Ten years ago, I was contracted by Canadian (local) writer/director TRICIA LEE to undertake PR/publicity for her feature film Silent Retreat, a horror-genre film. I was intrigued by this modest young woman and her ability to bring the thrills, chills and screams to the screen; in fact, she was only one of a handful of women filmmakers around the world working in that genre. I was thrilled to see the film become a resounding success at the Toronto After Dark and Blood in the Snow film fests.In the years since I worked with her, Tricia has become an accomplished AAPI female filmmaker with the ability to blend heart-warming and heart-breaking stories with uplifting humor has earned her recognition on the 2020 and 2021 Black List. As a fellow of SONY’s Diverse TV Writers Program, Tricia’s films explore themes of belonging, voicelessness, and shared humanity. Her feature script, Good Chance has received numerous accolades, including being a top 50 finalist in The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, winning the grand prize at Francis Ford Coppola‘s Zoetrope Screenplay Competition, a top 14 finalist Universal Studios Writers Program, on the CAPE List and being selected for the prestigious Producers Guild of America Power of Diversity Master Workshop and The Writers Lab (supported by Meryl Streep & Nicole Kidman). A CDDP Commercial Director finalist, Tricia’s impressive directing credits include working with top talent such as Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives fame, Simu Liu (star of Shang-Chi ,Canada’s famed tv comedy Kim’s Convenience and most recently Barbie), Ingrid Rogers (Bosch), and James Kyson (Heroes). She has written a pilot for and will be a showrunner of the animated anthology A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts produced by 108 Media. She has directed 3 award-winning features including Blood Hunters which sold to Hulu and was presented in Cannes by Frontieres, and Silent Retreat, which was theatrically released across Canada and sold to NBC Universal’s Chiller Network.
I invited Tricia to join me for this “Live from the pool deck” celebrity blog so I’ll let her tell you all about her career and her latest projects….
I’ve followed Tricia’s career spanning her move to L.A. several years ago, her ongoing participation in high-profile workshops and programs where she’s honed her script writing chops, and having established herself as a film and commercial director and an accomplished writer. Tricia has returned to Toronto to soak in the vibes of our annual Toronto Int’l Film Festival so watch for her on the various red carpets, industry events and celebrity soirees.
You can learn more about Tricia via her website https://www.tricialeedirector.com/and follow her on social media (see direct links on website)
Back in October of 2013, I was thrilled to work with Canadian writer/director TRICIA LEE, promoting her horror feature film Silent Retreat which made its World Premiere at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival that year. The film did very well with both audiences and critics and since then, Lee has been on an upward career trajectory.
The accomplished and versatile filmmaker earned her US Green Card as an “artist of extraordinary ability” with Canadian and British citizenship, and has directed 11 shorts and 3 award-winning features since starting out in 2004. And she directed newly-minted superhero star Simu Liu in her 2017 short film Meeting Mommy.
Tricia has been recognized as one of Hollywood’s Top New Writers on the 2020 Black List, CAPE List, Young & Hungry List, Athena List, and the BitchList. Her script pitch for Good Chance was an Academy Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist, Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition grand prize winner, Cinequest Best Feature Screenplay winner, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Features winner, Sundance Lab second-rounder and selected for the prestigious Producers Guild of America Power of Diversity Master Workshop. Attached are Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, Janet Yang (Joy Luck Club) as producers and Kheng Tan Hua (Crazy Rich Asians, Kung Fu Series) as lead actress – BRAVO, TRICIA!
Currently, Tricia’s script for her next feature titled IDOL is part of this year’s “Breaking Through the Lens” program at the Toronto International Film Festival that just opened on September 9th so I was excited to chat with Tricia about that and her other achievements since we worked together in 2013. Tricia, you’ve worked consistently and successfully for more than a decade, creating some of the most innovative and exciting genre films – why is becoming a finalist in this year’s Breaking Through the Lens TIFF so important to you personally and for your career? Looking back on my career, it’s amazing to see how far I’ve come, but also how far I still want to go. In order to continue a long-lasting career, I have to keep innovating and creating new projects and telling new stories. Breaking Through the Lens choosing my new project, IDOL, to be showcased during TIFF is this project’s first walk outside! The opportunity to share the pitch with financiers and distributors is a great way to share this script with people who can potentially help make the film. I want to take my career to the next level and I hope that we can bring this film to the screen and touch, move and inspire people.
