Film reviews, press conference, red carpet, and interviews from the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Click the films below to see video, film stills, written content and more. Watch our TIFF2014 Playlist (embedded below) for the hottest red carpets and interviews. Follow us @myetvmedia for live updates!

BIRDMAN (OR THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) Directed by ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU, starring Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts.

Birdman, IÑÁRRITU’s black comedy, lives up to pre festival film buzz. Powerful, soul searching performances from the all star cast keep the emotional connection intense and immediate. Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton), the protagonist is a washed up, older actor who once played a winged superhero called Birdman. Sounding familiar? Keaton certainly takes us on a wild ride with ‘Birdman’ palpably present right from the opening scenes. Michael Keaton is unquestionably the only actor who could have convincingly carried this role and director Alejandro IÑÁRRITU admits it. After all, who epitomized the masked crusader, placing Hollywood’s Batman on an international pedestal the way a younger Michael Keaton did with Tim Burton’s 1989 adaptation of the Marvel classic. The big question: ‘Is Keaton portraying something imaginary or is this much closer to home?’ He emphatically denies that is the case.

Riggan has an accomplice – a voice in his head that is constantly telling him things that undermine reality and convince him that a much more grandiose existence was and could be his. This voice provokes him to do things that are quite mad and excessive. It drives him out of control like a drug addiction or alcoholism might. The play within a play is brilliantly executed. Keaton as Riggan plays an aging actor, attempting to confront his demons and resuscitate his identity as an someone of substance and significance in New York City. The New York Times critic scoffs at his ‘ignorance’ in assuming that because he was a Hollywood actor he can be a success on Broadway. She heartlessly promises to destroy him with a blistering review which she will write even without seeing the play. He knows the truth is she can. The audience and the critics are looked upon throughout the movie as organisms to be conditionally loved or hated.

“I am terrified to death, as the rest of us are, that I don’t matter”. “This film represents my own battle against ego”.

Director ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU

New York City’s Broadway theatre scene is perfect for these larger than life real backstage dramas that delve into these universal and personal angsts. Keeping our ego, ‘Birdman’, in check is more difficult for some than others. IÑÁRRITU has ingeniously used Shakespearean theatre techniques to remind us of this. Each of IÑÁRRITU’s characters examines the question of their significance, and each is constantly trying to reaffirm the extent to which they are loved and if they are loved at all. Riggan’s daughter is played with total conviction by Emma Stone. She is a young woman who feels keenly the pain of an absent father who sacrificed family life for his ambitions. She has resorted to drugs to fill the void, finding some consolation and a means to forgive in a recent stint at rehab. Her mother (Amy Ryan) is estranged from Riggan although she is obviously still deeply connected to him and their daughter. In a poignant scene she discovers yet again what it is about his vulnerability that keeps her love for him alive.

Taken from the 70th Venice International Film Festival  and the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival, here are some of the most memorable moments with celebrities, stars and filmmakers. These films and the filmmakers are already in the lineup of nominees for the upcoming award season or probably will be. Engaging and provocative, these filmmakers have all captured something unique which brings us a little closer to their world and their films.

Best 2013 Moments Stars & Filmmakers

Here are our Best 2013 Moments from the world’s top directors and stars including:

Alfonso Cuaron, Sandra Bullock, Terry Gilliam, James Franco, Tom Hardy, Mia Wasikowska, Steve Coogan, Scarlett Johansson, Steven Frears, Nicolas Cage, George Clooney, Dakota Fanning, Scott Haze, Ron Howard, Aiden Gillen, Chris Hemsworth, Abigail Breslin, Denis Villeneuve, Jake Gyllenhaal, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paolo Sorrentino, Paulina Garcia, Jospeh Gordon-Levitt, Tracy Letts, Taylor Swift, Keanu Reeves, Jesse Eisenberg, Alex Gibney, James Deen, Melanie Thierry, Emory Cohen, Callan McAuliffe and Judi Dench.

The myETVmedia team

Click here for Part 1.

TIFF 2013 received almost 5000 film submissions this year. The TIFF13 Festival will host 146 World Premieres (WP) and films from 70 countries. Here is our list of 30 films which boast filmmakers with a track record of excellence (big names). Gravity premiered at the 70th Venice Film Fest before coming to TIFF. Blue is the Warmest Colour won Cannes Palme d’Or.

