TIFF opens with Ryan Reynold’s 'John Candy: I Like Me'

The Toronto International Film Festival kicked off its 50th edition on Thursday evening with the world premiere of John Candy: I Like Me, a documentary that celebrates the life and career of the titular funnyman, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 43.

Amazon will be releasing the documentary on October 10.

Candy was a local hero who grew up in Toronto before his breakout on the SCTV sketch comedy series in 1976.

He eventually became one of the most popular comedy stars of his generation, thanks to such films as Stripes, Splash, Spaceballs, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck and Cool Runnings. Actor Ryan Reynolds, who hails from Vancouver and produced the documentary, also attended the Toronto Film Festival’s opening night on Thursday.

“I grew up here. SCTV was big in my house,” Reynolds said of his introduction to Candy’s work.

“We live in this really curated society in which kids — my own kids, too — they’re terrified to suffer. They’re terrified to experiment and be bad at something really. Perfectionism is like a disease. And you see John going fearlessly, having fun and doing so without consequence or penalty. It was just a reminder to allow that in more as you go,” added Reynolds.

According to the outlet, Reynolds wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a Canadian maple leaf on the opening night and was joined onstage by the film’s director, Colin Hanks, whose father, Tom Hanks, worked with Candy on Splash.

Candy’s two children, Jennifer and Christopher, also attended the screening of the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The ongoing 50th Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, will run till September 14.

Bharat Pavilion inaugurated

The Bharat Pavilion has been inaugurated at TIFF, marking it’s debut in North America. It was inaugurated by Ajay Nagabhushan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, and Kapidhwaja Pratap Singh, Acting Consul General of India in Toronto, in the presence of TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey. This year’s Bharat Pavilion focuses on WAVES Bazaar.

“For the very first time, India is being represented at TIFF by a delegation comprising solely of women-led film projects. From over 200 applications, six outstanding projects were selected by a jury through the WAVES Bazaar platform,” Nagabhushan said. The six women filmmakers are Arshaly Jose (A Dandelion’s Dream), Deepa Bhatia (Rabbit Hole), Katyayani Kumar (Sons of The River), Madhumita Sundararaman (The Guest House), Paromita Dhar (Ulta) and Pramati Anand (A Late Autumn Dream). — PTI