I'm officially jealous. This years festival looks outrageous. I
hope some of these films trickle down to the Boston festival in
September. Nothing's in stone but Isabel Coixet may bring "Secret
Life of Words" to Toronto and do Q&A as well. I caught her doing
this for "My Life Without Me" and highly recommend it-she's very
funny and a fascinating filmmaker. Serious representation for Sarah
Polley and the best of todays Canadian filmmakers. Here's the
Toronto Film Fest site's post:

World Premieres In Visions And Special Presentations Announced

Toronto – Two Special Presentations and one Visions title, all world
premieres, were added to the Toronto International Film Festival line-
up today. For the second year, Canadian films are programmed
throughout the Festival to bring domestic fare to the international
stage. Joining the line-up are Clement Virgo's LIE WITH ME in
Visions; and Sturla Gunnarsson's BEOWULF & GRENDEL and Thom
Fitzgerald's THREE NEEDLES in Special Presentations.

VISIONS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS TITLES

LIE WITH ME Clement Virgo, ON, Visions World Premiere

This film is based on the sexually-explicit novel of the same name by
Virgo's wife, Tamara Faith Berger. The film follows Leila (Lauren Lee
Smith) and David (Eric Balfour) as they experiment with the
boundaries of sex and love. The cast includes Polly Shannon, Kate
Lynch, Kristin Lehman, and Don Francks.

BEOWULF & GRENDEL Sturla Gunnarsson, ON/Iceland/UK, Special
Presentation World Premiere

Adapted from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, BEOWULF & GRENDEL is
a medieval adventure that tells the blood-soaked tale of a Norse
warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel.
Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgård, Sarah Polley, and Ingvar Sigurdsson
star in this provocative take on the first major work of English
literature.

THREE NEEDLES Thom Fitzgerald, NS, Special Presentation World
Premiere

In China, Jin Ping (Lucy Liu) sets up a mobile blood collection
service and inadvertently starts an epidemic. In South Africa, Clara
(Chlöe Sevigny), a novice nun, sets out to help poor children despite
local superstitions and the church's restrictions. In Canada, Denny
(Shawn Ashmore), a second-rate porn actor, sets in motion a series of
events that will forever change his own life as well as his mother's
(Stockard Channing). THREE NEEDLES is an intense and powerful film
that examines the AIDS epidemic on a global scale. The film also
stars Olympia Dukakis and Sandra Oh.

Special Presentations are made possible through the generous support
of Cineplex Galaxy.

For more information, please contact Naoko Kumagai or Daniela Syrovy
at 416-934-3200 or nkumagai@... or dsyrovy@....