SBIFF TAKE ONE: THE RAINS

Our moody weather picks

WORDS Ninette Paloma

Matching the tenacity of the Pineapple Express, moviegoers pulled on their rain boots and waded through the first few days of the festival with gusto, queueing up for Film Center and Riviera Theatre screenings as the atmospheric river washed over the city. No one seemed bothered by the prospect of 8am call times and breakfast popcorn, packing the house for Trifole (Gabriele Fabbro) and Mistura (Ricardo Montreuil) in the early morning hours as the sun slept in. Exploring themes of cultural and culinary preservation, both films were a satisfying way to kick off the fest, capturing sleepy imagery of Italy’s Piedmont region and the melting pot vibrancy of Lima, Peru. Falling beautifully in step was the watercolor Finnish landscape and understated brilliance of Glenn Close in The Summer Book and British actor/director Gaby Dellal’s love letter to her new hometown of New York City in the deliciously frivolous Park Avenue.
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In the evenings, Angelina Jolie and Ralph Fiennes held court at the Arlington Theatre for their respective tributes, with Jolie arriving on Wednesday in a breezy cream silk slip dress and matching blazer and Fiennes on Thursday in a rumpled pinstripe suit and pageboy hat. Both discussed the influence their mothers had on their careers, getting teary-eyed as they described an awakened purpose after both women lost their battles with breast cancer in their mid-50s. Earnest and endearing and with signature layers of thinly veiled melancholy, the award-winning actors seemed to bookend one another perfectly, echoing the subdued and serene pace of a rain-soaked city and the first few days of a sublime festival.