Empire of Dirt

Festival – Contemporary World Cinema
World premiere
Director: Peter Stebbings
Language: English

Fri Sept 6 Scotiabank 2 9:45 PM
Sun Sept 8 Scotiabank 14 9:15 AM

Three generations of First Nations women struggle to deal with the demons of their past, in this powerful and affecting drama from actor-turned-director Peter Stebbings (Defendor).

Enemy

Festival – Special Presentation
World Premiere
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Language: English

Sun Sept 8 Ryerson Theatre 6:00 PM
Mon Sept 9 TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 10:30 PM

Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) and Sarah Gadon (Cosmopolis) star in the new film by Academy Award-nominated director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies), a brilliant adaptation of the Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago’s novel The Double.

Fading Gigolo

Festival – Special Presentation
World Premiere
Director: John Turturro
Language: English

Sat Sept 7 Isabel Bader Theatre 9:45 PM
Sun Sept 8 Scotiabank 2 3:45 PM
Sun Sept 15 Scotiabank 1 12:45 PM

Woody Allen plays as bookseller-turned-pimp to John Turturro’s middle-aged neophyte hustler, in actor-writer-director Turturro’s inspired left-field comedy. The premise is as inspired as it is absurd, and Turturro carries it off with his own affecting and surprisingly romantic vision of New York City.

The Fifth Estate

Festival – Gala Presentation
World Premiere
Director: Bill Condon
Language: English

Thurs Sept 5 Visa Screening Room (Elgin) 6:30 PM
Roy Thomson Hall 8:00 PM
Sat Sept 7 Winter Garden Theatre 12:30 PM

Dreamgirls director Bill Condon helms this absorbing dramatization of the rise and fall of Wikileaks and its fascinating founder Julian Assange. The Fifth Estate is a truly 21st-century saga of technology, politics and civic responsibility.

Gravity

Festival – Special Presentation
North American Premiere
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Language: English

Sun Sept 8 Princess of Wales 6:30 PM
Mon Sept 9 Princess of Wales 3:00 PM
Wed Sept 11 Scotiabank 12 9:00 PM
Sun Sept 15 Ryerson Theatre 12:00 PM

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock star in this highly anticipated 3D space thriller from acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También).

Hateship Loveship

Festival – Special Presentation
World Premiere
Director: Liza Johnson
Language: English

Fri Sept 6 Princess of Wales 2:30 PM
Sat Sept 7 Isabel Bader Theatre 12:30 PM
Sat Sept 14 Scotiabank 1 9:45 AM

Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) star in this smart, funny, and moving family drama based on a short story by revered Canadian author Alice Munro.

The Invisible Woman

Festival – Special Presentation
World Premiere
Director: Ralph Fiennes
Language: English

Mon Sept 9 Visa Screening Room (Elgin) 6:00 PM
Tues Sept 10 TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 11:45 AM

Ralph Fiennes directs and stars as Charles Dickens in this opulent period drama about the great novelist’s passionate, years-long secret affair with the young actress Nelly Ternan (Felicity Jones; Like Crazy).

The Love Punch

Festival – Gala Presentation
World Premiere
Director: Joel Hopkins
Language: English

Thursday September 12 Roy Thomson Hall 9:30 PM
Friday September 13 Visa Screening Room (Elgin) 11:00 AM

Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson star in this romantic comedy/heist film as a divorced duo who sets aside their differences to undertake a high-stakes jewel robbery on the Côte d’Azur.

The Lunchbox

Festival – Gala Presentation
North American Premiere
Director: Ritesh Batra
Language: Hindi, English

Sun Sept 8 Roy Thomson Hall 2:00 PM
Mon Sept 9 TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 9:30 AM

In Mumbai, a misdelivered lunchbox brings together two very different people — a neglected housewife (Nimrat Kaur) and a grumpy, solitary widower on the verge of retirement (Bollywood star Irrfan Khan, also appearing at the Festival in Qissa) — in this funny and touching comedy-drama from first-time writer-director Ritesh Batra.

Mandela

Festival – Gala Presentation
World Premiere
Director: Justin Chadwick
Language: English

Sat Sept 7 Roy Thomson Hall 6:00 PM
Sun Sept 8 Princess of Wales 12:00 PM
Fri Sept 13 TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 5:30 PM

Acclaimed British actor Idris Elba (TV’s The Wire) is magnetic as the legendary South African freedom fighter in this rousing adaptation of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.

Christophe Chanel

TIFF 13 is upon us, with almost 5000 submissions the Festival can be overwhelming. The Festival boasts 146 World Premieres (WP) and films from 70 countries. myETVmedia, went through the entire TIFF 13 features and recommends the following selection of documentaries as “MUST SEE”. Beyond the Edge (WP – New Zealand) Director Leanne Pooley (The Topp Twins) employs rarely seen footage, extensive archival interviews and stunning 3D technology to recreate the epic tale of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s conquest of Mt. Everest in 1953.

Friday September 6 TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 at 4:15 PM Sunday September 8 Scotiabank 2 at 9:15 PM Saturday September 14 Scotiabank 2 at 9:00 AM Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story (WP – Canada)

Barry Avrich account of the life of this most unlikely revolutionary of the 1960s counterculture is energetic, iconoclastic and well researched, examining Guccione’s long and audacious career, most notably as publisher of the hugely influential pornographic magazine Penthouse and producer of the porn epic Caligula. Monday September 9 TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 at 6:15 PM Wednesday September 11 Isabel Bader Theatre at 4:45 PM Jodorowsky’s Dune (North American Premiere – USA)

This fascinating documentary explores the genesis of one of cinema’s greatest epics that never was: cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s (El Topo) adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic Dune, whose cast would have included such icons as Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger.

Tuesday September 10 The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema at 8:00 PM Wednesday September 11 Scotiabank 2 at 9:15 PM The Square (WP – Egypt – USA)

This documentary epic is the result of director Jehane Noujaim (Control Room) and her crew’s dogged chronicling of activism, unrest and revolution in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Friday September 6 The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema at 9:15 PM Saturday September 7 Scotiabank 13 at 5:30 PM Friday September 13 The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema at 3:00 PM

The Mayor (Canadian Premiere- Mexico) Spanish

This engrossing documentary introduces us to Mexican millionaire mayor Mauricio Fernandez, a larger-than-life and frequently controversial politician who lords over Latin America’s wealthiest municipality from his eccentrically decorated palace — and has a predilection for taking justice into his own hands.

Tuesday September 10 Scotiabank 14 at 7:00 PM Thursday September 12 Scotiabank 14 at 9:15 PM Saturday September 14 Scotiabank 9 at 11:45 AM Watermark (WP – Canada) Following their triumph with Manufactured Landscapes, photographer Edward Burtynsky and filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal reunite to explore the ways in which humanity has shaped, manipulated and depleted one of its most vital and compromised resources: water.

It’s that time again: the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival is just around the corner. While we wait with baited breath for our favourite movie-watching/star gazing/after-party marathon to commence, here’s a recap of what we loved from last year’s fest.

You probably saw the films that went on to win big at the Oscars: Argo, Silver Linings Playbook and Amour — but what about all those indie darlings that quietly wowed audiences? The following is a list of the must sees from TIFF 2012; while they may not have had a massive impact at the box office, they hit hard where it counts.

Much Ado About Nothing

Joss Whedon’s rendition of Shakespearean hilarity: filmed in black and white and set in the present day, the cast brilliantly delivers the Shakespearean verse in both spoken word and in song. Filmed in Whedon’s own home during his off time while making The Avengers, this passion project is a true gem.

Read more here.

The Place Beyond the Pines

Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper square off in Derek Cianfrance’s (Blue Valentine) film which centers around a Shakespearean-like conflict spanning generations. Father-son relationships are forefront in this beautifully told, poetically paced and unexpected story.

Read more here.

Rebelle (a.k.a. War Witch)

This Oscar-nominated Canadian film cleaned up at the Canadian Screen Awards, taking home 10 Genies by the end of the night. Rebelle a.k.a. War Witch, is the life story of fourteen-year-old child-soldier living in conflict-torn Africa, as retold by her to her unborn child.

Read more here.

The Hunt

Thomas Vinterberg’s dark drama explores the events and community reaction after Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is accused of child abuse by a six-year-old girl. The story unfolds from the perspective of the accused, and Vinterberg deals masterfully with this extremely sensitive subject.

Read more here.

Francis Ha

This delightful indie comedy about twenty-something life in NYC (á la HBO’s Girls) is a sure cult classic. Greta Gerwig’s enchanting performance and sharp comedic timing make this the perfect summer movie to see with your girlfriends.

Read more here.