TIFF08 Announces Closing Night Gala
Toronto – The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival will close on September 13 with the North American premiere Gala Presentation of Stone of Destiny, written and directed by Charles Martin Smith (The Snow Walker, TIFF 2003). Based on a true story, Stone of Destiny stars Robert Carlyle (28 Weeks Later, Angela's Ashes, The Full Monty), Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Brenda Fricker (My Left Foot), Charlie Cox (Stardust, The Merchant of Venice) and Kate Mara (Shooter, We Are Marshall). Ticket packages now on sale. Purchase online at tiff08.ca, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM or in person at the Festival Box Office at Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor Street West (main floor, north entrance). Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4 through 13, 2008.
“We’re thrilled to have Stone of Destiny close this year’s Festival,” says Cameron Bailey, Co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “This is a movie that wills you over with its charm, its sense of mischief and its pure Scottishness.”
Stone of Destiny re-creates the legendary tale of four Glasgow University students who plotted to retrieve the 300- pound Stone of Destiny, the ancient coronation stone of the Scots. Seized by England’s Edward I in 1296, the stone was kept in Westminster Abbey and fitted into St. Edward’s Chair, upon which English monarchs were crowned for centuries. The stone would not leave England until four friends, passionate, determined and fueled by a combination of patriotism and the fire of youth, made their way to London on Christmas Eve, 1950, to reclaim this symbol of their heritage. All of them rank amateurs, they aim to steal the stone from right under the noses of the English police.
Stone of Destiny is an Infinity Features Entertainment and The Mob Film Company production. The film is distributed in Canada by Alliance Films.
The Closing Night Gala is made possible through the generous sponsorship of National Bank Financial.
Bell Lightbox
Bell Lightbox is soon to be the world's leading destination for film lovers, and a major cultural institution on the Canadian and international landscape. A five-storey podium building located on Reitman Square in the heart of Toronto’s downtown entertainment district, Bell Lightbox is designed by world-renowned Toronto-based architectural firm KPMB. The building includes five cinemas, two galleries, three learning studios, and an enhanced film reference library and archive. Bell Lightbox programming will give context to films through innovative cross-media exhibitions, lectures, new technology showcases and film-related learning opportunities for all ages.
The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario each have contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family – acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, Visa†, Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million, three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million. For more information on the Bell Lightbox campaign, visit belllightbox.ca
We are a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. Our vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.
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For information, contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or email proffice@tiffg.ca