Jennifer Ehle to attend TIFF

News! Jennifer Ehle is expected to be among the 500+ guests attending the Toronto International Film Festival, which will begin on September 6th:

The 32nd Toronto International Film Festival welcomes over 500 international stars and special guests. These filmmakers, actors, and industry insiders, connected to Festival films and other Festival programming, represent the finest in film talent from around the world. [...]

Continue reading to see the full (star-studded!) roster.
(And many thanks to our anonymous helpster for the tip.)

Variety informs us that TIFF has announced the Festival's complete lineup, which includes 349 films from 55 different countries. (According to Variety's blog, that is over 600 hours of film!) The complete list can be viewed at the TIFF site. Note that Before the Rains is included in the Special Presentations category, as is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, starring a certain Rosemary Harris. The complete film schedule will become available online on August 28th.

In other Festival news, PlayBack tells us that Before the Rains director Santosh Sivan will be a participant in TIFF's Talent Lab:

What do you get when you cross 22 emerging Canadian filmmakers with directors John Sayles and Don McKellar and select TIFF guests for four days?

"Unparalleled artistic development opportunities and an introduction to the global filmmaking community," says Kelley Alexander, TIFF director of industry initiatives.

Participants are in for a treat as this year's high-profile Talent Lab mentors will be joined by music icon and filmmaker Daniel Lanois (Here Is What Is), director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club), filmmaker Santosh Sivan (Before the Rains) and director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking), as well as emerging U.K. filmmakers David Alexander and Osbert Parker, and Ishaku Gumut from Nigeria. [...]

Talent Lab, according to the TIFF site, "offers artistic development opportunities to emerging Canadian filmmakers in a four-day intensive programme that gives them the opportunity to build their networks in a creative environment, and learn from some of the most esteemed filmmakers and artists in the world."

The socially conscious Sivan will also be taking part in one of four Mavericks presentations at the Festival:

Mira Nair Presents Four Views on AIDS in India brings together Mira Nair (THE NAMESAKE), Santosh Sivan (BEFORE THE RAINS), Vishal Bhardwaj (OMKARA) and Farhan Akhtar (DON) - four of India's most innovative and celebrated directors - for a discussion of the AIDS JAAGO Project, as well as the issue of HIV/AIDS in India and the world at large. A development of Nairs own Mirabai Films and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project explores different aspects of HIV/AIDS in India, using some of Indian cinemas most celebrated actors to help maximize the exposure of the films to audiences throughout the country. The four short films - featuring performances by Prabhu Deva, Irrfan Khan, Shabana, Azmi, Shiney Ahuja, Ayesha Takia, Boman Irani, Raima Sen, Siddharth, and Sameera Reddy - will screen as part of this insightful Mavericks presentation, also featuring a discussion between the four directors working to dismantle the myths and misconceptions associated with HIV/AIDS.

The Festival is less than two weeks away! If any of you, dear readers, are able to attend and have the pleasure of seeing Before the Rains, please consider sharing your opinions with us poor souls at the blog.