TORONTO — The 51st Toronto International Film Festival has unspooled against a backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and Canadian governments, though it would be hard to tell it from the convivial atmosphere on the ground.
TIFF, North America’s largest film happening, draws movies from around the world. But its largest influx of festivalgoers and film industry people comes from Canada’s neighbor to the south.
This year, the festival is taking place just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump, amid an escalating trade war with Canada, signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America."
From the opening night of TIFF, the festival has responded with a mix of disappointment, sarcasm and defiance to the contentious turn in U.S.-Canada relations.
"Welcome to TIFF and welcome to the beautiful shore of — say it with me — Lake Ontario," Cameron Bailey, chief executive of the festival, said while introducing the disability rights drama "Being Heumann" on opening night.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also took a jab while noting that “Being Heumann” chronicles the relentless push by disability rights protesters to secure accessibility laws and equal rights.
“It shows us that when people come together and stay tenacious, they can move mountains — even against the might of the U.S. government,” Chow said.
In his second term, Trump has frequently sparred with the Canadian government while seeking new trade terms with the country. In August, Trump said: “Canada’s been ripping us off for a long time.”
Last month, the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Canada responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment. On Sunday, Trump called Canada the "worst country to deal with."
Following Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario, companies including Google and Apple changed their maps for U.S. users to read "Lake America." Some news organizations, including The Associated Press, have said they will continue using the name Lake Ontario.
On TIFF stages, many have taken a side.
"I cannot tell you how happy I am to be back on the shores of Lake Ontario," said the director Peter Farrelly while introducing one of the festival's top premieres, his Sylvester Stallone drama "I Play Rocky."
Some films have found themselves unexpectedly speaking to the moment. Canadian writer-director Michael Dowse's "The Stunt Driver," starring Jay Baruchel as 1970s Canadian stuntman Ken Carter, is largely set along the waterways separating Canada and the U.S.
The film, which made its world premiere at TIFF, chronicles Carter’s long-held aspiration to jump a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental over the St. Lawrence River, taking off in Morrisburg, Ontario, and landing on the New York side. The movie is a comic and affectionate portrait of a quixotic if mathematically dubious dream.
“The Stunt Driver” got some of its biggest cheers for moments that took on a slight edge considering current U.S.-Canada tensions. In one scene, Baruchel as Carter declares Canadians are “God’s chosen people.”
“Ken Carter was proud of his birthplace and branded himself ‘The Mad Canadian’ and had a penchant for maple leaf T-shirts,” Dowse said. “I hope people get behind the film not only as a great story but also to support homegrown films about a singular fascinating Canadian.”
In the film, Carter resents the more successful Evel Knievel, deriding him for performing while looking like, he says, “a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.” As played by Ben Foster, Knievel makes an appearance in the film, visiting Carter as he plans the jump. But their interaction leads to a nationalistic fight. “The last thing we need,” Carter tells him, “is a Yankee doodle dandy telling us how to do our jobs.”
At TIFF, the audience roared. Dowse grants it’s a moment in the film that now feels “meta.” But while he acknowledged considering making a Lake Ontario remark at the movie’s premiere, he ultimately chose not to.
“I love Americans and this whole trade war feels like bravado on roids,” Dowse said. “I hope they figure out a deal because we are better friends than enemies.”
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