Pharrell Williams, the real-life musician, strolled down the red carpet on Tuesday alongside a Lego version of himself, marking the international premiere of his animated biopic, Piece by Piece, in Toronto. The film, featuring voiceovers by Pharrell, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z, offers a unique journey through the artist's life and career, using Lego pieces to represent the characters in his story. Pharrell, a multi-talented artist known for his work as a recording artist, producer, and songwriter, noted, "Lego truly universalizes the narrative, making it accessible to anyone from marginalized communities." Pharrell has earned 13 Grammy Awards, including three for Producer of the Year.
Emilia Perez, a film that defies conventional categorization, had Selena Gomez and her co-stars creating a buzz at the Toronto International Film Festival. This genre-bending mix of pop opera, offbeat comedy, and crime drama had already won top honors at Cannes. Set in contemporary Mexico, the Spanish-language film by French director Jacques Audiard follows a drug cartel kingpin, played by Karla Sofia Gascon, who hires a flamboyant lawyer, portrayed by Zoe Saldana, to aid in his transformation and disappearance. Years later, the ex-drug lord reappears as Emilia Perez, masquerading as a sister and seeking to reunite with her children and wife, played by Gomez.
Bruce Springsteen's new film, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, which premiered in Toronto, offers fans an inside look at the band's creative process during their ongoing world tour, which was temporarily halted due to the nearly 75-year-old rock star's health issues. Directed by Thom Zimny and narrated by Springsteen himself, the documentary delves into conversations and the band's musical bond, while also touching on themes of age, the present, and mortality. Springsteen's wife and E Street bandmate, Patti Scialfa, disclosed her diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in the film.
Denzel Washington and his family celebrated the Toronto screening of Oscar hopeful The Piano Lesson, a Hollywood adaptation of an August Wilson play in which the entire family was involved. Washington's younger son, Malcolm, made his feature directorial debut, while his elder son, John David, starred in the film, which explores a family's struggle to reconcile with their past and confront the legacy of slavery. Denzel himself served as a producer, and his wife, Pauletta, and daughter, Olivia, had small roles. His daughter Katia was an executive producer.
Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek caused a stir at the Toronto International Film Festival with their appearance on the red carpet for Without Blood, a film about the cycle of violence, revenge, and memory. Jolie, who directed the movie, cast Hayek as her leading lady, with Demian Bichir playing her counterpart. The film, adapted from Italian author Alessandro Baricco's novel, is set in the aftermath of an unidentified conflict and was shot at Rome's Cinecitta Studios.
