Toronto: The Toronto film festival, the largest in North America, kicked off in earnest Thursday with Ben Stiller’s family movie “Nutcrackers” as a handful of pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the opening night screening.
The four demonstrators chanted slogans in the Princess of Wales Theatre against the Royal Bank of Canada, a festival sponsor that has faced criticism over its investment in firms with links to Israel, as the war in Gaza drags on.
Other audience members booed and festival CEO Cameron Bailey continued his introduction before security escorted the protesters out and the screening of the film, Stiller’s first in seven years, proceeded.
The brief protest provided a political jolt at the start of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), a 10-day extravaganza of Oscar bait movies and A-list glamor.
This year marks a return to normal for the event, after twin strikes by actors and writers kept top talent from promoting their work here last year. Though the 2023 lineup of films was starry, the red carpets were not, in line with union protocols.
This time around, Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Salma Hayek, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman are just some of the boldfaced names expected in Canada’s biggest city to unveil new projects.
“Toronto is known for its audience excitement, and that excitement reaches a fever pitch when the biggest stars in the world are here,” Bailey told AFP.
“We’re glad that we are having a festival without some of the constraints of last year, although I do think we were able to do the very best we could given the circumstances.”
Moviegoers warmly greeted Stiller, who introduced “Nutcrackers” alongside director David Gordon Green.
The holiday-set comedy tells the story of a Chicago real estate developer who must care for his four orphaned nephews after the death of his sister and her husband.
The boys, who are brothers in real life, prove to be quite a handful for the city slicker, who must navigate awkward home schooling sessions, wild animals in the house and other quirks of farm life as he finds his nephews a forever home.
“When I read the script, which was so heartfelt and not cynical... I was like, I’m identifying with this guy and this guy is on a journey where he gets in touch with stuff and connects with his family,” Stiller said on the red carpet at the gala screening.
“I think that’s an important message, especially right now.”
Also on the festival’s packed schedule of world premieres is Ron Howard’s super-secret “Eden,” a survival film set in the Galapagos islands, and “The Wild Robot,” the latest from DreamWorks Animation.
Fresh off the Venice success of her portrayal of opera legend Maria Callas in “Maria,” Jolie comes to Toronto with her latest directorial effort — “Without Blood,” a tale of early 20th-century family and revenge starring Hayek.
In all, there are a whopping 278 films on the slate.
John and Springsteen will be in town with new documentaries about their epic careers — and they are just some of the recording industry royalty expected to hit the red carpet.
Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Paul Anka, and singer, producer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams are also due to appear at screenings of new films about their personal and professional lives.
And there is a crop of inspirational true-story sports dramas on the schedule, including “Unstoppable,” about a college wrestler (Jharrel Jerome) without a right leg who dreamed of going pro. Lopez co-stars as the boy’s mother.
TIFF — where screenings are open to ordinary moviegoers, not just media and industry insiders — is part of a fall flurry of film festivals, along with Venice and Telluride, that preview some of the movies expected to vie for Oscars glory.
The event runs from Thursday through September 15.
On the final day, the People’s Choice Award — voted for by audiences — is handed out. It has become something of an early Oscars bellwether, predicting eventual Academy Award best picture winners such as “Nomadland” and “Green Book.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt opening of Toronto film fest
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Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt opening of Toronto film fest
- The brief protest provided a political jolt at the start of the Toronto International Film Festival
US, Ukraine officials say they’ll meet for 3rd day after progress on creating a security framework
- Witkoff and Kushner’s talks in Florida with Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, and Hnatov follow discussions between President Vladimir Putin and the US envoys at the Kremlin on Tuesday
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s advisers and Ukrainian officials say they’ll meet for a third day of talks on Saturday after making progress on finding agreement on a security framework for postwar Ukraine.
The two sides also offered the sober assessment that any “real progress toward any agreement” ultimately will depend “on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace.”
The statement from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov came after they met for a second day in Florida on Friday. They offered only broad brushstrokes about the progress they say has been made as Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a US-mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war.
“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” the statement said. “Parties also separately reviewed the future prosperity agenda which aims to support Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, joint US–Ukraine economic initiatives, and long-term recovery projects.”
The US and Ukrainian officials also discussed “deterrence capabilities” that Ukraine will need “to sustain a lasting peace.”
Witkoff and Kushner’s talks in Florida with Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, and Hnatov follow discussions between President Vladimir Putin and the US envoys at the Kremlin on Tuesday.
Friday’s session took place at the the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, a high-end private golf and lifestyle destination owned by Witkoff’s real estate development company.
Previous diplomatic attempts to break the deadlock have come to nothing and the war has continued unabated. Officials largely have kept a lid on how the latest talks are going, though Trump’s initial 28-point plan was leaked.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s delegation in Florida wanted to hear from the US side about the talks at the Kremlin.
Zelensky, as well as European leaders backing him, have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling in peace talks while the Russian army tries to press forward with its invasion. Zelensky said in a video address late Thursday that officials wanted to know “what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine.”
Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Friday, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov praised Kushner as potentially playing an important role in ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ushakov also took part in Tuesday’s talks at the Kremlin.
“If any plan leading to a settlement is put on paper, it will be the pen of Mr. Kushner that will lead the way,” Ushakov said.
The flattering comments about Kushner by the senior Russian official come as Putin has sought to sow division between Trump and Ukraine and Europe at a moment when Trump’s impatience with the conflict is mounting. Putin said his five-hour talks this week with Witkoff and Kushner were “necessary” and “useful,” but some proposals were unacceptable.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, was a senior adviser to Trump during his first term and was the president’s point person on developing the Abraham Accords, which formalized commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and a trio of Arab nations.
Kushner has played a more informal role in Trump’s second go-around, but he helped Witkoff close out ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas this fall. Trump tapped Kushner again to pair up with Witkoff to try to find an endgame to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European take on the peace talks
Ushakov, who accompanied Putin on a visit to India on Friday, repeated the Russian president’s recent criticism of Europe’s stance on the peace talks. Kyiv’s European allies are concerned about possible Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and want a prospective peace deal to include strong security guarantees.
Kyiv’s allies in Europe are “constantly putting forward demands that are unacceptable to Moscow,” Ushakov told Russia’s state-owned Zvezda TV. “Putting it mildly, the Europeans don’t help Washington and Moscow reach a settlement on the Ukrainian issues.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that he made progress during a visit to Beijing on getting Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s support for peace efforts.
“We exchanged deeply and truthfully on all points, and I saw a willingness from the (Chinese) president to contribute to stability and peace,” Macron said.
The French president said he stressed that Ukraine needs guarantees that Russia won’t attack it again if a settlement is reached and that Europe must have a voice in negotiations.
“The unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential. And I say it, repeat it, emphasize it. We need to work together,” Macron said.
The latest drone attacks
Russian drones struck a house in central Ukraine, killing a 12-year-old boy, officials said, while long-range Ukrainian strikes reportedly targeted a Russian port and an oil refinery.
The Russian attack on Thursday night in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region destroyed the house where the boy was killed and also two women were injured, according to the head of the regional military administration, Vladyslav Haivanenko.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 137 drones of various types during the night.
Ukrainian drones attacked a port and an oil refinery inside Russia overnight as part of Kyiv’s campaign to disrupt Russian logistics, Ukraine’s general staff said.
The drones struck Temriuk sea port in Russia’s Krasnodar region and the Syzran oil refinery in the Samara region, starting blazes, a statement said. Syzran is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the border with Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said only that its air defenses intercepted 85 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
