Toronto Galas

The star-studded, red-carpeted, media-rich Gala screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival continue this festival's reputation as must-attend event as literally dozens of directors, producers and talent take center stage each night to present their films.

Held at the Roy Thomson Hall, a performance venue most often the site of musical programs, the Galas are the presentation of film in all it's historical movie glamour. Introduced each night by Festival Director Piers Handling, the Gala films (chosen as a Gala because their director and talent were all able to be in attendance) this year are preceded by the Prelude Series: 10 films commissioned by the festival from 10 Canadian filmmakers. Each Prelude is a short commentary on film, Canadian film at large and Toronto Film Festival in particular, designed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the festival.

The Gala films included the Opening Night film, Stardom, from Director Denys Arcand starring newcomer Jessica Pare as well as Dan Aykoyd, Thomas Gibson, Frank Langella and Robert Lepage. The screening was extraordinarily well received, but it was the heartfelt applause for Canadian Arcand that nearly brought the house down.

Stardom was preceded by Director Mike Jones' short Prelude, Congratulations.

Best in Show kicked off the line up of Galas for the duration of the festival. Directed by Christopher Guest, the film stars Guest-alumni and writing partner Eugene Levy in a hysterically funny send up of the world of dog shows. Also starring are Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins and Jennifer Coolidge. The appreciative crowd exploded with laughter as the film unfolded, so much so that nearly half the dialogue was lost, however the film's mirth was indisputable.

Best in Show was preceded by (Festival veteran, and former Festival staffer) Director Don McKellar's short Prelude, A Word From the Management.

Following Best in Show on the first night of Gala screenings, was the thinly veiled auto-biography from Director Cameron Crowe, Almost Famous. Set in 1973, the film spotlights a pivotal moment in rock 'n' roll history as it chronicles the sweetly comic coming-of-age story of both a band and a young boy on the rise. Starring Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand and Jason Lee, the true standout is newcomer Patrick Fugit as William.

Other Galas to follow include The Bloomberg Tribute to Stephen Frears, which will stand as a fundraiser for the Toronto Film Festival; The Weight of Water from Director Kathyrn Bigelow starring Catherine McCormick, Sarah Polley and Sean Penn; Croching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from the Master Director Ang Lee; Director Rod Lurie's The Contender starring Jeff Bridges; Director Marleen Gorris's The Luzhin Defence starring Emily Watson and John Tuturro; Bread and Tulips from Director Silvio Soldini, Dr. T and the Women from the legendary Robert Altman; Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood For Love starring Maggie Cheung; The House of Mirth from Director Terence Davies and starring Gillian Anderson; Sexy Beast from Director Jonathan Glazer; Men of Honor starring Cuba Gooding and Robert DeNiro from Director George Tillman, Jr. (originally titled Navy Diver); La Veuve de Saint-Pierre from Director Patrice Laconte; The Dish from Director Rob Sitch; Pandaemonium from Director Julien Temple.

The final Gala will be the Closing Night film, How To Kill Your Neighbor's Dog from Director Michael Kalensniko, starring Kenneth Branagh, Robin Wright Penn and Lynn Redgrave.

Other Preludes to wrap out the series include: The Heart is the Word, from director Guy Maddin; Camera, from director David Cronenberg; The Line, from director Atom Egoyan; See You in Toronto, from director Jean Pierre Lefebvre; 24FPS, from director Jeremy Podeswa; This Might Be Good, from director Patricia Rozema; Prelude, from director Michael Snow, Legs Apart, from director Anne Wheeler.

Kathleen McInnis