The parties and events thrown by production houses, magazines, television stations, and sponsors generate as much buzz as the films during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)—and sometimes more. Here's a look at what's been happening around town.
Holt Renfrew's TIFF Party: The new Converse ad campaign for the line designed by John Varvatos provided the inspiration for Holt Renfrew's annual TIFF party (sponsored by GQ) at the Bloor Street store Friday. Gwen Gibson, Holt's director of special events, worked with Nicholas Pinney of Nicholas Pinney Design to transform the concourse level into a 1950's diner. Props used for decor included vinyl lettering on the walls and more than 1,000 ketchup bottles and white china plates. The band MGMT, in town for the Virgin Festival (held on Toronto Island this past weekend), performed for the more than 300 guests—including celebrities like Jeremy Piven, K-OS, Dean and Dan Caten, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Kristin Booth—who could dress up in a tiara (or bunny ears) to have their photo snapped in a retro photo booth.
Virgin Unite Party: Flanked by Kate Hudson and model Petra Nemcova, Sir Richard Branson arrived fashionably late to his own party, held Friday at Muzik to honour the ladies while raising money and awareness for the charitable organizations they support—WildAid and the Happy Hearts Fund. Branson, founder of the Virgin Group of companies, took to the stage to welcome about 400 people to the nightclub, decorated in black and white for the event. Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk performed her hit songs "Surrounded" and "All You Can Do," and Hudson and Nemcova showed videos of the work their charities are doing around the world.
Festival Tower Cocktail Party: Under a white tent on the construction site of their soon-to-be built condominium, unit owners of the Festival Tower at King and John streets celebrated the opening of TIFF Friday. Guests walked a red carpet as fake paparazzi clicked images and servers at a round bar backlit in purple offered drinks named after movies like Juno and Ghostbusters. The 46-storey condominium is located next to the five-storey Bell Lightbox (also known as the Festival Centre), which will house offices and screening rooms for the Toronto International Film Festival Group.
Festival Cup: About 4,000 fans gathered at the Air Canada Centre Friday to watch Hollywood celebrities including actor and director Tim Robbins and NHL stars such as Doug Gilmore and Curtis Joseph lace up for the Festival Cup, a fund-raiser for Right to Play, a humanitarian organization that brings sports programs to children in underprivileged countries. Mats Sundin—the indecisive Maple Leaf's caption—received a warm reception from the crowd despite the fact he has yet to decide whether he'll continue as a Leaf this season. Sundin was introduced as a member of the red jersey team but the charity game's roster noted that he would be "playing on both teams, alternating each period."
Blindness Party: Francine Socket, CTV's director of special events and merchandising, collaborated with Alliance Atlantis (and Rob Dittmer of Three Events) on Saturday's after-party for the film Blindness, starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Don McKellar, Alice Braga, and Gael Garcia Bernal. "The look of the party is very white and milky," said Socket. Drawing inspiration from the look of the movie, Socket created a tunnel of white haze at the entrance to the venue, CTV's Queen Street headquarters. Two models painted with silvery white body paint and clad in silver underwear and blindfolds stood on platforms at either side of the staircase leading up to the party for 700 invited guests. Movie posters featuring images of each of the characters decorated the walls, and three white statues of female figures wearing black blindfolds and surrounded by Swarovski crystals sat in front of the DJ booth.
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Party: The after-party for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, held Saturday night, referenced the music-fuelled movie starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Columbia Pictures and Mandate Pictures hosted the event—planned by the L.A.-based Benarroch Productions—at Tattoo Rock Parlour following the screening at the Ryerson Theatre. Bar staff wore shirts printed with "The Jerk-Offs"—the name of Cera's character's band—and spinning gobo lights projected the movie title onto the walls. A photo station by Polite In Public proved to be a popular attraction where guests posed with sunglasses, headphones, and wigs in front of a blown-up movie poster. The venue's in-house DJ, Trevor Young, mixed songs from the soundtrack into the evening's music. Bowls of skittles and gumballs on tables added to the youthful vibe.
OneXOne Toronto Gala: The doors to Maple Leaf Gardens opened Monday for the first time in eight years as Matt Damon hosted the fourth annual OneXOne gala at the former hockey arena. "It made for an interesting venue," said OneXOne founder Joey Adler of the site, which was proposed by event planner Jeffry Roick. Although the air conditioning cut out during the evening, Adler said, "overall there was a positive reaction." McNabb Roick Events dressed the dining room—placed in front of a stage where Wyclef Jean performed until 2 a.m.—in silver and black. More than 650 guests attended the dinner, with a further 600 arriving for the public concert. "The concert was unbelievable. Wyclef brought the house down," Adler said, noting that more than 100 guests joined the singer on stage to dance during his performance. This year's honourees included John Legend, comedian Russell Peters, and author and economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs.
ET Canada's Third Birthday Gala: ET Canada, which has been broadcasting nightly from Casa Loma throughout TIFF, held a birthday party there for more than 1,000 guests on Tuesday. Singer David Usher performed in an outdoor tent, and ET Canada hosts Cheryl Hickey and Rick Campanelli cut a giant cake to mark the occasion. Photographers snapped images of guests as they arrived on the red carpet. Organizers then projected those photos onto a large screen hanging on the patio, and guests could pick up their pictures to take home at the end of the evening.
