28th Toronto fest announces its opening flick

Jun 25, 2003 by Ian Evans

Digital Hit attended the opening press conference for the 28th Toronto International Film Festival at the newly renovated Carlu event theatre. After Managing Director Michèle Maheux did the usual thank yous to sponsors like VISA and Bell, Festival Director Piers Handling stepped up to kick off the stream of programming announcements that will be made over the next few weeks.

This year’s Festival opens September 4 with the Toronto premiere of Les Invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions), Denys Arcand’s Festival de Cannes award-winner. Besides veteran actors Rémy Girard, Dorothée Berryman, Pierre Curzi, Yves Jacques, Louise Portal, and Dominique Michel, the film also features a new stable of actors, including Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze (winner of the Best Actress award at the Festival de Cannes), Isabelle Blais, Johanne Marie Tremblay, Marina Hands, and pop artist Mitsou Gélinas.

Neve Campbell, who we last saw at the 1998 Festival with the pathetic Hair Shirt (renamed Too Smooth and sent straight to video hell), returns this year with Robert Altman’s The Company. The film, which Neve also produced, is an ensemble drama starring Neve Campbell as a gifted ballet dancer on the verge of becoming a principal performer, the cast also includes James Franco and Malcolm McDowell.

Another Gala which will surely cause a crazy scene on the red carpet will be Lars von Trier’s Dogville, which stars Nicole Kidman.

We’ll have more news in the days ahead. Stick with Digital Hit for all your Toronto film festival coverage.