#TIFF: TIFF PRESENT AN IN-CONVERSATION WITH ELLIOT PAGE

TIFF proudly presents the exclusive Canadian launch of Elliot Page’s highly anticipated and groundbreaking coming-of age memoir Pageboy. A generation-defining actor and one of the most famous trans advocates of our time, Page joins TIFF in person to discuss his personal journey, his starring role in the hit series The Umbrella Academy, and the process of establishing himself as a key creative force behind the camera as a director and producer with his company Pageboy Productions.

Moderated by filmmaker Chase Joynt (No Ordinary Man, Framing Agnes), this In Conversation With… is part of the Pride month celebrations taking place at TIFF Bell Lightbox in June.

In Conversation With… Elliot Page is done in partnership with HarperCollins Canada and with community partner Glad Day Bookshop, Trans Film Mentorship, and Inside Out Toronto. 10% of proceeds from the book sales for this event will go towards trans artists in Toronto, courtesy of Glad Day Bookshop.

TIFF will partner with several organizations across Canada to provide a livestream of the event. Confirmed partners include: Vancouver Public Library (Vancouver), Calgary Wordfest (Calgary), THIN AIR Winnipeg (Winnipeg), and King’s Co-op Bookstore (Halifax). More information about the livestreams will be available on the websites of the respective organizations.

Tickets for TIFF’s In Conversations With… Elliot Page will go on sale Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 10 am to Members, and May 19, 2023 to the public. For more information, visit tiff.net. Each ticket purchase includes an assigned seat and a copy of Pageboy pre-signed by Elliot Page.

#FIRSTLOOK: “BACKSPOT” TO BEGIN PRODUCTION IN TORONTO MID-MARCH

Page Boy Productions, Night is Y and Prospero Pictures announce principal photography has started on the queer-led, highly anticipated BACKSPOT, marking the feature film debut of creator/director D.W. Waterson (That’s My DJ) starring award-winning actor Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs, Marvel’s Echo) and newcomer Kudakwashe Rutendo in lead roles. Acclaimed actors Thomas Antony Olajide (Learn to Swim, White Lie, The Spencer Sisters) and Olunike Adeliyi (The Porter, Revenge of the Black Best Friend), the incomparable Wendy Crewson (On the Basis of Sex, Room, Gray) and the iconic Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight’s Tale, Wristcutters: A Love Story, 40 Days and 40 Nights) also join the cast. Produced by Alona Metzer, D.W. Waterson, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, Martin Katz, and Executive Produced by Elliot Page, BACKSPOT is written by Joanne Sarazen, based on a story by Waterson. The film will shoot until mid-March in the Toronto area.

Riley and Amanda are formidable members of their mid-level cheerleading squad until professional coach, Eileen McNamara, gives them the opportunity to join The Thunderhawks, a high-performance squad. Young, ambitious and in love, Riley (Jacobs) and Amanda (Rutendo) would be on top of the world if only Riley could get her anxiety under control and Amanda had less overwhelming responsibility. Desperate to be heard and appreciated, two qualities her home life severely lacks, Riley will do anything to ingratiate herself to her new coach. Amanda, on the other hand, has begun to notice a shift in Riley and is a bit suspicious of Eileen’s tactics. Battered, unrelenting and with a competition looming, these two young athletes must negotiate their space, find their voices and come to an understanding with the generation of women who came before them.

“I’m so proud and excited to finally be going to camera after five long years. We’ve assembled an absolutely stacked cast, and an incredible crew, and we are thrilled to be creating something that’s truly kick*ass, raw, and that has a magic energy behind it,” said D.W. Waterson, director. “Competitive cheer is incredibly athletic, and our young, queer youth are so resilient. I am beyond looking forward to highlighting both of these communities in Backspot.”

Executive Producers are Elliot Page, Matthew Jordan Smith, John Davidson, and Katisha Shaw. BACKSPOT will be distributed by levelFILM in Canada, and will subsequently stream on Crave, followed by CBC and CBC Gem. The film is produced in association with Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates, CBC Films, and Shaw Rocket Fund. International and US rights to BACKSPOT are represented by UTA.

#FIRSTLOOK: “THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY” SEASON 3

New stills from Season Three of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY have finally surfaced! Euphoria fans won’t want to miss this as Javon Walton joins the Cast!

Synopsis:

After putting a stop to 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy return home to the present, convinced they prevented the initial apocalypse and fixed this godforsaken timeline once and for all. But after a brief moment of celebration, they realize things aren’t exactly (okay, not at all) how they left them. Enter the Sparrow Academy. Smart, stylish, and about as warm as a sea of icebergs, the Sparrows immediately clash with the Umbrellas in a violent face-off that turns out to be the least of everyone’s concerns. Navigating challenges, losses, and surprises of their own – and dealing with an unidentified destructive entity wreaking havoc in the Universe (something they may have caused) — now all they need to do is convince Dad’s new and possibly better family to help them put right what their arrival made wrong. Will they find a way back to their pre-apocalyptic lives? Or is this new world about to reveal more than just a hiccup in the timeline?

Season Three of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY arrives June 22, 2022 on Netflix.

(Photo credit: Netflix)