#TIFF13: OFFICIAL SCHEDULE AND CELEBRITY GUEST LIST ANNOUNCED!

At long last the TIFF ’13 Guest List has been announced and among the Marquee names we can expect to see in Toronto in two weeks are phenomenal!  Although speak of Brad Pitt and George Clooney making appearances here didn’t amount to much more than rumour, this year the Female Contingent shines brightest with several of Hollywood’s A-List set to present their latest Oscar Vehicles here.

Among the Celebrities expected this year are:

Emilia Clarke, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Tom Felton, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew McConaughey, Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Sarah Gadon,  Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, James Franco, Marion Cotillard, Mike Myers, Emma Thompson, Kristen Wiig, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Amy Poehler, Keanu Reeves, Kate Winslet, Adam Driver, Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Owen Wilson, Ralph Fiennes, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Gyllenhaal, JudeLaw, Jessica Chastain, Jai Courtney, Mila Kunis, Pierce Brosnan, Sandra Bullock, Jason Bateman, Zac Efron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Colin Firth, Idris Elba, Ed Harris, Michael C. Hall, Annette Benning, James McAvoy, Liam Neeson, Steven Soderbergh, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin, Maria Bello, Jennifer Garner, Nicolas Cage, Daniel Brühl, Tom Hiddleston, Jack Huston, Hugh Jackman, Jessica Lange, Melissa Leo, Adam Levine, Catherine O’Hara, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Berenger, Tom Wilkinson, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Clive Owen, Zach Galifianakis, Emily Watson, John Hawkes, Alan Rickman, Toni Collette, Josh Brolin, Alice Cooper, Tiger Chen, Rebecca Hall, Will Forte, Kevin Zegers, Taylor Kitsch, Juliette Binoche, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Thandie Newton,  Terrence Howard, James Hetfield, Thomas Haden Church, Tim Robbins,  Glenn Close, Dakota Fanning, Philip Glass and several more!

Keep checking back here as the Toronto International Film Festival makes additions as we get closer to Thursday, September 5, 2013 when TIFF ’13 kicks-off!  The Festival runs till Sunday, September 15, 2013.

The official Schedule has been announced and you can now start planning your Festival right here. Download the Official Schedule right here!

Single Tickets go on sale on Sunday, September 1, 2013 on TIFF‘s Website here.

Things are about to get real exciting around here!  Happy TIFF, indeed!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

#CANNES: “BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR” WINS TOP HONOURS AT CANNES

Concluding the 66th annual Cannes Film Festival, the Main Jury (headed by Steven Spielberg,  including Nicole Kidman and Ang Lee) handed-out their Prizes earlier today.  Winning top honours this year, the Palme d’Or, was Blue is the Warmest Colour (La vie d’Adèle), directed by Abdellatif Kechiche.  The racy Drama, clocking-in at over three hours, is about a teenage Girl who has an affair with a Woman.  It also has the distinction of winning the FIPRESCI Competition Prize.

In the acting categories Bérénice Bejo, who received an Oscar nomination for her silent performance in The Artist,  won Best Actress for Italian-French Production The Past, about a Parisian Woman looking to divorce her Iranian Husband.  Bruce Dern won Best Actor for his work in Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants), about a Father and Son who reunite to claim a Sweepstakes prize.  The Drama which stars SNL Alumni Will Forte, gets a November release via Paramount Pictures in North America.

Winning the Grand Prix was eagerly-awaited Coen Brothers Film, Inside Llewyn Davis. Set in the ’60s, the Drama about the Folk Music Scene stars an exciting Cast of Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Garrett Hedlund, John Goodman and Oscar Isaac.

Mexican Filmmaker Amat Escalante won Best Director for his work on Heli, a Mexican Drama about a Family torn-apart by drugs.

On our radars is Fruitvale Station, to be distributed by eOne Films in select Canadian Citiies on July 26, 2013.  The Ryan Coogler Drama, which was a Hit at Sundance earlier this year, picked-up the Future Prize and is about a 22-year-old Man’s final day on New Year’s Eve 2008.

Clearly on the Awards Trail and release dates scheduled for later this year, perhaps we can expect Nebraska, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Past and Blue is the Warmest Colour to surface in Toronto at TIFF this September?

Complete list of Winners here.

(Photo credit: Quat’sous Films)