For a number of years, you were one of only a few female directors working in the horror genre – what attracted you to horror stories and did you have a different perspective that your male counterparts? What I love about genre, is that we can speak about deeper issues through metaphor. With entertainment, I always want to hide the pill in peanut butter, as they say. Is that how you get dogs to eat medicine? I thought peanut butter was bad for dogs, or maybe that’s chocolate… anyways…
I don’t know that my perspective was more female than my male counterparts. My perspective is simply… my perspective. It comes from the intersection of who I am, how I grew up, where I’m from, how my parents treated me, the significant others I’ve chosen, etc. And also what I wanted to talk about at that time in my life. My second feature Silent Retreat, which pre-dated the #MeToo movement, was about women being silenced. I wanted to make a film about women standing up and using their voices. And I collaborated with a male, Corey Brown, to make that film. That film was a combination our creative perspectives.
You’ve spent a great deal of time undertaking “shadowing mentorships” from Jeff Woolnough on SyFy’s The Expanse, Erik Canuel, producing director on CBS’ Ransom, Peter DeLuise on Freeform’s Shadowhunters and most recently, the highly-regarded powerhouse – Nancy Meyers on the “Walmart Box” Oscars® commercial. How has this benefited you as a story-teller as well as working with actors? This career is all about learning. I think life is about learning. I am so grateful for having been given the opportunities to watch these talented, experienced directors work. Everyone has a different style and approach, and in my own directing, I get to take tidbits from each shadowing experience to create my own process. I’m a person who makes a lot of lists, so I literally write down my process and anytime I learn something new from one of my mentors, I add it to my list. Being a director, I don’t get to practice my craft every day, so these lists help me remember what I’ve learned for when I do have the chance to get on set and work the directing muscle. Also, I practice working with actors to implement what I’ve learned. I work actors on their auditions, break down the beats, give them direction and help shape a performance.You have also worked on more family-friendly projects like Meeting Mommy starring Simu Liu (Marvel’s latest superhero Shang-Chi) and have been developing diverse and inclusive projects – what are your immediate goals and/or future projects? Layered, vulnerable dramas that are heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time, with a sprinkle of comedy is where my natural intuition lies. I only started writing about 4 years ago, when I moved to Los Angeles. I asked myself, would I rather go through the pain of reading scripts or the pain of writing scripts. And I just found that people weren’t writing the kinds of stories that I wanted to tell. So I took on the pain of writing! And I’m glad, because it has been a way for me to explore my own voice I have been developing more stories that star Asian characters and have taken a deep look within myself to put my truth onto the page. I want to make films that give a voice to under-represented communities, not because it’s the fad right now, but because it breaks my heart that someone can hate or commit violence against someone else just because they are different. I will never run for president, so this is my way of reaching people, to touch, unite and inspire them and create powerful change in our culture. I want to tell stories that resonate deeply with audiences and unforgettably pierce their hearts.
Immediate goals are to secure financing for my scripts IDOL, a music biopic about William Hung (from American Idol – see below) and GOOD CHANCE (starring Kheng Tan Hua from Crazy Rich Asians) which was on the 2020 Black List.You and your husband Mark own a number of condos that you operate as AirBnBs, plus you’ve previously worked as a piano teacher and an experiential marketer….is there anything else you want to try, apart from making movies? No. Film is my life. I will not retire from this career. All the other things I’ve done in my life were side gigs, which allowed me the freedom and time to make my films. I took part-time flexible jobs so that I never had to ask for vacation or permission to make my films. When I was on set, I would just tell them that I couldn’t work that month. I have a crazy resume, but it has always been towards one goal: being a filmmaker.
