Just came back from watching “Golden Door” (“Nuovomondo”)… It was all worth it to wake up at 6:00am this morning to collect the tickets from the box office at 7:00am!!!

This production of Italy and France is about a Sicilian family at the turn the 20th century, almost killing themselves to move to America, what they call “the new world”… The movie depicted the struggles of simple villagers and their distorted vision of what America had to offer to immigrants… The Italian director, Emanuele Crialese, who was also present today, did a great job in directing the old Sicilian ladies and kids and was proud to be at the Toronto International Film Festival, screening his film for the first time in North America (woohoo, premiere!)… Charlotte Gainsbourg (as Lucia), one of my favorite actresses and one of the main reasons for me going to this film, was stunning…

Watching the film at the Elgin (Visa Screening Room) was an added bonus… I just love this old theatre… It’s so full of character and opulent charisma…

More to come…

S

Today I finally ‘inaugurated’ my TIFF viewing with “Half Moon”… The film was beautiful… Not just the screenplay, but also the set design, the costumes, the music… The acting of each and every one of the actors and actresses was stunning…The Kurdish director, Bahman Ghobadi, who was also present at the theatre today once again proved his great ability in movie direction… In his introductory comments, he insisted that “Half Moon” is not trying to make a political statement, but is an underground reality…

I won’t make anymore comments, but just recommend that you see it yourself, either in its final TIFF screening on Sept. 16 at the Varsity Cinema or later on DVD…

More to come…

S

Dear Tori Amos Fans:

The Goddess is back again…

Get ready for her classics, rarities, remixes, and previously unreleased music, which finally came together for A Piano: The Collection.

This five-disc boxed set will be available September 26 at regular retail outlets. To pre-order Click here now! That’s exactly what I’m gonna do, depending on my bank account!

Enjoy…

S

If you are like me and tend to do everything in the last minute, then check out the Best Bets for the last-minute tickets and find out which screenings on the following day will have same-day tickets available…

Purchase tickets for any of these Best Bets beginning at 7:00 AM on the day of the screening; online, at the box office or by calling (416) 968 – FILM.

Happy Festivaling 🙂

S

So it’s finally here…

TIFF 2006 started today… I was in the Yorkville area earlier this evening and the whole atmosphere around the Manulife Centre was definitely affected by the festival’s comings and goings… People lining up for tickets, some wearing press badges, and some hoping (in vain, perhaps?!) to get their hands on that little stub… The city is bustling with the ‘festival types’ (you know who you are!)…

I just found out that most restaurants in the area are already booked up for the whole ten days (not that that’s something new for this time of the year!)… The Avenue restaurant at Four Seasons has added a martini to its menu for 50 bucks… What the heck?!! Anyway, this year the TIFF will screen 352 films – 261 of those films are features, and 91 are short films… Tonight’s gala showings were “The Journals of Knud Rasmussen” and a Canadian film, “Fido“…

More to come…

S

Let’s make this short but informative:

• Tickets go on sale beginning tomorrow, Wednesday September 6, 2006 at 7:00 AM.
• A second batch of popular Gala tickets will also be released tomorrow, September 6, 2006.

Good luck…

S

I had always heard a lot of great things about Québec City before I experienced it myself over this past long weekend… It was love at first sight… Not only did I find out that it’s one of the oldest cities in North America, but I realized it was the most beautiful one among the cities I’ve visited so far… My travel companions definitely added a great deal to the quality of the whole trip: Monsieur Sabér(gh) avec la famille Sabér(gh), Professeur Naghshi and the one and only “N”…

Merci to the ones who made this trip such a lovely one!

Bisous

S

Departure: aujourd’hui à 4 heure
Destination: Montréal et Québec City
Arrival: lundi

bonjour:

I’m going away again in few hours… This time for only few days and with some cool companions! Québec City and a night in Montréal should be fun and exciting 🙂

Passe un bon week-end, a bientôt et bisous xxx

Shadan

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Festival is fast approaching and the tickets are going on sale soon… Faster and sooner than you think!

September 6, 2006 at 7am is the day. The good news is that you can get your tickets via phone by calling 416-968-FILM, or online by visiting TIFF. The bad news is that the lines will be so busy so you might want to stop by the Festival Box Office at 444 Yonge Street or the Festival HQ at 55 Bloor St. W. to pick up your tickets. How exciting is that?!

Rush Rush…

S