BEES & SLUMDOG
In Toronto This Year!

Fox Searchlight's THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE will both be special features at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. The festival officially began yesterday.

SLUMDOG will celebrate its world premiere on Sunday, September 7th.

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES will show as a Gala screening on Friday, September 5th, with an introduction by the film's director Gina Prince-Bythewood. The screening will then be followed by an after-party. BEES will also be featured at the TIFF Official Press Conference on Saturday, and Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Sophie Okonedo, Tristan Wilds, Nate Parker and director Gina Prince-Bythewood will all participate.

Tom O'Neill's "The Envelope" points to both films' significance at the fest's proceedings:

• "Toronto also offers a wider viewing of Telluride hits 'I've Loved You So Long' with Kristin Scott Thomas and Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire.'"
• ...Academy Award contenders being shown in Toronto: 'The Brothers Bloom,' 'Dean Spanley,' 'The Duchess,' 'Good,' 'Miracle at St. Anna,' 'Nothing But the Truth,' 'Rachel Getting Married,' 'The Secret Life of Bees,' 'Waltz with Bashir,' 'Wendy and Lucy' and 'The Wrestler.'

Read Tom's entire post at The LA Times here. He includes multiple links to "a top-notch crew of fest veterans are well worth a read."

The Economic Times weighed in with their own comments about SLUMDOG in an article entitled, "Toronto film festival to 'salute' Indian cinema":

"One of the main attractions of the festival will be the world premiere of British director Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire,' a screen adaptation of diplomat-writer Vikas Swarup's novel starring Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan."

BBC News says of the same film:

"British director Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire', which tells the story of a young man who appears on India's version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' comes into the festival with a lot of praise following its unveiling last weekend at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado."

And AOL Black Voices calls THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES "heavily anticipated" in its posting, "The Toronto Film Festival Gets Rolling With 'Miracle' and 'Bees.'

Visit the official site for the Toronto International Film Festival here.

***

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES 
Now Playing In Theaters / Visit the Film Page

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Opens In Select
Theatres November 19th / Visit the Film Page