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Film festivals: TIFF is here, and VIFF is coming
It’s that time of year again in Toronto, when King Street is overtaken by red carpets and celebrity watchers try to catch a glimpse of – and maybe a selfie with – the stars. Did we mention there are movies?
You can go here for our interactive guide to this year’s TIFF offerings, with new reviews added throughout the festival.
The documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band is tonight’s opening gala presentation. Here’s more on the film, and this is our interview with the Canadian-born classic-rock legend.
Gender imbalance has long persisted in the film industry. Here’s how TIFF is trying to address that.
Here’s a guide to finding the festival’s most daring and demanding films.
In Vancouver, VIFF has unveiled its complete slate, including Atom Egoyan’s Guest of Honour as the opening-night selection. Of the 90 Canadian features and shorts, 48 were made by female directors and nearly 20 per cent by Indigenous directors. The B.C. Spotlight Gala will feature the world premiere of Anthony Shim’s Daughter, a Vancouver-set story about a grieving father.
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Canadian teen tennis phenom Bianca Andreescu is headed to the U.S. Open semi-finals
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., is now just one win away from playing for a Grand Slam title after a three-set comeback victory last night. Andreescu beat Belgian Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the spotlight of a humid Arthur Ashe Stadium. (Bugs swarming the court had to be swatted away before serves.)
Andreescu is coming off a tournament victory in Toronto, when she took home the Rogers Cup after Serena Williams had to cut short the final with a back injury.
The semi-final, which pits the 15 seed Andreescu against 13 seed Swiss Belinda Bencic, is on just after 8 p.m. ET tonight.
In Britain, Boris Johnson lost his first bid at a snap election as recession fears build
Despite two days of setbacks, the Tory Prime Minister is sticking to his view that an early election should be held on Oct. 15.
What happened: MPs passed legislation that would force Johnson to seek a three-month extension if he doesn’t secure an exit deal, thwarting his vow to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without an agreement. Johnson subsequently failed to secure two-thirds support in his attempt to call an early election for Oct. 15.
What could come next: Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said that he would back an election once the no-deal bill gains royal assent, which could happen as soon as Friday. But it’s not clear whether Corbyn would agree to the Oct. 15 date, since there is concern Johnson could revoke the no-deal legislation if the Tories win a majority government before Oct. 31.
Confused about all the Brexit developments? We have an explainer that breaks it all down.
Eric Reguly writes on the double whammy of a looming Brexit amid signs Britain could be headed toward a recession: “The inevitable pain of Brexit would only be aggravated by the broader economic pain. Put the two together and you have a recipe for an almighty British downturn and little money to reverse it.”
What Canada’s new Beijing ambassador appointment could mean for relations with China
After months without a top Canadian diplomat in China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named international business consultant Dominic Barton to the post. Barton’s resume includes a nine-year stint as a head of McKinsey & Company as well as chairing Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s economic advisory council. Barton also has extensive ties to China, most recently as board chair of a Canadian mining company partly owned by a Chinese fund.
But critics are raising concerns about his China ties and lack of diplomatic experience while two Canadians remain detained in Beijing. And when Barton was at McKinsey last year, the firm was criticized for holding a retreat just six kilometres from a Chinese detention camp for ethnic Muslims.
For its part, China showed no sign of a changed tone on Thursday, urging Canada to “reflect on its mistakes” and immediately release Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei executive whose arrest in Vancouver last December set in motion a series of hostile actions, including the arrest in China of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Trans Mountain challenge can proceed: The Federal Court of Appeal says a judicial review must now assess whether Ottawa fulfilled its duty to consult with Indigenous communities. The hearing will need to determine whether there are grounds to overturn the pipeline project for a second time.
Toronto and Vancouver real estate: Home sales rose in both markets last month, climbing 13 per cent in the Toronto area and 15.7 per cent compared with August of 2018. But while Toronto prices increased 3.6 per cent, Vancouver’s benchmark price dropped 8.3 per cent.
MORNING MARKETS
European stocks hit one-month highs on news of U.S.-China trade talks: European shares rose to fresh one-month highs and safe-haven assets such as gold and the yen fell after news of U.S.-China talks set for early October raised hopes of a de-escalation in their trade war. China’s Commerce Ministry said on Thursday its trade team would consult with their U.S. counterparts in mid-September in preparation for negotiations in early October, hinting at progress in reducing trade friction. Tokyo’s Nikkei climbed 2.1 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite rose 1 per cent, though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost out marginally. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5 per cent by about 4:30 a.m. ET, but Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by more than 0.8 per cent. New York futures were up. The Canadian dollar was above 75.5 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
For Quebeckers, it’s anything but the NDP
Konrad Yakabuski: “There is probably not much Mr. Singh nor the NDP can do now to avoid a disaster in the province in next month’s federal election. None of the party’s 14 remaining seats in Quebec are safe. And it will take more than a gutsy advertising campaign, such as the one released this week that opens with Mr. Singh sans turban, to persuade Quebeckers to give the NDP another look.”
Jim Gaffigan and Dave Chappelle: Choose your comedy poison sweet or toxic
John Doyle: “I draw your attention to two recent [Netflix] arrivals. One is very pleasant, funny and charming in an old-school way. And the other is numbskull-ranting that many of you may find cutting edge and refreshing, but others will find so tediously coarse that they will run from the room seeking medication.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
The rising interest rate scare is over – now lower rates are the big threat to your finances
In the wake of the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold its key rate at 1.75 per cent, Rob Carrick says it’s time to prepare for the dangers of a lower rate world: “Borrowing would be cheap, but job and wage security suffers,” he writes, adding that “avoiding higher rates isn’t a clear win in today’s world because it suggests worsening economic conditions.”
MOMENT IN TIME
Mother Teresa dies
(Keystone Features/Getty Images)Keystone Features/Getty Images)
Sept. 5, 1997: Carried by soldiers, her coffin was draped with the white, green and saffron flag of India. Nearly half a century earlier, Mother Teresa had started the Missionaries of Charity congregation of nuns who dedicated their lives to serving the poor. Born in Macedonia to Albanian parents in 1910, she was baptized as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She joined the Sisters of Loreto order by 18 and adopted the name Sister Mary Teresa after the French Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. She travelled to Calcutta (today’s Kolkata) to teach at a girls’ school run by the order for poor Bengali families. While on a train in 1946, she received a “call within a call” to serve Calcutta’s poor and sick. She left her convent and created a hospice and started an open-air school. In four years, she established a new order known as the Missionaries of Charity who served the poor, elderly, orphans and lepers. Her work earned her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. After years of declining health, she died of heart failure in the same city she’d been dedicated to serving. Half the seats at her funeral were for those she served, who knew her simply as “Mother.” – Maria Iqbal
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