TIFF to close with Gilles Villeneuve biopic world premiere
The Toronto International Film Festival will close on September 19 with the world premiere of 'Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend', the story of Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A world premiere means the first public screening anywhere. The closing-night slot is traditionally one of the most visible places in the festival calendar.
Jacques Villeneuve will not be in Toronto for that first screening. He will be working as a Formula One pundit, an expert commentator for television, reporting from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He told the outlet he was in tears after watching a two-minute clip from the film. He will be in Azerbaijan.
Rémi Goulet plays Gilles Villeneuve, with Rosalie Bonenfant as his wife, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Yan Lanouette Turgeon directed the film from a script by Daniel Roby and Guillaume Lonergan. Christian Larouche produced, with Tim Ringuette as associate producer and Marc Cote as co-producer.
Villeneuve was a Canadian race car driver, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He died at age 32 in 1982 in a crash while qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In Formula One, he recorded six wins, two pole positions, eight fastest laps and 13 podiums, according to TIFF. Pole position means starting a race from the front of the grid.
The festival lists the film, identified as a Canadian production, in its Gala Presentations programme, according to TIFF. The Saturday, September 19 screening is scheduled for the VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre. That venue is one of the festival's main houses for large premieres.
For fans unfamiliar with the name, the racing record explains the pull. Six wins is a short career on paper, cut off at 32, and that is why the family reaction has drawn attention ahead of the premiere.