Any advice you’d like to offer to aspiring filmmakers, especial women, and on the various career paths they can take to achieve success, life balance and happiness? Honestly, I’m not great at life balance. I definitely focus on career too much and am working on finding balance myself. I find that the scripts and movies that I’ve made that resonate with people the most are the ones where I dig into myself and tell my truth. I encourage all of you to take the time to sit with yourself. Think about why is it you want to make this film, what do you want to say with it, how do you want the audience to feel when they walk out? And make sure that every scene wraps around that nugget. When you put something of yourself on the page, it shines through. Those are the films that pierce people’s hearts and will help you take the next step in your career. It can be slow and long, or it can be a quick rise to the top. But never give up if telling stories through this medium is really what you want to do.Thanks for sharing your insights and advice, Tricia, and I can’t wait to see how your script faired at TIFF this year. Looking forward to seeing Idol when it hits cinema screens and the festival circuit. You can all follow Tricia on all her social media platforms linked on her website: www.tricialeedirector.com
Thanks to friend and filmmaker NOEMI WEIS, I was invited to attend the “Toronto Eco 2017” presentations this afternoon taking place during the massive Toronto Int’l Film Festival. Noemi was asked to sit on a panel of women filmmakers talking about their experiences getting films made and just getting the gigs themselves. Pictured above from L to R:Kate Perotti (Edendale Pictures), Blythe Frank (Middle Kid Inc.), Nancy Puetz (Int’l Women in Film + Tennessee chapter President ), moderator and host of Toronto Eco 2017 Hal “Corky”Kessler (Deutsch, Levy & Engel/Exec. Producer of numerous box office hits), then Christin Baker (award-wining director & Emmy-nom’d producer) and award-winning filmmaker Noemi Weis (Filmblanc)
Sitting in such prestigious company, I found it fascinating hearing the opinions of each filmmaker as she shared the challenges experienced and triumphs to be celebrated working in a male-dominated industry where women are constantly forced to demand equality both on-screen and behind the camera. The small but attentive audience contributed well-targeted questions and had Corky not reminded us of time-constraints, I’m sure we could have continued for another hour.
Christin Baker (L) with Noemi Weis (R)
Following this panel was an interesting informal “pitch” panel featuring 2 Toronto-based established filmmakers (Coral Aiken & Hannah Cheesman), who were seeking script development $s for their new project that will definitely appeal to the young adult/millennial audiences. Moderated again by Corky, the panel featured Noemi and Strath Hamilton, CEO of TriCoast Worldwide distribution company, as well as a representative from the Italian film distribution industry (apologies, I did not get his name as he was not introduced).As Coral and Hannah made the pitch, I could already “see” their film and thought about how perfectly suited it was for the massive int’l genre film fest/cos-play/Fan expo crowd and I already know there are number of elements with which I can help them (Laura Rock, be prepared for a phone call!).After this panel concluded with a rousing round of applause, several of the panelists gathered for some group photos…
(LtoR) Coral, Strath, Hannah & Corky
Below, director/screen writer Katia Cafe-Febrissy (L) with Barrister & Solicitor Terry Markus, Noemi and director/writer/producer Nikki Cole getting chummy after the event.Thanks to Noemi for the invite, and thanks to all the participants for giving me an afternoon of intense filmmaking insider views and shared experiences.
To watch these videotaped panels, log on to: www.torontoeco.tv
Yesterday, Nollywood’s finest converged on the TIFF Bell Lightbox – HQ for the annual Toronto Int’l film Festival – where a panel of filmmakers representing Nigeria’s sizzling movie industry spoke about their films being showcased at TIFF this year, as well as the challenges involved in attracting international audiences and distributors.Award-winning writer~director~producer and actor, Omoni Oboli, arrived for her official portrait and a digital interview prior to joining her panel colleagues. Here she’s greeted by event security – 2 of Toronto’s finest – and she couldn’t resists grabbing a quick selfie!She was then escorted into the studio & green room for her official portrait.. Below,I caught her coming out of the photo booth…can’t wait to see the gorgeous portrait on the TIFF website.She met up with the other panelists (below) before being led into the studio that was packed with international film journalists and news outlets!
