PARIS, NOT FRANCE

Wednesday, September 10-------The question lingered.....would Paris Hilton show up or not show up for the red carpet premiere of the film PARIS, NOT FRANCE. Hilton has been vocally critical of the documentary and even tried to shut down public showings of the film. But even Paris Hilton could not resist the celebrity draw of Paris Hilton, so the blond babe (who is famous for being famous, and not for any particular talent) basked in the glow of the attention that the film stirred among the Toronto paparazzi and public at its premiere last evening.

It is perhaps a sign of our culturally destitute times that polls indicate that a higher percentage of people identify the name “Paris” with the woman rather than with the city. Not a day goes by that Paris Hilton isn't mentioned in a magazine, TV show or gossip column. American Presidential candidate John McCain recently invoked her as an icon of shallow celebrity in a television commercial meant to wound his opponent Barack Obama (in other words, Obama is the black version of Paris Hilton...huh?).

But despite all of this frenzied attention, what does the public really know about Paris Hilton? This was the question that so intrigued director Adria Petty, a music video director who makes her feature film debut. The director gained intimate access to the Hilton Hotels heiress, revealing more sides to the world's most photographed woman than one would expect.

We follow Paris jet-setting through international capitals – where everyone wants a piece of her. Her “Paris the Heiress” persona was concocted for the reality TV show The Simple Life, but at some point fiction and reality began to blur.  Petty inspires her to talk about her life in a way that no other journalist has: the rebellious streak that propelled her into a modelling career, the shock of having her sex life exposed to the world, and the pressures of living under constant media distortions. Petty gets revealing interviews with Paris's parents Rick and Kathy Hilton, sister Nicky and other family members. Donald Trump, Camille Paglia, Michael Musto and others weigh in on her mystique.

One thing is sure.....where Paris goes, so do the celebrity photographers. As a fascinating case study on the role of celebrity in our culture, Paris Hilton is like a blond train wreck.....we can't look at it too long, but we also can't turn away. And for the sake of those Americans who did not know it, let me instruct you that Paris is a little village in a country known as France.

Sandy Mandelberger, Toronto Festival Dailies Editor