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“Everyone was wondering why we were so dressed up to go to this casual Italian eatery,” Ansari said this week to laughter, from the stage at Roy Thomson Hall. Ansari, Keanu Reeves and friends course-corrected from the Yorkville franchise and headed to Cibo on King Street West, rechristened as “Rogers Lounge” for the fest: “We had some tiny hamburgers,” Ansari said, adding that the adventure was “a microcosm of filmmaking! Sometimes you end up at the wrong Cibo. But if you have the right people with you, and you are determined, you will make it to the right Cibo. And have those tiny burgers.”

In no particular order, here’s my rundown of the best parties at the fest.

Variety Cover Party

Location: RBC House at Petros82, 299 Adelaide St. W.

Spotted: Channing Tatum, Arian Moayed, Derek Cianfrance

A tent-pole party at the fest for several years now, and a harbinger for awards season — last year’s Variety TIFF cover was “The Substance” star Demi Moore, who earned an Oscar nom — this year’s fete zeroed in on Mr. Tatum. In a turtleneck! Tatum was the honouree along with his “Roofman” director Cianfrance, who dropped the surprising news that Tatum had been his first choice for the male lead in “Blue Valentine” (2010) — the role that eventually went to Ryan Gosling. Also at the party: Tatum’s new girlfriend, model Inka Williams, who avoided the cameras herself but was spotted taking photos of Tatum on her phone, as his giant cover was revealed.

Gucci party for ‘Sacrifice’

Location: Daphne, 67 Richmond St. W.

Spotted: Chris Evans, Charli XCX, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, M.I.A., Nina Dobrev

Some parties only start at midnight. That was the deal with this spiffy one, following a Saturday night screening of the latest by French director Roman Gavras. Evans gamely made the rounds, joking about serving appetizers (a reference to his recent turn as a cater-waiter in “Materialists”), while Scott and Mescal carried on their bromance over ciggies in the courtyard. At one point, I was on the dance floor with a woman for about 20 minutes before I realized I was dancing with the rapper known as M.I.A. Also notable: there was zero Gucci branding anywhere at the bash, unlike so many parties that can seem like #SponCon hell. Chic!

‘Frankenstein’ party

Location: Nobu, 33 Mercer St.

Spotted: Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, Guillermo del Toro, Olivia Jade

A monster-sized party for a monster-sized spectacle: Netflix pulled out all the stops for their “Frankenstein” fete, transforming the main dining room of Nobu into a pink-hued otherworld, complete with a gothic forest-inspired staircase. Designer sushi and beats made for a great party, but all eyes were on Elordi, who sat for most of the evening at a table with his on/off gal-pal Olivia Jade. For now, consider it on!

Sony Classics party

Location: Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse, 81 Bay St.

Spotted: Scarlett Johansson, Ethan Hawke, Bobby Cannavale, Richard Linklater

Any party with ScarJo in a Cinderella gown and sizeable back tattoo is a party indeed. As the “Eleanor the Great” director accepted well wishes — later moving into a deep-dive schmooze with “Blue Moon”‘s Ethan Hawke — the Campari-hosted reception moved at a civilized pace. (“Prime-rib popovers” with a little horseradish aioli? Sure.) My own most poignant moment: talking to the bright-eyed, 95-year-old June Squibb, who is already generating Oscar buzz for her role in Scarlett’s movie. If she scores the nom, she’ll be the oldest Oscar nominee in history. I asked her, “How old do you feel inside?” to which she promptly replied, “35.” 

‘Mile End Kicks’ party

Location: Evangeline, 51 Camden St.

Spotted: Barbie Ferreira, Jay Baruchel, Devon Bostick

The 514 in the 416! The vibe at the “Mile End Kicks” do at the inside-outside bôite atop the Ace Hotel was opening night’s coolest party. Riding the wows sparked by Chandler Levack’s film — the 2010s-era Montreal answer to “Reality Bites,” with a dash of “Almost Famous” — the party attracted lots of insouciantly cool people, Don Julio concoctions and, of course, “bagels with schmear.”

‘Hamnet’ party

Location: Casa Madera, 550 Wellington St. W.

Spotted: Jessie Buckley, Chloé Zhao

Some parties are memorable because you can feel awards season hitting flying altitude, a crystallization of conversation to come. That was the case with the Audi-hosted cocktail for “Hamnet,” a Shakespeare retelling that’s been one of the best reviewed films at TIFF and sets up Buckley as the front-runner for best actress. Buckley told me about the “ocean of grief” that “Hamnet” taps into, and how she only did one take of a big “wail” scene about halfway through: “I only had one in me.” Buckley’s co-star Paul Mescal had been at the premiere, but had to skip the party “to go be a Beatle,” as Buckley put it, referring to the Paul McCartney role Mescal is currently shooting in the Sam Mendes megaproject.

Vanity Fair party

Location: Four Seasons Hotel, 60 Yorkville Ave.

Spotted: Felicity Jones, Baz Luhrmann, Ethan Hawke, Maude Apatow, Aziz Ansari, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon, Lee Byung-hun

The final party in a starry triumvirate held at the Four Seasons during the first weekend of TIFF,  this was filled with nerdy film talk, complete with spaceship-sized espresso martinis. That guy in the sunglasses inside the party at D/Bar: Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, who just won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. My favourite moment: a roller-coaster of a conversation with Baz Luhrmann, as we travelled from “Elvis” to “Gatsby” to “Strictly Ballroom” to the recent news of his good pal Anna Wintour leaving the editorship of Vogue. “She’s not stepping down! She’s stepping up!” he pronounced.

Chanel/Variety Women in Film Dinner

Location: Soho House Toronto, 192 Adelaide St. W.

Spotted: Shailene Woodley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jessie Buckley, Michael Shannon, Emily Watson, Sarah Gadon, Ethan Hawke

The swankiest annual dinner of TIFF — how nice to sit down! — was a typically starry affair. It also comes attached to a very worthy cause, being in aid of the Chanel Women Creators’ Network. My coolest run-in was meeting Jessica Gunning of “Baby Reindeer” fame, who seemed full of gratitude about the roll her career has been on since that acclaimed show. She was at TIFF for the Steven Soderbergh movie “The Christophers,” with Ian McKellen, who she called, “A dream to work with!” 

‘Nuremberg’ party

Location: Estiatorio Milos, 330 Bay St.

Spotted: Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Richard E. Grant, Meghann Fahy

Director James Vanderbilt — yes, a descendant of those Vanderbilts — kicked off the fest with a special party, hosted by Don Julio. Rami Malek was a charm-machine, though it was Leo Woodall, decked out in checkered Ralph Lauren, who attracted the most attention. It was nice to see him there with his sweetheart, Meghann Fahy, with whom he’s been going strong since they met on the set of “The White Lotus” Season 2. I even spotted them sharing a smooch in a booth at the back. Young love!