Don Omope of FilmOne prods/Distribs.
Naz Onuzo of Inkblot Prods. & Niyi Akinmolayan of The Arbitration film
Olumide Iyanda
Moderated by TIFF creative director Cameron Bailey, the panel introduced themselves and their films, then took questions from the media. I was able to grab a few screen-caps via the green room monitor, as did other publicists.
After the press conference, the filmmakers enjoyed an ad hoc networking session in the greenroom where they were greeted by Toronto’s favourite son of Nigeria Masai Ujiri – the President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors basketball team. Here Omoni spent some time with Mr. Ujiri sharing tweets and Instagram posts.We managed to grab a quick interview for Omoni with CBC Television (Canada’s national broadcaster)Then more friends to greet and important contacts to be made!Thank you to all the friendly and professional staff and volunteers who guided Omoni and myself thru the press conference process. TIFF is truly a world-class festival that treats its guests with such warmth and respect.
Last night, Nollywood filmmaker and superstar OMONI OBOLI presented her dark romantic comedy OKAFOR’S LAW at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival with a stunning red carpet event full of talent, glamour and sparkle! The packed house was vocal in their approval and enjoyment of the film – you haven’t been to the movies until you’ve shared a theatre with Nigerian film fans…they responded loudly to all the onscreen action with laughter, applause and gasps. The Toronto crowd loved the film, adored their actors and weren’t afraid to show it. As soon as Omoni stepped out of her car (below), a cheer went up from the line-up of eager fans who had been waiting hours to see their idols.These adorable young fans (above) were first in line when I arrived earlier at the Isabel Bader Theatre and they were thrilled to bits when Omoni came over to say hi and take selfies with them.Next to arrive was the stunning Ufuoma McDermott (above), looking extra sparkly in a long blue gown (scroll down to see how glam she looked on the red carpet). And then the big man himself arrived, Richard Mofe-Damijo or RMD as he’s known by his fans.Above, Richard joins Omoni (right), along with another stunning Nollywood VIP guest on the red carpet. And below, Omoni walks the red carpet for her photo call with the world’s media, including several Toronto-based Nigerian and African media outlets.Below, Ufuoma proves that this “baby got back” showing off her fantastic physique! We’re thinking she would be ideal to portray Serena Williams in her bio-pic….hopefully someone is writing the script now!The red carpet got very crowded with Omoni’s cast & crew, and many of the Nollywood filmmakers and actors participating in TIFF’s “City to City” program showed up to support her film.Prior to the screening, the always charming Cameron Bailey, TIFF’s Creative Director, introduced Omoni and her cast and crew to the stage (below)….
Photo courtesy of Mo Vernie
…then afterwards, everyone came out on stage to rousing applause and cheers, and for a fun Q&A with the audience (below)Then outside for lots more interviews and photo opps with the fans!Above, brilliant cinematographer Yinka Edwards was grabbed for a few words with TV news cameras – Yinka has 3 films participating in TIFF…wow! And he is such a humble man…I’m sure he was a little embarrassed by all the applause and media kudos. Bravo, Yinka, well done.
