The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has proven to be an important event for Hollywood star Jessica Chastain, who worked in Canada so much that feels like a Canadian.
"I was here for the first time 10 years ago, actually it was the first year I really had movies come out in the movie theatre, so it was the beginning of my career, I came to this festival with Take Shelter," Chastain said at a press conference on Saturday. "So it's been an incredibly beautiful festival to revisit over the years and I've made six movies in Toronto, two in Montreal, so I kind of feel like I'm Canadian, if you guys will have me."
"It's wonderful to look back at it now because at the time, I felt a lot of anxiety because I was getting so much attention so soon... I've had the opportunity to grow my career into all aspects of this industry and not just being, at the time I was like the 'It Girl,' which every time someone said that I was like, 'Oh no,' because you have such a short life. That's like your death sentence as an actress."
This year, Chastain joins a group of talented actors and filmmakers who are recipients of the TIFF Tribute Awards at the 2021 film festival.
Jessica Chastain wears a classic black gown for the premiere of her new movie, The Forgiven, during the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on Saturday (September 11) in Toronto, Canada. The 44-year-old actress joined her co-stars Ismael Kanater, and Mourad Zaoui on the red carpet, alongside director John Michael McDonagh, and producers Carter Stanton, Trevor Matthews, Elizabeth Eves and Nick Gordon.
The Forgiven takes place over a weekend in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of both the local Muslims, and Western visitors to a house party in a grand villa.