Paul Gross, Rossif Sutherland, Kal Penn and more at Tribute Media Lounge

TIFF 2015 naturally is jam packed with celebrities, but  Hyena Road  is also jam-packed with stars and they, in turn jam-packed our media lounge today.

Writer/director and star Paul Gross gave us much behind-the-scenes detail about the movie which details what the Canadian Armed Forces went through fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. This is not his first foray into the war theme, having already done Passchendaele. He also told us that he and his wife, Martha Burns, star of the TV series Remedy, will next be performing in a play in Toronto.

Karl Campbell, who plays Tank in the film, talked about the military training they all had to go through. He had a chance to reunite with fellow actors Allan Hawco and Christine Horne, who also dropped by our lounge. Allan told us he is shooting a new TV series called Frontier, and Christine will be doing a play right here in Toronto at Buddies in Bad Times.

Rossif Sutherland was both funny and charming, crouching down to appear shorter in a photograph because he is so tall. Afterwards, he told us, "If you see my father, Donald Sutherland later, give him my love."

Director Louise Osmond, who called herself "the tall English lady with the cold," enjoyed the coffee that's been generously provided by Aroma Espresso Bar. She charmed us with anecdotes about her film Dark Horse, which follows small town neighbors and friends who pooled their money together to breed a champion racehorse. A true story, the film is peppered with participant interviews as well as race footage and re-enactments.

From Kilo Two Bravo, we met actor Mark Stanley and retired army medic and real life inspiration Tug Hartley. Interviewer Nicole Stamp said the interview was very moving. Tug Hartley is a true hero and while four out of 10 men received medals for bravery, he said all 10 should have. They were thrilled not only to be receiving our wonderful Delsey Paris travel cases, but very excited to see that they are chock  full of wonderful products, such as Bio sensibio h2o and Filorga Fil C recover. We also met their director, Paul Katis.

We were thrilled to welcome  Kal Penn, the star of the Canadian made, and Wes Craven produced thriller, The Girl in the Photographs. You may know Kal from his breakthrough role in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Kal, Claudia Lea, Mirando Rae Mayo, and director Nick Simon dropped by. The girls glammed up our suite with their spunky humor and red carpet style. Nick and Kal expressed their joy at having had the opportunity to work on one of Craven's films. The girls were elated to go home with our Delsey Paris suitcase filled with goodies, including Kao Miraculous Recovery Serum and Reversa Antioxidant Booster Serum.

Christian Zubert, whose film is One Breath, dropped by. Roxanne Benjamin and David Bruckner, the directors of Southbound, were here with their lively crew, which consisted of co-director and editor Tyler Gillett, writer/star Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, star Chad Villella and co-director Justin Martinez.

Lars Kraume, director of The People vs Fritz Bauer, enjoyed a glass of Chasers Juice Revolution's freshly squeezed juices, commenting on the delicious and fabulously colored lychee and cactus flavor. He came with actor Burghart Klaussner, who plays the title role. While chatting with him, we discussed the Audience Award his film won at the Locarno International Film Festival. ~Sharon Salsberg

Tags:

dark horse, Hyena Road, Kilo Two Bravo, Paul Gross, TIFF 2015

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