Omoni joined the throngs of fans outside for more selfies and socializing, meeting up with old friends and even a few relatives…Here are a few more fun pics from last night, including Patricia Bebia Mawa of AfroGlobal TV/Silvertrust Media (below)… …and Vivianne Collins who hosted the official Red Carpet TV for Okafor’s Law – here I caught her setting up before all the stars arrived. Ufuoma hung out with writer/director Lonzo Nzekwe, sharing social media posts (below)…And of course…it’s all about the shoes, ladies, right?! Check out this sparkly gold pair worn by Tomi Adeoye, production manager for the film.So you have just 2 more opportunities to check out this fun movie during TIFF: Wednesday night Sept.14 at 8:45pm & Sunday Sept.18 at noon, both at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto. All details & ticket sales can be found at www.tiff.net
Follow Omoni and her cast via Facebook.com/OkaforsLaw
For this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 8-18), the focus for their City-to-City program is Lagos, Nigeria – home to “Nollywood” filmmaking. One of the films being featured is 76 helmed by the multi award-winning director Izu Ojukwo, and starring Ramsey Nouah, Rita Dominic, Chidi Mokeme, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Memry Savanhu and Daniel Kanayo Daniel.76 is a love story that centers around the challenges women married to men in the armed forces go through when their husbands are captured in war. The 76 story is told using the backdrop of the Nigerian 1976 Dimka’s coup. The movie isn’t about a botched coup attempt but is clearly about the women who are courageous enough to bear a soldier’s last name. It is visually pure, emotionally engaging, intellectually stimulating and humorously therapeutic.
Six years after the Nigerian civil war, Dewa (Ramsey Nouah) a young officer from the middle belt gets entangled in a romantic relationship with Suzy (Rita Dominic) a young lady from the southeastern part of Nigeria. Their budding romance was almost ruptured by the overwhelming strains of tribalism. Now heavily pregnant, her world comes crumbling when news of her husband’s involvement in a botched coup attempt hits the headlines.You can check out the official preview trailer here:
Visit the official TIFF website for tickets, screening times and additional information on the City-to-City “Nollywood” programme
The reigning queen of the Nigerian film industry – known as “Nollywood” – OMONI OBOLI is bringing her latest film OKAFOR’S LAW to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival next month. The multi award-winning director, writer, producer and actor will enjoy a world premiere red-carpet screening for her romantic comedy on Monday Sept. 12th at 8:45pm at the Isabel Bader Theatre located in Yorkville where TIFF was first founded. Omoni’s hoping this will be the start of N. American audiences and studios getting to know her and her work. Hollywood has been complaining loudly about the lack of opportunities for women directors, especially women of colour but Omoni has been making her own opportunities in Nigeria; her previous 6 films have raked in over a quarter billion Naira (Nigerian currency) at the box office. Omoni began her career with her first movie role in ‘Bitter Encounter’ (1996) then in ‘Shame’. She then went on to play the lead female character in three major movies; ‘Not My Will’, ‘Destined To Die’ and ‘Another Campus Tale.’ She took time away from the biz to complete her university education and get married but after ten years, cinema called her back.
Since then, Omoni has shot to prominence as the class act of Nollywood because of her professional demeanour and strong work ethics. Playing lead roles in blockbusters like ‘The Figurine,’ ‘Anchor Baby’, ‘Being Mrs Elliott’, ‘Feathered Dreams’ and Mo Abudu’s ‘Fifty’ has set her apart as one who knows how to choose good screenplays. She has also set the bar higher by being the first actress from Nollywood to bag such international awards as Best Actress in two international festivals in the same year (2010) – the Harlem International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Movie Awards for her lead role in the movie, ‘Anchor Baby’. She’s pictured below with castmate, the late Sam Sarpong (L) and Anchor Baby director Lonzo Nzekwe (R) at the Toronto premiere.Omoni has won and also been nominated for several other awards, both locally and internationally. The movie, ‘Anchor Baby’ currently has the record for the longest running African movie in the UK cinema for the year 2011 and the longest running Nigerian movie in the UK cinemas in history. She wrote, directed, produced and starred in the movie, ‘Being Mrs Elliott’ which happened to be her directorial debut. ‘Being Mrs Elliott’ was chosen as the opening movie at the 2014 edition of the ‘Nollywood Week in Paris’, and it is the first Nigerian movie to be screened at the new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, ASO Rock. Her movie ‘The First Lady’ which recently screened at The Nollywood Week Festival in Paris won the highly coveted ‘Audience Choice Award’ which is the only award at the festival. Her recent ‘Wives On Strike’ garnered great reviews from both fans and critics and was hailed as the comedy of the year.
