Score: A Hockey Musical to open Toronto International Film Festival

Jul 14, 2010 by Ian Evans

Toronto International Film Festival co-directors Cameron Bailey (left) and Piers Handling (right) face off at the press conference announcing Score: A Hockey Musical as the opening film for this year’s TIFF as Noah Reid and Allie MacDonald watch.

Wearing TIFF hockey jerseys emblazoned with their names and the number 35, Toronto International Film Festival co-directors Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling announced that Michael McGowan’s film, Score: A Hockey Musical, will open the 35th edition on September 9th.

The press conference, which took place at the Hockey Hall of Fame, also gave attendees a chance to see some clips from the musical which stars Noah Reid and Allie MacDonald as well as Olivia Newton-John, Stephen McHattie, John Pyper-Ferguson and Brandon Firla with cameos by music artists Nelly Furtado, Hawksley Workman and John McDermott.

“Score: A Hockey Musical captures key elements of Canadian identity — our passion for our national pastime, our unique musical style and our special brand of humour,” says Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “We’re pleased to welcome back Michael McGowan to the Festival to help us kick off 11 days of exciting programming.”

“I can’t think of a better way to kick off our 35th anniversary Festival than with Score: A Hockey Musical,” says Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “It continues our tradition of launching the very best in Canadian filmmaking — although in 35 years this is our first musical romance about hockey. Plan for a fun night on September 9.”

The 35th Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 9th to the 19th, 2010.