The stars came down to Soho House in downtown Toronto on Saturday diverse and the Chanel Women Filmmakers Dinner during the Toronto International Film Festival.
Among the guests in attendance was Tilda Swinton, star of Joanna Hogg’s “The Immortal Daughter.” Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of “The Woman King”; Darren Aronofsky, director of “Whale”; and Anna Kendrick, who is in Toronto to buy her new project “The Dating Game” for AGC Studios to market buyers.
The stars mingled on a crowded rooftop before meeting in the club’s dining room, which collected about 100 of the festival’s bright filmmaking lights. They dined on Soho House’s bespoke menu of beef with black truffle, black cod, bok choy, and a wagyu rib top with porcini purée.
dinner hosted diverse CEO and Group Publisher Michel Sobrino Stearns and Co-Editor-in-chief Ramin Sotoudeh.
Attendees included Judd Apatow and Leslie Bibb; Margaret Qualley and Jack Antanov; Tyler Perry Ty Simpkins Andrew Scott Sally Al Husseini James Krishna Floyd Vicki Krebs Lashana Lynch and Sheila Ateem.
El-Hussaini was fresh from the Netflix premiere of “The Swimmers,” which opened the festival Thursday night, becoming one of the strongest openings in several years. The “Brother Devil” leader is in Toronto for the first time with a movie, thanks to CEO Cameron Bailey’s support for the refugee drama gripping them.
“It felt like Toronto was a great home for her, because it’s a diverse and cosmopolitan city. It seems like this movie needs that kind of audience, and that’s who I made the movie for,” said El-Husseini.
“After our shows, people on the street approached me and watched the movie and talked to me about it. [TIFF] It seems really integrated with the city, and it’s not something that’s just meant for industry or an elite group of people who go to the movies. It feels like a populist festival.”
Prince-Bethwood describes her experience at the festival as “a bit surreal,” given that she spent less than a week between the completion of the Sony film and its Toronto premiere.
“Last night was really beautiful, with that kind of crowd – it was a great night,” said the director of the Friday night “Woman King” premiere.
“There is absolutely no pretension,” Prince-Bythewood said of the local audience. “They love movies and they love all movies. They accept all kinds of different stories. It’s my third time here and I’ve had a great time each time.”
The director previously attended TIFF with “Beyond the Lights” and “The Secret Life of Bees”.
Ty Simpkins, who plays a missionary in Aronofsky’s “Whale,” described Toronto as the “perfect audience” to receive the film, which drew enthusiasm from Venice last week. “It has been a long time since we filmed this. I am really excited to see how people will react.”
Elsewhere, screenwriter Emma Donoghue, who was in Toronto with the 2015 People’s Choice Award-winning movie “Room,” is back with Netflix’s “The Wonder,” starring Florence Pugh. (The Don’t Worry Baby Actress won’t be in Toronto, Donoghue says, since in Europe she’s filming Dune 2.)
The writer said diverse: “The filmmakers say this is a one-of-a-kind festival in that you actually watch movies. It’s not just for talking and business deals. After the pandemic, we’re all so excited to be in rooms together, eat together and talk together. I feel so high to be back in proper TIFF again.” “.
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