'Close to You' premieres at the Toronto Film Festival, Elliot Page hopes new film cracks open hearts & minds
Elliot Page hopes that his role in the new film "Close to You" moves people and cracks open the hearts and minds of viewers as it did for him.
The film, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday, explores the story of Page's character Sam, who returns home after gender transition for a family reunion, dreading the awkward questions and comments that he is likely to encounter.
The film, which in part parallels Page's life, is co-written by Page and Dominic Savage who also directed the film.
Page, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in «Juno» (2007), was assigned as female at birth and came out as transgender in 2020.
The 37-year-old actor said that he was so nervous making a movie heavily reliant on improvisation, but Savage created a safe space for the entire cast to explore their characters. «It allowed us to feel free, limitless and dive into the material, and it worked,» he said.
«So much of this movie is about connections, what it means to be human, and what it means to feel seen.
