2008 FESTIVAL TO OPEN WITH WORLD PREMIERE OF PAUL GROSS’S PASSCHENDAELE
Toronto – The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival® opens September 4 with the world premiere Gala Presentation of Passchendaele, written, directed and produced by celebrated Canadian filmmaker Paul Gross. Co-produced by Niv Fichman, Frank Siracusa and Francis Damberger, Passchendaele stars Gross (Men with Brooms, “Due South,” “Slings & Arrows”), Caroline Dhavernas (Hollywoodland, Breach, Niagara Motel), Gil Bellows (The Shawshank Redemption, “Ally McBeal”) and Joe Dinicol (George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead, “Train 48”). The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4 to 13, 2008.
“It is rare that Canadians get to experience their own histories via the moving image, particularly on the big screen,” says Piers Handling, Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group. “We are honoured to open TIFF 2008 with a work as personal and passionate, as significant to both Canadian film and Canadian history as Passchendaele.”
“Paul Gross is an inspiring Canadian and a leader in our industry,” says Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “By paying tribute to our nation’s heroes - including his own grandfather, an Alberta veteran of Passchendaele - Gross uses the visceral charge of movies to contribute a foundation chapter to our national history. While never ignoring the horrifying truths of this or any war, Passchendaele stands as truly epic storytelling from western Canada.”
Set during the height of the First World War, Passchendaele tells the story of Sgt. Michael Dunne (Gross), a soldier who is brutally wounded in France and returns home to Calgary emotionally and physically scarred. While in the military hospital in Calgary, he meets Sarah (Dhavernas), a mysterious and attractive nurse with whom he falls passionately in love. When Sarah’s younger brother David (Dinicol) – despite suffering from severe asthma – signs up to fight in Europe, Michael is compelled to return to the battlefield to protect him. Alongside thousands of other courageous Canadians, David and Michael are sent to fight in the third battle of Ypres. Commonly known as “Passchendaele,” it is a battle against impossible odds.
Written and directed by Paul Gross, Passchendaele is a Rhombus Media, Whizbang Films and Damberger Film and Cattle Company production. The film is distributed in Canada by Alliance Films.
The official website for the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, tiff08.ca, will go live on Friday, June 27, 2008. Ticket packages for TIFF08 will be available for purchase by Visa† cardholders as of 10am, Monday July 7, 2008, and by cash, debit or Visa as of 10am on Monday, July 14, 2008. Purchase online at tiff08.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or in person at the TIFFG Box Office at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (main floor, north entrance). Box Office hours are 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
Bell Lightbox
Construction of Bell Lightbox, soon to be one of the world’s leading innovative cultural institutions and headquarters for TIFFG, began on February 1, 2007. A five-storey podium building located on Reitman Square in the heart of Toronto’s downtown entertainment district, Bell Lightbox is designed by world-renowned Toronto-based architectural firm KPMB. The building includes five cinemas, two galleries, three learning studios, and an enhanced film reference library and archive.
The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario each have contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family – acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, VISA, Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The TIFFG Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million, three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million.
LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE JULY 22
Bloodsuckers and rock fans rejoice! There’s a new soundtrack for your hot, sweaty summer.
A 1987 cult hit, The Lost Boys’ soundtrack is arguably one of the most beloved movie soundtracks of the last 20 years. Armed with great, eerie songs that fit perfectly opposite the little film with a big bite, the soundtrack to the much anticipated sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe, delivers just the same.
Helping to create a soundtrack worthy of it’s well-respected predecessor, the Lost Boys: The Tribe soundtrack includes AIDEN covering the classic anthem “Cry Little Sister” while THE VON BONDIES offer up “Only To Haunt You,” a never-before heard cut from their new album Love Hate And Then There’s You. Others include Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode fame, as well as the revamped Blind Melon.
Previously unreleased tracks include Aiden’s cover of “Cry Little Sister,” as well as Seether’s live acoustic rendition of “Burrito” and G.Love & Special Sauce’s “Long Way Down,” and The Von Bondies’ “Only To Haunt You.”
Says Aiden singer wiL Francis: “When we were approached to be a part of the new Lost Boys movie I was beside myself. Being such a fan of the original I could hardly set my excitement aside. This is a great opportunity for us to pay homage and be a part of something spectacular.”
Artists’ Addiction Records is a leader in the horror soundtrack genre, releasing the popular SAW 1-4 Soundtrack CD’s. Says AAR President Jonathan Miller: “I’m really excited to be a part of this project. I grew up with the original movie so to be involved with the second installment is amazing. We are all thrilled with the music that has been selected for the soundtrack and movie.”
Set in the shady surf city of Luna Bay, California, Lost Boys: The Tribe takes us to a world where vampires roam the night and feed on anyone who crosses their path. Into this dark world arrive Chris Emerson (Tad Hilgenbrink) and his younger sister, Nicole (Autumn Reeser). Having just lost their parents in a car accident, the siblings move in with their eccentric Aunt Jillian and become new prey for the locals’ way of life. When Nicole unwittingly falls for a local vampire, Chris must locate and destroy the gang’s lifeline before his sister’s transformation is complete; to do this Chris finds himself relying on the expertise of none other than Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman). With subtle references to characters from the original film, and cameos from returning actors, Lost Boys: The Tribe offers a homage to the Lost Boys legend while creating a sinister tone of impending doom.
The Lost Boys: The Tribe soundtrack will be available in stores, at ITUNES and at www.artistsaddictionrecords.com
