[VIDEO] Cadillac Festival Insider SKYE visits the best spots in Toronto for celebrity spotting during TIFF – Ritz Carlton hotel, Bell Lightbox on King, and Yorkville ave.

(VIDEO) The 36th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is right around the corner and Cadillac Festival Insider SKYE visits some spots in Toronto which promise to come alive with film goers and celeb spotters as TIFF takes over Toronto during September, 2011

TIFF insiders night with the Festival programmers and their best picks

The Toronto International Film Festival held its annual TIFF Insiders night where the TIFF team of programmers all come together and share some of their favorite picks of the Festival. After all, it is this group of people that screen thousands of films each year – rejecting about 90% – to eventually arrive at the 300+ films that make up the 36th edition of TIFF.

So a crowded room of TIFF sponsors, donors, and other festival friends got a chance to meet the programmers and hear about some of the films that really stand out in their minds.

It didn’t take long for the first few programmers to talk about a documentary that seems to make an impact on whoever has seen it, Pink Ribbons, Inc. Léa Pool’s investigative film about the industry and “culture” around breast cancer.

Programmer Jane Schoettle’s highlighted the performance of Matthew Goode in Burning Man as must-see. A personal favorite of Schoettle’s is Pariah with director Dee Rees as a talent to watch out for. We’re already hearing the company behind Pariah is planning a push to get it noticed by Oscar voters.

Another two titles we heard talked about in the room that night; The Hunter with Willem Defoe playing a mercenary and Juan Of The Dead and its funny trailer.

A personal fave of TIFF Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes is You’re Next by the director and writer of last year’s Festival indie hit, A Horrible Way To Die. Geddes gem of the Festival is a “Die Hard” type of action film, Sleepless Night (Nuit Blanche.)

Drive, starring a stunt-driving Ryan Gosling was called out a few times as a fun one to see. The film earned the director, Nicolas Winding Refn an award at Cannes this year. (We were then reminded that Drive will open up wide in theatres the week after TIFF, so perhaps look for films at the Festival that are harder to find playing later.)

Real To Reel programmer Thom Powers wasted no time in calling Paradise Lost 3 – Purgatory his gem of the festival. The filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky started their quest almost twenty years ago with the first Paradise Lost. It was just a few weeks ago when the featured protagonists of the films, were in the news, as the final twist in their two decade legal odysssy was finally written.

A hot pick of veteran TIFF Programmer Michèle Maheux is We Need To Talk About Kevin starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly. Maheux’s favorite was The Artist – shot entirely in black and white, without dialogue and in a traditional 1.33 aspect ratio, the film excited someone in the audience who previously saw it so much she blurted out, “(The Artist) is most fun you’ll have at the film festival this year.”

Cameron Bailey cited Rampart starring Woody Harrelson as a very hot pick of the Festival. Bailey calls Harrelson’s performance of a dirty cop in LA one that is sure, “to get noticed by the Oscar voters this year.” Cameron’s gem and “one of the most gripping” films of the festival is Guilty. Vincent Garenq’s disturbing drama from France investigates the corrupt judicial system and false accusations of pedophilia. The TIFF co-director was quick to call Elles starring Juliette Binoche his not-to-miss of the Festival.

Piers Handling’s favorite pick was the french film Rebellion (L’ordre et la morale) – Handling called it simply, “the french Apocalypse Now.”

What’s on the Cadillac Festival Insider’s not-to-miss list? Branwen Okpako’s The Education of Auma Obama. A documentary on the U.S. President’s older half-sister. Festival programmer Rasha Salti was so happy to find this film and bring it to TIFF. Salti describes Auma as having many of the same passionate characteristics as her powerful brother.

The Toronto International Film Festival announces its Canadian lineup of 2011 films

While September is the month the Toronto International Film Festival rolls out the red carpets and films. August is the month for highly anticipated announcements as TIFF hosts some lavish press conferences as the annual festivals program begins to come together. On August 9th, at the Royal York hotel in Toronto, TIFF announced its line-up of Canadian films.

