TIFF 2017

You Are Invited: TIFF boombox 2017

26 October, 2017 Nelia

If you want to get your November started with a bang, TIFF’s Fame-inspired boombox fundraiser promises to be all that and a bag of confetti! With cool installations, film and art studios, a digital jam space, a VR lounge, an auditorium dance floor, and various performances, this is going to be a night to remember. And while costumes aren’t mandatory, this is certainly the best time to dust off your fave ’80s duds.

Proceeds from this year’s boombox fundraiser will support Share Her Journey, a worthy campaign to increase participation, skills, and opportunities for women behind and in front of the camera. Check out the video from the 2015 boombox party, and get your tickets here. You won’t want to miss it!

WHEN: Thursday, November 2 at 9pm
WHERE: TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King Street West
DRESS CODE: Cocktail Chic or 80’s-inspired
TICKETS: HERE
Photo Credits: TIFF

TIFF 2017: Beauty and Gifting Lounges

20 September, 2017 Nelia

TIFF can be a pretty stressful time for the media covering the festival, which is why the various beauty and gifting lounges are so helpful during that time – it’s a one-stop shop to get pampered and treated like a celeb when you’re feeling anything but. This year, I was able to visit three of them in between my TIFF appointments, and month-end at work.

1. The Stylist Suite

The Stylist Suite is a celebrity styling and gifting lounge focused on bringing Canadian fashion to TIFF red carpets. Over the past five years, The Stylist Suite has gifted and dressed over 300 celebrities and personalities, including the likes of the Olsen twins, Susan Sarandon, John Travolta, Tatiana Maslany, Kiesza, and many more. The suite had an extensive selection of red carpet pieces from both established and up-and-coming Canadian designers including Andrew Majtenyi, Christopher Paunil, Hendrixroe, Hilary MacMillan, Ryan Alexander, WRKDEPT, among others. I tried on some cool clothes, learned about new Canadian designers (Patricia Wong Jewellery had some really awesome rings!), and had my portrait taken at The Pull Magazine’s Portrait Studio with celebrity photographer Matthew Lyn in support of WE Charity, an international charity that empowers domestic and international change.

2. beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart TIFF Suite

There are lots of fun parties to attend during TIFF so when beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart TIFF Suite offers to get me party-ready, I always jump at the chance. This year, I had my makeup done by a Stila makeup artist, and had my best Star Wars hair dreams realized by PHYTO. By the time I was done, I felt like one of the celebs – glam and ready to hit the red carpet. Oh, and I ran into Judy Greer in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel, so obviously it was an awesome day.

3. Bask-It-Style

Bask-It-Style is an annual TIFF gifting suite that welcomes media and Canadian celebs to check out the latest offerings from various brands and get a mean swag bag in the process. Bask-it Style gift bags are also delivered directly to various celebs at their hotel rooms. While visiting the lounge, I got to try the delicious beet iced tea from DAVIDs TEA, learned all about the new HP Sproket Photo Printer (perfect for wedding photo booths and for actually printing out your Instagram pics), met author Adrienne Kress (who was promoting her new book The Explorers: The Door in the Alley), and listened to Mindy Kaling’s audio book while wearing VR goggles at the Rakuten Kobo station. The gift bag also included goodies from Pureology, Studio1098, Sharp Magazine, as well as a bunch of snacks (like the yummy Toronto Popcorn Company popcorn and Hungry Buddha coconut chips) that came in really handy on days when there was no time for a proper sit-down meal. And as a random bonus, later on I found out that the girls in my time slot (see first pic in this post) were from Degrassi. Do you know which one of them is the next Drake?

TIFF 2017: #Cumberbrunch with Grey Goose Canada and Deadline

12 September, 2017 Nelia

It’s not everyday that you get to attend a very intimate panel with a bunch of movie stars, delicious Grey Goose cocktails, killer views, and a pair of seafood towers…but that’s exactly what I did on day 4 of TIFF. Last Sunday, I found myself on ~~top of the world~~ the rooftop of Lavelle staring at the handsome cast of The Current War film. Led by Deadline Hollywood’s Joe Utichi, the panel consisted of Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Writer/Executive Producer Michael Mitnick, and actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult.

The actors seemed to be in great spirits, cracking jokes, enjoying their Grey Goose Caesars (both Cumberbatch and Shannon had two each, but who’s counting), and chatting about all things electricity, relationships, and muttonchops. When asked a slightly baffling question about getting ugly for a film role, Cumberbatch quipped that he “loved being ugly in this film” as Edison…even though no noticeable changes were done to the actor’s appearance beyond wardrobe. But he did seem to have a sense of humour about the whole thing. In response to the question about the cast’s own relationship with physics and sciences and how it impacted their acting, Cumberbatch confessed that he “was really bad at physics at school”, while Hoult’s response was slightly less modest: “I understood everything and I think that shines through in my performance”, he said with a laugh. Hoult also shared that the cast took a science lesson to prepare for their roles.“Nick is a bright boy”, added Shannon, while Cumberbatch concurred that Hoult did better than the other two in class. Beauty and brains!

