’Brand Israel’’ PR campaign and that by not including any Palestinian voices among the highlighted films, the City to City spotlight is ‘’complicit in the Israeli propaganda machine.’’ Check back each day for updates from Toronto! Submitted by on Mon, 2009-09-14 15:10. |
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I've loved John to teeny little bits for years
He has more brains, style, imagination and sheer GUTS than most of us would know what to do with.
http://www.ehrensteinland.com/htmls/g003/greyson.html
He knows what he's doing. Don't even THINK of crossing him.
Good Protest and Good Movies
I for one am proud of John Greyson.
I am now look forward to A Single Man more than ever. Colin Firth playing gay! Kissing hot guys! It is like Tom Ford looked right into my lustful head.
Toronto Internation Film Festival?
Don't you mean Toronto InternationAL Film Festival?
Anyways, the movie I'm most excited about is A Single Man. Colin Firth and Nicholas Hoult, it can't get much better than that;)
Harvey Milk: You gotta give 'em hope.
TIFF
I live in Toronto and have never gone to TIFF, sadly, and now that I am back in Guelph for school a trip seems unlikely :(
But I love when Toronto (and Canada) are put in the spotlight like this!
You too can be saved by the blog! www.savedbytheblog14.blogspot.com
I may be straight, but I'm not narrow.
Protest...hah... more like publicity stunt
John Greyson's "protest" would be more meaningful if he actually talked about the verifiable differences between Israel and Palestine - that way, he doesn't appear to just be seeking publicity. For example, none of his gay films would play in any Palestinian theater. Gay films like The Bubble and Yossi & Jagger and Walk On Water do play in Israeli theaters. Palestine gives gay adults ten years in prison for having sex in private, Israel does not criminalize gay adults for having sex in private. Gay people serve openly in the Israeli military and receive survivor benefits for their partners; not so in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip).
The municipality of Tel Aviv sponsors the annual gay parade and supports the country's first shelter for gay and lesbian youth called Beit Dror. Tel Aviv was the first city to elect an out gay public official to the city council and is the first city to create and fund a municipal community center for gay and lesbian people. Tel Aviv provides gay couples the same municipal spousal benefits as straight couples. No Palestine city has done any of these things.
I'm not pro-Israel or pro-Palestine - I'm pro-reality. It is unfortunate that "protests" often overlook or ignore reality. Neither place is perfect but when it comes to which deserves to be protested, Israel especially Tel Aviv is not the frontrunner.
Oh Yeah? Read This --
Wow.
I'm not sure what to think of Greyson's protest. I think working within the system tends to work better than taking a public stand because most people unfortunately ignore people who protest against injustice and/or perceived injustice. Another part of me wants to know what countries have not committed similar atrocities. How many countries would he need to create a culture boycott against? Does he boycott countries that aid other countries in committing atrocities? I'm not saying one shouldn't boycott, but how do you choose which countries to boycott?
Does anyone remember the Arab leader who spoke out again Israeli policy, and the Israeli prime minister said (paraphrasing), "You can have them. You can provide for them."? The Arab leader responded, "We don't want those people in our country." I think a great deal of the anger has nothing to do with the Palestinians, but more to do with the Israelis themselves.
tiff
tiff, passed!
I used to go see a few films...but not anymore. It's become too commercialzied and the tickets are just getting ridiculously pricey!
I was doing the AIDS walk yesterday in downtown, and there were like gazillion people lining up in blocks to see a film that will be released in a few weeks. Really, is the movie better at first look? I don't think so.
Any word about The Vintner's Luck?
I think this premiered on the weekend. It's based on one of my favourite books, and features a French winemaker who has an affair with an angel.
Imdb.com link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0954544/
The Vintner's Luck
Fans of Jeremie Renier and Gaspart Ulliel will not be disappointed. There are lots of nice scenes of Xas and Sobran hugging and lying in each other's arms. Apparently having sex with an angel involves flying and spinning in the air, which is pretty much how I remeber angelic sex.
The plot is somewhat simplified from the book and there are a few changes, but I think it works.
Here's a review:
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/15142/toronto-review-the-vintner-s-luck-
Thanks for the link.
All these films look great
Can't wait to see them all, especially "A Single Man". I thoroughly enjoy Julianne Moore in just about everything. She's fab. BTW, Xavier Dolan=hotness. Yum. :-)