10 BIG STARS who will most likely return to Toronto and support films during the 2011 edition of TIFF

Actor icon Robert Deniro has not been a stranger to the Toronto Festival – especially the last couple years. He did TIFF’10 joining Ed Norton for the premiere of “Stone.” A year prior, Deniro made a surprise appearance at the Gala for “Precious” (Deniro was a producer on the Oprah-backed film.) You can never be sure when Bobby is going to appear, but it’s a good bet it will be three years in a row when, “Killer Elite” has its TIFF’11 premiere.
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First seen at the Canadian International Auto Show – Cadillac is a proud supplier of more than 36 luxury vehicles to TIFF 2011

Before the official vehicles of the Toronto International Film Festival – Cadillac take to the streets they are on display at the 2011 Canadian Auto Show. Cadillac supplies more than three dozen luxury vehicles that transport Festival executives, celebrities, and VIP’s around the city during two weeks in September when TIFF gets into gear.

Between courses of Montreal smoke meat and poutine – TIFF unveils it’s Canadian lineup of films

The Toronto International Film Festival has become renowned for the bevy of international and Hollywood film stars it brings to Toronto each year. But TIFF’s roots are distinctly Canadian and the festival never forgets about its own. So TIFF saves its most lavish press conference, held in early August, to announce the roster of Canadian films that will make premieres come September at the festival.

It was a packed house of TIFF industry insiders and Canadian filmmakers at the Royal York hotel on a Tuesday afternoon as festival co-directors Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling added to an already announced list of Canadian films – that included Gala premieres from directors David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley. Also announced on August 9th at the Royal York, Starbuck, from director Ken Scott will also join the lineup of TIFF galas.

Canadian entries joining the Special Presentations lineup include Afghan Luke, with Nick Stahl; Mary Harron’s The Moth Diaries, with Lily Cole and Scott Speedman, and Goon, a hockey-themed comedy with Seann William Scott and Jay Baruchel.

Guy Maddin, who premiered a film at TIFF twenty-five years ago, returns in 2011 with Keyhole starring Jason Patric and Isabella Rossellini. Maddin remarked at the packed TIFF press conference, “There’s more people in this room than saw Canadian films in the 1980′s.”

U2 documentary From The Sky Down from director Davis Guggenheim will open the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is breaking with tradition in its 36th edition with selecting a documentary as its opening night film on September 8th. TIFF usually opens on the Thursday night with a Canadian feature. Never shy about challenging convention – TIFF is opening with a documentary for 2011, and on one of the biggest bands in the world – U2.

Directed by Davis Guggenheim, From The Sky Down zeros in on one distinct time in the band’s life – the making of the seminal U2 record Achtung Baby twenty years ago. The documentary combines never-seen-before archival footage of the band recording the album at Hansa studio in Berlin with brand new interviews.

Guggenheim won an Academy Award for Best Documentary for An Inconvenient Truth. Davis brought some rock legends to TIFF during 2009 when his guitar doc, It Might Get Loud saw icons Jimmy Page, U2′s Edge, and Jack White in Toronto to support the film. Last year, Davis was in Toronto with Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates to premiere his education themed documentary, Waiting For Superman.

So Guggenheim returns again in 2011 to Toronto – this time with the prestigious opening night slot and Roy Thomson Hall Gala premiere. U2 was last seen with Guggenheim during May in Winnipeg filming scenes at their concert for From The Sky Down.

U2, especially Bono are no strangers to the Toronto Film Festival. Bono and Edge made a surprise appearance in 2009 when they showed up to the red carpet of fellow Irishman Neil Jordan’s premiere. A few years before that, Bono again appeared on a few TIFF red carpets to support films including the Leonard Cohen documentary, I’m Your Man.

Colin Farrell and Director Neil Jordan with U2′s Bono and Edge as they make a surprise red carpet appearance during TIFF’09