Sometimes, a celebrity will wear a flashy gown that makes them delightfully easy to track through a party. In Jake Gyllenhaals case, he decided to flaunt a massive, near Saint Nicholas-worthy beard. Paired with a colbat suit, crimson tie and slicked back hair, the star mingled with co-star Naomi Watts, directors Denis Villenuve and Jeane-Marc Valee, producer Jason Reitman, and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner at Grey Goose’s Demolition after party at Patria. Spanish tapas circled the room, fizzy vodka cocktails got guests buzzing, and Gyllenhaal was spotted partaking in a good ol round of shots.
Over at the historical Campbell Museum on Queen one of those buildings everyone walks by at least once a week, but never goes inside indie Canadian film distributor Mongrel Media threw the first of many planned “Mongrel House” bashes this TIFF. A mix of film industry insiders and media chowed down on dumplings and free booze, which primed them for an impromptu karaoke session by Canadian design duo Dsquared. They rocked out to ABBA and Elton John while onlookers rocked out to them. Also in attendance were Geoffrey Rush, Odessa Young, and a large portion of the cast of Beeba Boys.
Not officially a TIFF event, but worth a mention not least of all because it featured an edible doughnut wall, was Toronto Lifes annual Best Dressed party at the Trump Hotel. The shindig toasts the magazines new issue that features 30 of the citys most sartorially accomplished. Among the evenings most talked about picks? None other than Jian Ghomeshis lawyer, Marie Henein. We spotted several Canadian starlets, including Natalie Brown and Meghan Heffern dressed to the nines among the social scenes usual suspects. We also heard the most depressing tidbit of the night: apparently, several wannabes actually tried to bribe their way into the festivities and were shut down. It doesnt get much more embarrassing than that.