Director’s Statement:The idea for Okafor’s Law came on a fine evening during dinner and drinks with friends. I happened to be the only woman in the group and the conversation was very ‘male’ in tone and subject. Somehow, we started talking about our exes and how most guys felt they could always go back and have sex with their old girlfriends even after a relationship had long ended. It was apparently a belief widely known in Nigeria as ‘Okafor’s Law’ It was a very interesting conversation and emotions ran high. At a point, one of my friends turned to me and said ‘Omoni you are a filmmaker. Why don’t you make a movie about Okafor’s Law’. I looked at him and said ‘why not?’ The idea was born! I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I talked back and forth with those friends, getting all their thoughts on the subject. I initially contacted a writer because I was busy with other projects, and we talked about the story. Somehow, I never got a script from him so a couple of months later, I decided to write my story myself. Apart from the main theme of ‘Okafor’s Law’, the movie takes us through a journey of love, passion, infidelity, violence and forgiveness. It’s also laced with humour which is a common thread in my movies. I love to take people into the world of my movies and make them forget for almost two hours, their own lives. Omoni Oboli, 2016FILM SYNOPSIS: Chuks (aka Terminator) is an ardent player with the ladies. He enjoys the attention of women, including girlfriends from the past. He believes that once a man has had a woman, he forever has access to her. When challenged by his friends to see if he can prove the universality of that theory with three ex-girlfriends from his school days within 21 days, he accepts it. Turning on his best charm he sets off to try and prove himself, but his quest brings him to three women, Ifeoma (Fifi), Kemi and Ejiro, whose situations in life have changed drastically since school days. This challenge of their various new statuses makes his quest to win the bet more and more insurmountable as he tries to prove the immutability of the age-old law, OKAFOR’S Law.
Okafor’s Lawalso stars African screen favourites Blossom Chukwujekwu, Ufuoma McDermott, Toyin Aimakhu, Ken Erics, Gabriel Afolayan and the “George Clooney of Nollywood” Richard Mofe-Damijo (below)You can find out more about Okafor’s Law from the official TIFF website where you can also purchase screening ticketswww.tiff.net/tiff/Look for the special City to City programme which features Lagos and the talented Nigerian filmmakers who call that city home.
“More more more…how’d ya like it, how’d like it?” Only readers familiar with the disco era will probably get that….but it was still the case last night when Toronto’s fabulous film folks walked the red carpet at the ACTRA Toronto TIFF party held at the HangLoose Media studios…and they brought more more more glamour and fabulosity!
Was great to catch up with my old friend David Gale, pictured above with Ferne Downey and Theresa Tova who had some fun with Kate Wheeler of What She Said web radio who interviewed them on their way inside (below). Meet the multi award-winning Helena-Alexis Seymour, 2 time Best Actress winner (F.A.B.I.O) and Best Actress nominee at the Black Canadian Awards (below).And here’s the beautiful, elegant Clara Pasieka (below) who is also Chair of the Young Emerging Actors Assembly (YEAA).Canadian acting royalty was in the house…yes, that’s Tantoo Cardinal, award-winning actor, activist and recipient of the Order of Canada! Ms. Cardinal was just honored with the 2015 ACTRA Award of ExcellenceI love it when actors get “into it” during photo calls – gives us all something to shoot and play with. And I soon discovered the shoes! My inner Carrie Bradshaw freaked out over some of the sexy footwear and even the guys brought it.Even the wristwear was pretty cool….I want that one!Recent imports from LA, here’s writer/director Dan Spurgeon (below, left), and his partner, producer Drew Blakeman (right) who were chatting up the actors about their award-winning play, The Baby, which is set to open here in Toronto next month. http://thebabyliveonstage.com/ Here’s internationally renowned flautist, composer and film scorer Ron Korb and his beautiful wife & photographer Jade.One of my favourite photo opps for the actors was this “selfie station” (below), What a great idea.I love this photo (below) ….two of my fave party VIPs, ACTRA’s PR Officer Karen Woolridge (left) and Safiya Ricketts (right) who’s on the ACTRA Diversity, TAWC and YEAA committees.
