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As March draws to a close, things in Toronto and in the immediate area around Canada`s largest city, get positively hot. In a city that boasts some 80 or more film festivals a year, 10 take place between the end of February and the end of March. With just a few days left in the month, the Breast Film Festival starts tomorrow and runs until the 30th. If you’re of a certain bent then I feel compelled to point out that the Breast Fest is subtitled “a rethink breast cancer event.”
Also opening tomorrow and running until April 6 is Cinéfranco. Toronto is often called a city of neighbourhoods, but it is also a city of many different cultural influences with a significant French speaking population. This festival, now in its 17th year, features films from France, Morocco, Belgium, Switzerland and of course Canada. Often there are  coproductions with two or three of this countries involved. Twenty-four distributors have pulled out all the stops to provide the best in French cinema and some of it is spectacular.
On Monday, March 31st, look for Catherine Deneuve to grace the screen in Elle s’en ya. This is the film`s English Canada premiere but it screened in Berlin last year as well as at the BFI London Film Festival. Deneuve plays Bettie, an attractive, sexy 60-something, who sees her life spinning out of control with her failing restaurant and love relationship. One Sunday in the middle of a busy lunch shift, she steps out for a short break, gets in her car and drives away |