After the panel, my friend and I seized the opportunity to say hello to Hoult and grab a photo with the actor…and in case you were wondering, yes, he is very good looking (and tall) IRL, and was super nice about our fangirling.

The Current War will hit theatres on November 24th, and the full video of the panel is embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

More after the jump!
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TIFF 2017: Favourite Moments

10 September, 2017 Nelia

TIFF is arguably one of the most exciting times to be in Toronto, and this year’s festival has not disappointed so far. Here are some of my fave TIFF 2017 moments, from fundraisers to celeb sightings.

1. Priyanka Chopra at TIFF Soiree
While I wasn’t able to make it to the TIFF Soiree this year, I followed the fancy affair on Twitter. Priyanka Chopra was this year’s guest of honor, in town to promote Pahuna: The Little Visitors, a film she produced with her mother, screening at this year’s festival. Chopra’s Soiree appearance was in service of TIFF’s Share Her Journey campaign aimed to promote and empower female voices behind and in front of the camera.

“One-third of the films selected for the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival are directed by women, with an even higher number of female-identified short filmmakers at Festival (42.4%) and the director-driven Platform programme at gender parity. Films by women at Festival this year include the solo directorial debuts of actors Greta Gerwig, Brie Larson, and Molly Parker, as well as new work by Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Dee Rees, and documentarians Alanis Obomsawin, Agnès Varda, and Jennifer Baichwal.” If you’d like to support women in film, you can donate here: http://www.tiff.net/shareherjourney/

2. Call Me By Your Name Premiere and After-party
My Day 1 of TIFF began in the best way possible – with tickets to the premiere of Call Me By Your Name, a Luca Guadagnino film starring the impossibly handsome Armie Hammer and newcomer Timothee Chalamet. Going in I had no idea who Chalamet was, but after watching the film I am now in awe of this talented young New Yorker and his magnetic screen presence. The movie was a stunningly filmed coming-of-age love story set in a small town in Italy; it captured the angst, the pain, and the joy that comes with that first love. And while it was a two-hour long affair, I wanted to watch it all over again once the credits started rolling.After listening to the director and the leading men give thoughtful and eloquent answers during the Q&A, le bf and I hightailed it to the film’s swanky after-party at STK Yorkville. I had the chance to congratulate Armie and Timothee on the film, and got le bf to snap a photo of Armie and I…which he sadly bungled. Thankfully the in-house photog captured our mini photo-fail and I still ended up with a memento of my brief Armie moment.

3. Julianne Moore VIP Reception with L’Oreal Paris
Celeb encounters are always an exciting part of TIFF, and this year I was lucky to have been invited to an intimate Julianne Moore reception hosted by L’Oreal Paris. Julianne arrived looking as stunning as ever, and shared a few thoughts on her favourite red carpet moments from prior years. She stressed that every red carpet moment is a result of a “professional collaboration”, and that if left to her own devices, she’s actually not that great at blowing out her own hair. When asked about her top beauty tips, Moore shared that she wears moisturizers with SPF since she was 23 years old, she pays regular visits to Joanna Vargas for facials in NYC, and that “sleep helps”. She also revealed that she owns the same pair of Givenchy heels in every colour because of how stable they are, even if they don’t look it.

4. Mongrel House
One of the liveliest places to be during TIFF is Mongrel House, with nightly parties that have everything from table tennis to live karaoke to free poutine. This year we spotted Stellan Skarsgård, having a great time, laughing and chatting with the attendees. Shia LaBeouf and Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov also made an appearance. With a lengthy list of Mongrel Media movies screening at TIFF this year, there’s a good chance more celebs will be stopping by in the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled if you find yourself near the beautiful Campbell House at night.

5. Papillon Grey Goose After-party at STK
STK Yorkville is playing host to several film parties during TIFF this year, sponsored by Grey Goose and Nordstrom. One of the first parties held at the fancy steakhouse was for Michael Noer’s remake of Papillon, with star Charlie Hunnam in attendance. The handsome actor happily posed for photos, taking selfies with everyone brave enough to ask. A selection of delicious Grey Goose libations was on offer, but the coffee-based Star of Film Noir cocktail was my fave (Grey Goose vodka, espresso, and coffee liqueur…yum!), and gave me a much-needed boost of caffeine for TIFF.

More TIFF moments are coming to the website soon! Including Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger, and brunch with Benedict Cumberbatch!

Photo Credits: 2 – GP Images WireImage courtesy of TIFF, 2 and 5 – Lu Chau // Photagonist.ca, 3 – Ryan Emberley, 4 – Mongrel Media

TIFF 2017: Beauty and Gifting Lounges

TIFF 2017: #Cumberbrunch with Grey Goose Canada and Deadline

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