Toronto

Last night was a big night for Geoffrey Fletcher, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire." To a sold out crowd at the Visa Screening Room in Toronto, Fletcher world premiered his first directorial effort, "Violet & Daisy," an oddball tale about two teenage assassins dead set on vanquishing their latest target (James Gandolfini) to afford new dresses. It also marked a big night for Alexis Bledel, Violet to Saoirse Ronan's Daisy. Ronan proved her action chops in "Hanna." Apart from a brief appearance in "Sin City," Bledel's stuck mostly to girly teenage fare since wrapping her stint on TV's "Gilmore Girls." Her brazen turn as Violet might change all that. "It takes a lot for someone to see something different in me because I have to prove it," Bledel told indieWIRE at the film's afterparty. "I was always resistant to kind of accept that challenge. I'm pretty stubborn. So I didn't step up to the plate for many years. Now I enjoy it. You have to apply yourself to the job if you want to do good work. Now, I'm kind of addicted. I want to see what else I can do." [Photo by Nigel M. Smith]

French actor Louis Garrel at a small dinner hosted by IFC Films/Sundance Selects in Toronto this week. Garrel stars in Christophe Honoré's "Beloved" (Les bien-aimés), which is screening as a Gala at the Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Milos Forman, Ludivine Sagnier, Garrel, Paul Schneider and Michel Delpech, the film is a story about two generations of women and their lovers spanning the '60s to the 21st century.

"As you know I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, so I almost feel Canadian," Madonna said as she introduced her "W.E." to the crowd at Roy Thompson Hall. She probably felt an even closer connection afterwards, when the Canuck crowd gave her film a brief standing ovation. [Photo by Earl Simpson]

Director David Cronenberg posed with SPC co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard along with actor Viggo Mortensen a the Toronto Film Festival.

"Miss Bala" breakout actress Stephanie Sigman reunited with one of the film's executive producer's Gael Garcia Bernal last night at the after party for the world premiere of Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister." Bernal is also here with "The Loneliest Planet," which he stars in. He will be stopping by the Filmmaker's Lounge at 4:20pm today to talk about "Planet" with indieWIRE. Come on by if you're in town! [Photo by Nigel M. Smith]

Director-writer Lynn Shelton was all smiles last night at the world premiere of her follow-up to the indie hit "Humpday," with one of the film's stars, Emily Blunt, by her side. Blunt's co-star Mark Duplass was also on hand. Before the screening, all three took part in a discussion with indieWIRE at the Filmmaker's Lounge where they talked about the freedom of improvisation and the tight shooting schedule. Go here for Eric Kohn's review on indieWIRE. [Photo by Nigel M. Smith]

Directors Gus Van Sant and Bruce LaBruce arrive at the dinner for Sony Pictures Classics in Toronto over the weekend. Van Sant's "Restless" is screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Enjoying some pre-drinks ahead of Sony Classics' annual press dinner in Toronto, "In Darkness" director Agnieszka Holland (middle) along with Robert Wieckiewicz (left), and composer Antoni Komasa-Lazarkiewicz pose with SPC co-president Michael Barker. Their film centers on one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied Polish city of Lvov.

Actors Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen joke around while setting up for pictures at a dinner hosted by Sony Pictures Classics over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. Mortensen plopped on a "hat" for photos and also put it on Knightley who wore it for a few seconds (Morensen then fixed her hair while everyone had a laugh - you probably had to be there). Their film, "A Dangerous Method" by David Cronenberg is screening in the festival.

Oscar-nominated doc filmmakers Morgan Spurlock and Lucy Walker check in at the opening of the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend in the Industry lounge at the downtown Hyatt, a hub of activity throughout the day for TIFFers in between screenings. Adjacent to the Industry lounge, indieWIRE hosted daily chats with filmmakers and cast of various films playing at the festival, including Spurlock for his latest, "Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope." Walker attended TIFF with her documentary short, "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom."