From red carpet chaos to quiet, candid moments, George Pimentel has seen it all. His lens has captured decades of TIFF history 鈥 and the stars who made it unforgettable.
Now, in a special partnership with the 色色啦 Star, he has selected 50 of his most compelling images for an exclusive, limited-edition collection. The collection is available to view at a free photo exhibition during TIFF, from Sept. 4 to 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Portland Square, 600 King St. W. (Signed prints are available to purchase at )听听
Adam Sandler at the 鈥淧unch-Drunk Love鈥 premiere, 2002. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no glamour about Adam Sandler 鈥 he鈥檚 just one of us. He stops and talks to people. He鈥檚 pointing at me because I鈥檇 seen him at the press conference. He said, 鈥楬ey! How are you?鈥欌
George Pimentel
Denzel Washington at 鈥淭he Equalizer鈥 premiere, Roy Thomson Hall, 2014.
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Ren茅e Zellweger at a one-on-one interview, Four Seasons Hotel. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know who she was. I was embarrassed to say, 鈥業鈥檝e never seen you in any movies,鈥 and she said, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 going to be in a big movie, you鈥檒l see. It鈥檚 called ‘Jerry Maguire.’ At that moment, photographing her, I knew she was going to be big.鈥
George Pimentel
TIFF Reese Witherspoon at 鈥淭he Good Lie鈥 premiere, Elgin Theatre, 2014.
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Brad Pitt and B.D. Wong at the 鈥淪even Years in Tibet鈥 premiere, 1997. 鈥淭his was the first time I ever photographed Brad Pitt. He pulled his co-star B.D. Wong into the photo. Brad鈥檚 expression is very old Hollywood. It reminds me of James Dean. Or Michelangelo鈥檚 鈥楧avid鈥 鈥 look at his jawline.鈥澛
George Pimentel
Drew Barrymore at the 鈥淔our Rooms鈥 premiere, Uptown Theatre, 1996. 鈥淚鈥檝e been following Drew Barrymore since 鈥楨.T.,鈥 and you can never take a bad picture of her. She co-operates, she is such a character. The next photo, she blew me a kiss.鈥
George Pimentel
Sophia Loren at a Holt Renfrew Viva Italia party, 2002. 鈥淪he was staying at the Windsor Arms Hotel, and I waited in the lobby. She walked in and I tried to get her attention. I said, 鈥楽ophia, you鈥檙e driving me crazy.鈥 She smiled and laughed, and everybody laughed, and I got the photo.鈥
George Pimentel Copyright George
Chris Farley at the 鈥淥nly You鈥 premiere, Elgin Theatre, 1996.
George Pimentel
Selena Gomez at the 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥 premiere, Princess of Wales Theatre, 2024.
George Pimentel
Ryan Gosling and George Clooney at 鈥淭he Ides of March鈥 premiere, Roy Thomson Hall, 2011.
George Pimentel
Zoe Saldana attends the 2024 色色啦 International Film Festival.
George Pimentel
Gene Hackman at Roy Thomson Hall, 1998.
George Pimentel
Halle Berry at the 鈥淐loud Atlas鈥 press conference, TIFF Bell Lightbox, 2012. 鈥淚 always love to get departures and arrivals, and this is an arrival: she鈥檚 going in the back alleyway to get into a press conference. I used our famous technique of 鈥榖ackstepping,鈥 where she鈥檚 walking towards me and I鈥檓 walking backwards and firing the photo. She clearly gave it up for me. This photo is just fierce: the sunglasses, the leather, the bodyguards around her.鈥澛
George Pimentel Copyright George
Tom Cruise at the 鈥淲ithout Limits鈥 press conference, 1998. 鈥淓veryone always asks me who is the nicest guy in Hollywood, and my first choice is always Tom Cruise. He loves Hollywood, he loves fans, he shows up an hour before events just to sign autographs. In this photo, he鈥檚 at a press conference 鈥 and even after it was over, as they stood up, reporters came to interview him and he still gave them the time of day.鈥
George Pimentel
Keanu Reeves at the 鈥淭he Private Lives of Pippa Lee鈥 premiere, Roy Thomson Hall, 2009. 鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 get Keanu Reeves doing that type of smile. He鈥檚 very quirky. He鈥檚 very uncomfortable with the lens. He doesn鈥檛 stop. I don鈥檛 think I actually said anything to get him to smile. He was doing an interview and I was in front of his face. Sometimes it鈥檚 luck.鈥
George Pimentel
Kate Beckinsale at the 鈥淯nderworld鈥 premiere, Uptown Theatre, 2003.
George Pimentel
Margot Robbie at a press event, Windsor Arms Hotel, 2017.
George Pimentel
Samuel L. Jackson at the 鈥淗ard Eight鈥 after-party, Rosewater Supper Club, 1996. 鈥淪am Jackson broke away from a private dinner to smoke a cigar, and I approached him. He had such a great smile, and that signature hat that he would wear to 色色啦 Raptors games.”聽
George Pimentel
Leonardo DiCaprio at the 鈥淏efore the Flood鈥 premiere, Princess of Wales Theatre, 2016. 鈥淭hese were the golden days of Leo. Now, he doesn鈥檛 normally like to have his photo taken: he wears baseball hats, sunglasses. It was a treat that he got out of his car and walked up and down King Street with his security. He looks like he could be the president of a country or royalty.”
George Pimentel
Rachel Weisz at the 鈥淒enial鈥 premiere, Princess of Wales Theatre, 2016.聽
George Pimentel
Sean Penn at the 鈥淎ssassination of Richard Nixon鈥 premiere, 2004. 鈥淗ow Hollywood: he lights up a cigarette, despite knowing the Canadian rules on smoking indoors. We all chuckled, but nobody called him out on it. Sean Penn was a real badass 鈥 he was like a shark. If you got too close, you might get bitten. I felt like he thought that rules didn鈥檛 apply to him.”
George Pimentel
Steve Buscemi at a one-on-one interview, Four Seasons Hotel, 1996.
George Pimentel
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