MONTREAL – The long-running feud between the Montreal and Toronto film festivals got even hotter when this city’s event changed its usual schedule so its final days overlap with its arch-rival’s opening.
The two fests could not be more different.
Toronto goes in for high-profile, mainstream films and visiting celebrities, and it attracts a large contingent of cell phone-toting publicists.
Montreal’s schedule is rich in art-house and fringe fare, and publicists are few and far between.
“Judge by the quality of the films – the names mean nothing,” says Serge Losique, controversial founder and director of Montreal’s shindig (which began Aug. 27 and closes on Sunday.)
The only “name” at Montreal is Martin Scorsese, who is scheduled to pick up an award and introduce a screening of his “Mean Streets” tomorrow night.
But he is in the French-speaking city anyway, shooting “The Aviator,” with Leonardo DiCaprio as the young Howard Hughes.
One hot and unconfirmed rumor floating around festival headquarters at the Wyndham Hotel is that Scorsese will bring DiCaprio along to the screening.
Toronto (which kicked off last night and runs through Sept. 13) will be visited by Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington, Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Sean Penn and others.
The lack of glitz hasn’t affected the enthusiasm of Montreal festival-goers, who are filling theaters showing 439 movies from 68 countries – 115 of them world premieres.
Even shows on weekday afternoons are packed.
One of the most talked-about – and disturbing – entries is “Alexandra’s Project” from Australia, by Dutch-born helmer Rolf de Heer.
The movie tells the story of an executive who comes home from work on his birthday to discover his wife and son gone, the shutters down and the light bulbs removed.
In the living room is a videotape labeled, “Play me.”
On it, his wife – in shocking detail – tells her husband why he’ll never again see his family.
Also attracting attention is “Janis & John,” the last film by French actress Marie Trintignant, who died last month, allegedly after being beaten by her boyfriend, Gallic rocker Bertrand Cantat.
It’s a dark comedy in which Trintignant plays a resurrected Janis Joplin.
Several people were seen wiping tears from their eyes after watching “Janis & John” Tuesday night at the Cinema Parisien.