Stand-up comedians/actors Ali Hassan & Dave Merhege (below) shared a few laughs with us.One of the hardest working men in Toronto showbiz is Bobby DelRio, actor, writer, director, handsome dude about town…you name it, Bobby does it!
Randi & Barrie Shelson put in an appearance
The stunning blonde in the firetruck red gown (below right) is Christine Jenna Cilano, Founder/CEO of Bella Life Model Agency of Boston (she whispered to me that she may be opening a Toronto office) who arrived with a cool entourage that included local club entrepreneur David Laxton (at left), musician Rasta Phill, model Lauren Marx and CEO of Madflower Creative, Nico Bacigalupo.Here’s more ACTRA members enjoying themselves, nice and relaxed, having fun and working the red carpet photo opps.
Ta-daaah! That’s all I can say about this lovely, funny volunteer who helped keep our energy up while working the red carpet for 3hrs.Below, Raj Girn, publisher of Anokhi Media, one of the night’s sponsors, sparkled and shimmered. I remember attending the launch party for her successful luxury magazine, Anokhi Vibe, several years ago and I’m so happy for her success in such a tough market.More fun, fabulous party people….Now…a big thank-you to to all the event sponsors and partners for making the soiree so successful.
And congratulations to all the amazing volunteers who worked so hard to pull off such a fun, glamorous event. Bravo, and a big standing O to you all!
The war cry last night was “ACTRA Gets Loose”! And judging by all the happy smiling faces on the glammed-up guests, all members of Toronto’s acting elite and film industry pro’s had a blast at the Hangloose Media Studios!
My photographer, Gabriella Luchetta, and I arrived early to check out the studios and Gabs made a bee-line for the yummy candy buffet…We were introduced to the charming Fode Bangoura (below), ACTRA member and our “minder” for the night. Isn’t he handsome?I, of course, had to try making an entrance on the red carpet prior to all the celebs….Organized by 3 groups within the ACTRA organization (Young Emerging Actors Assembly, Diversity and Toronto ACTRA Women’s Committee), my access to the party was thanks to Sarena Parmar (below) who Gabs snapped just before she disappeared to change into her party gear.First to arrive was Art Hindle, one of Canada’s great film and TV actors and, who I’m slightly embarrassed to admit, was one of my “crushes” in the 80’s when he starred in the hit TV series, E.N.G. Here he is (below) with his lovely wife Brooke, and the hosts of SiriusXM’s What She Said, Kate Wheeler and Christine Bentley (bottom pic)Then Kate grabbed Art for a quick interview (below)…And then it all started – so many beautiful ladies in their finest party frocks…so many handsome men all spit’n’polished ready for their close-ups.
Lots of film casts attend en masse like the actors from Beeba Boys (below)
And the stunning Amanda S (below) set all hearts a-flutter in this sexy red gown…Here is the dashing trio of Jack Newman, Julian Richings & John Nelles – betcha you’ve seen their faces in numerous films and TV spots….now you know their names!Cute-as-a-button actor Ally Williams (below) arrived in this gorgeous yellow silk number, and she even brought her dress designer, Azalea Yang, with her.
I got a chance to meet other media reps working the red carpet – here’s Ruzanna of ForFilmsSake.comAnd here I meet actor Shanti Dhore and her beautiful daughter Leila who is also an actor.And the young lady who owns every TIFF red carpet these days…the amazing and talented actor/producer Katie Boland (below)
I even managed to find a fan of my own, too!Here’s Cristina Rosato with her gorgeous date…And here’s super elegant Talia Schlanger wearing a dress by Hilary Macmillan and necklace by Atelier Bymm Actor Simu Liu (Omega, Nikita) brought his pretty date and promoted his upcoming TV series “Blood and Water”Lots more pics to post, so check back later for Pt. II. In the interim, am sending out a big thanks to the ladies of 20Twenty Artistry for keeping us all pretty and fresh faced throughout the night.
