With a great, collective sigh of relief that heads can now finally hit pillows, the Toronto International Film Festival has come to an end. Films have been screened, sold, and released into the world. Flats of champagne bottles are being recycled, black-tinted cars washed, and tangled white sheets bleached.
Like any grand production, other worlds of business thrive from the communion of storytellers. Media junkets, gifting lounges, restaurant caterers, hotel rooms, shopping sprees, sponsors, and relaxation retreats are only a few pockets of commerce capitalizing on the festival.
The pop-up economy that thrives around the films, latching on to its energy, can be enough, in some circumstances, to sustain a business for the entire year. Over the course of my two weeks in Toronto, I experienced some of the surrounding formalities and extravagances.
Gifting lounges
PHOTO: NKPR
Adrien Brody at the NKPR IT Lounge
Eager to be associated with people of influence, companies give away thousands of dollars’ worth of product. Gifting lounges are hidden in hotel suites, television studios, and office blocks. I perused the NKPR IT Lounge, where brands like Roots Canada, Tweezerman, Avon, and DAVIDsTEA extolled their items to visiting celebrities, while Caitlin Cronenberg snapped guests’ photos for W Magazine in a vintage-styled pop-up studio.
A few blocks away, the Made in Canada Lounge was housed at CBC for the fifth year running. Canadian companies, such as Dillion’s Small Batch Distillers, Foxy Originals, Elizabeth Grant skin care, Preloved, Canada Goose, Province Apothecary, and Ron White Shoes, helped create the homey atmosphere in the makeshift lounge.
Press
Building film hype and excitement to sell tickets and meet box office expectations is all part of the festival process. I spent an afternoon in the Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew, where Director Jean-Marc Vallée and actors Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey were interviewed and photographed for Dallas Buyers Club. Leto’s long locks drew eyes and McConaughey’s Southern charm reddened cheeks as they lingered in the multi-sponsored lounge and I drank Moët from British Airways.
Canadian media, such as George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight saw dozens of talent sit in his iconic red chairs, including Adam Driver (The F Word), who I watched Stroumboulopoulos interview with conversational expertise for the 10th season of the CBC show. Guests had the pleasure of visiting the Made in Canada Lounge, where they signed hockey sticks and left with bags of Canadian goods. Expect to see Jason Reitman, Keanu Reeves, and Isabella Rossellini on this season’s show.
Sponsors
With so many brands sponsoring the festival, each must find a way to stand out and make an impact – be memorable to participants. Wolf Blass celebrated 30 years with their Paint the Town Yellow Lounge at the closing gala, and Grolsch held an Open House – a public live music venue showcasing such acts as Holy Family, Ark Analog, and Julie Fader.
Relaxation
When obligations were finished, and a recharge craved, several festival VIPs retreated to the luxurious Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie Paris in the depths of the Shangri-La Hotel. While my schedule was relatively tame compared to others experiencing the festival, I found myself naked, laying on a marble slab, letting steam release toxins from my body as sweat pooled into my belly button. This was followed by a scrubbing. Modesty was not allowed as the esthetician’s hands sloughed away every flake of skin on my arms, legs, and torso. Soft. And sleepy. So sleepy, in fact, that when I closed my eyes after the treatment, I fell into a nap. Finally able to let the scenes from festival activities replay against my eyelids.
WRITTEN BY: Sandra O’Connell // www.sandraoconnell.com //
TWITTER: @sandraoco & @talesfromabar
