TORONTO — Director Atom Egoyan is set to premiere his film “Seven Veils” tonight, in a unique collaboration with the Canadian Opera Company and the Toronto International Film Festival.
The special “avant-premiere” will take place at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, with the official TIFF screening taking place Sunday at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
“Seven Veils,” starring Amanda Seyfried, tells the story of a theatre director whose world unwinds as she reworks a production of “Salome” after the death of her mentor, who was previously in charge.
Egoyan directed “Salome” for the Canadian Opera Company in 1996. It depicts the beheading of John the Baptist at the behest of Jewish princess Salome.
Egoyan has said the work carries deeply personal themes about concealed wounds, which have also been a staple in several of his early works.
However, Seyfried won’t be walking the red carpet due to an ongoing strike by members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio.
The U.S. actress said in a social media post that even though “Seven Veils” received a “waiver” from U.S. actors union, it “doesn’t feel right” to promote it at TIFF during the strike.