The fans are lining up outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (above) in hopes of spying visiting celebs during the Toronto Int’l Film Festival (TIFF) – the annual high holidays for the movie industry.
Got a great start to my TIFF’ing this year…I got to visit the media hospitality suites in the Hotel Intercontinental on Front St West and my first stop was the www.OutThereWithMelissa.com suite, hosted by the gorgeous, friendly MELISSA DIMARCO (yes, she’s even prettier in person).
Her team of hosts (below) welcomed me to the suite and I had fun with the photo wall….can’t wait to see how “fabulous” they made me look – only hope their Photoshop program was working overtime..LOL!
Downstairs, there was lots of schmoozing going on, as well as tons of nibblies and sponsor drinkies….
…and more networking opps with industry folks like Dixon and Bruce (below)and I caught these two fellas below mid-chew (sorry)…. LOLYoung ACTRA party organizer Sarena Parmar (below right) was working the room like a pro!…and here she is again with Rodger Edralin of Napintas Films (centre) and one of the numerous casting guys (left) in town over the next 10 days.Here are more of Melissa’s great team of room hosts and her official photographer (below right) who looks quite a bit like Chrissy Teigen, don’t you think?
Sadly I left the party a bit too early as I missed fellow countryman and Oscar-winner, Geoffrey Rush (below with Melissa )Aussie star Rush is famous for The King’s Speech and numerous other films but I will always remember him for his award-winning portrayal of pianist David Helfgott in the movie SHINE which holds a special place in my heart. It’s based in my home town of Perth, Western Australia, and I remember seeing the real David play in the piano bar of the Parmelia Hotel which I frequented after work in the early 70’s (I was under-age to drink booze but kids and dogs were allowed in hotel bars in Oz – civilized or what, eh?). G’day, Geoffrey…if you need any Vegemite or Lamingtons, I got a stash here!
As I left the suites I ran into the adorable and super talented Katie Boland who was making her exit with her hands full of goodie bags. Such a pretty dress!So a really big thanks to Melissa and the Out There with Melissa DiMarco gang, and a special thank you to Caron Nightingale, Director of Sales for APMCanada (one of the suite’s sponsors), who kindly extended the invitation to me. Check out what APM does here: http://www.apmmusic.com/
I’m looking fwd to visiting the ladies of Sirius XM’s What She Said next week so check back for more TIFF news.
In the years since I worked with her, Tricia has become an accomplished AAPI female filmmaker with the ability to blend heart-warming and heart-breaking stories with uplifting humor has earned her recognition on the 2020 and 2021 Black List. As a fellow of SONY’s Diverse TV Writers Program, Tricia’s films explore themes of belonging, voicelessness, and shared humanity. Her feature script, Good Chance has received numerous accolades, including being a top 50 finalist in The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, winning the grand prize at Francis Ford Coppola‘s Zoetrope Screenplay Competition, a top 14 finalist Universal Studios Writers Program, on the CAPE List and being selected for the prestigious Producers Guild of America Power of Diversity Master Workshop and The Writers Lab (supported by Meryl Streep & Nicole Kidman). 
A CDDP Commercial Director finalist, Tricia’s impressive directing credits include working with top talent such as Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives fame, Simu Liu (star of Shang-Chi ,Canada’s famed tv comedy Kim’s Convenience and most recently Barbie), Ingrid Rogers (Bosch), and James Kyson (Heroes). She has written a pilot for and will be a showrunner of the animated anthology A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts produced by 108 Media. She has directed 3 award-winning features including Blood Hunters which sold to Hulu and was presented in Cannes by Frontieres, and Silent Retreat, which was theatrically released across Canada and sold to NBC Universal’s Chiller Network.
I invited Tricia to join me for this “Live from the pool deck” celebrity blog so I’ll let her tell you all about her career and her latest projects….
Thanks for sharing your insights and advice, Tricia, and I can’t wait to see how your script faired at TIFF this year. Looking forward to seeing Idol when it hits cinema screens and the festival circuit. You can all follow Tricia on all her social media platforms linked on her website: 
