TIFF 2015 - The Highlight Reel

The 40th Annual Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close after 10 days of non-stop events. Hopefully you had the chance to hit a red carpet premiere or two, enjoy some of the best the film industry has to offer, and maybe spot a couple celebs around town. But it would be impossible to see everything. The parties and events may have been once in a lifetime, but you’ll still have a chance to see most of the films that screened during the festival when they’re released in the next few months.

If you’re lucky, you had a chance to experience these festival highlights in the flesh, if not, well start planning for next year.

One of the most talked about events of the entire festival was the Jason Reitman-directed live read of the classic fairy tale, The Princess Bride. Held in the Ryerson theatre, the surprise cast included Rachel McAdams, Patrick Stewart, and Cary Elwes in the role he originated— Westley. Reitman’s sister had to fill in as Inigo Montoya when Gael Garcia Bernal’s fight was delayed, but the crowd loved it anyway making it one of those once in a lifetime events that can never be recreated.

The main award at TIFF is always the People’s Choice Award and this year the honour went to the big screen adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel, Room. Starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as a mother and son who are held captive in a single room, the film was shot in Toronto. In past years, the People’s Choice Award winner has gone on to win big at the Oscars, so look for Room to be a huge awards contender in months to come.

If horror is your genre of choice, there was a lot to see during this year’s Midnight Madness. But the People’s Choice Award went to Hardcore, which was billed as the first-ever action movie filmed entirely from the hero’s first-person viewpoint using body-mounted GoPro cameras. The sci-fi thriller is high energy crowd-pleaser that has cult classic written all over it.

This being a celebration of not only the art of film, but the art of Canadian film, there had to be a few Canadian only awards. Closet Monster, the debut from 26-year-old Newfoundland native Stephen Dunn wowed audiences with a teenager’s coming out story. With nods to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a talking hamster voice by Isabella Rossellini, and unexpectedly odd scenes of grisly body horror, the film is like nothing else that screened during the festival.

The big screen adaptation of Andy Weir’s runaway bestseller The Martian was arguably the highest profile premiere of the festival. Stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, and more were in town to walk the red carpet on the second night of the festival. The sci-fi adventure/survival story didn’t disappoint and is sure to be an even bigger hit when it’s released to regular theatres at the beginning of October.

Even though Room was victorious in the end, Spotlight, the true story of the team at the Boston Globe who uncovered a massive scandal of child abuse and cover-ups within the local Catholic Church was a close second for the coveted People’s Choice award. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton, you can catch the film in theatres at the beginning of November if you didn’t manage to see it during the festival.

Newly married couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard hit two big red carpet premieres with his film Black Mass about real-life gangster Whitey Bulger, which he’s already getting Oscar buzz for. In The Danish Girl, Heard stars opposite Eddie Redmayne who plays the first person to ever undergo gender reassignment surgery. Both films were audience and critical favourites and are sure continue to do well with wider theatrical releases. Also, expect to see a lot more of Hollywood’s newest power couple at upcoming award’s season red carpets.