Sasha Lane at the American Honey after-party.
Vulture gave Toronto the sweetest party of the festival’s opening weekend when it partnered with A24 to celebrate the TIFF screening of director Andrea Arnold’s Cannes-winning American Honey at the Rock ‘n’ Horse Saloon. Around 9 p.m., the film’s breakout star Sasha Lane joined co-star Riley Keough and Arnold for a serious session of line-dancing (the U.K. native Arnold donned a cowboy hat and displayed limitless enthusiasm for a string of country kitschy hits like “Achy Breaky Heart”). Joining the down-home fun was Arnold’s pal and Transparent creator Jill Soloway (Arnold’s a frequent director on the show) and members of Soloway’s producing team on the Emmy-nominated series.
Around 10:30 pm, as the bar’s giant-size blended margaritas started to kick in, the dance floor became flooded with other Honey talent as the cast stood on speakers — an effort led by Lane — and pulsated to the film’s unofficial anthem “We Found Love in a Hopeless Place.” Across the saloon, the Rock ‘n’ Horse’s signature attraction, its mechanical bull, had numerous guests attempting and failing rodeo glory, including documentarian Morgan Spurlock and actress Anne Heche. Also spotted at the event was one of the young stars of A24’s other buzzy title Moonlight, Ashton Sanders, and none other than Pharrell Williams. You can check out highlights from the party here.