TIFF Day 7 – Kings, Long Time Running

Only a few days left at the Toronto International Film Festival and with things winding down it means fewer red carpets to keep track of (thankfully!).

On Wednesday evening though the expectation of two big A-listers was enough to get a big crowd forming even hours prior to their screening.  The movie is Deniz Gamze Erguven‘s second feature film, Kings.  After getting acclaim for 2015’s Mustang, the director was able to Kings off the ground with Halle Berry and Daniel Craig set to star.  While Berry was present on the red carpet last night, Craig was not in attendance much to fans’ disappointment.   But the real stars of the film are the children and they were visibly VERY excited to be present for their premiere!  During the introduction of the film one of them kept saying hi to his mom.  Pretty adorable.

After this screening there was a very excited crowd of Canadians outside Roy Thomson Hall in order to view the stars of the documentary Long Time Running.  This is because the stars belong to a band called The Tragically Hip.  While outside of Canada’s borders the Hip are not terribly well known, inside the band has been an institution for decades.  While their popularity has been largely unwavering, the band has been in the headlines over the last year after their lead singer, Gord Downie, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2016.  They set out on one last tour across the country, selling out stadiums in minutes and culminating in a live broadcast concert from Kingston, Ontario.  Long Time Running is a look at the band’s epic last tour – and nothing is much more cinematic than their story.  While Downie himself was understandably not present for the premiere last night, the remaining four band members (Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Rob Baker and Paul Langlois) walked the red carpet as excited fans called their names.  They are a Canadian legacy indeed.

The Toronto International Film Festival continues through until September 17. You can find information on the film and tickets at tiff.net.