So… TIFF. All about movies big and small, stars, and red carpets, right? To a point, true. But the Toronto International Film Festival is also a massive generator for cause-driven funds. There was the Breast Cancer Benefit on the fest’s opening night, The Producers Ball on the eve of TIFF at the Shangri-La Hotel, NKPR’s 10-cause supporting IT Lounge, and Friday night’s Artists for Peace and Justice ‘Film Noir’ at La Societe Bistro.

APJ’s TIFF party is always a heavily hyped affair. First off, it was co-founded by Paul Haggis (Crash) and its roots are steeped in the Toronto International Film Festival. (Watch our delightful British correspondent/actress Samantha Millar’s interview with Haggis below to find out more.) Second, its immediate mission is to “build schools to serve the poorest areas of Haiti, providing an education, hot meals, clean drinking water and regular medical treatments to the children living in the slums.” (Learn more here.) And third, it’s just an all-round hot scene that sees stars both local and those transplanted from Hollywood for the duration of the fest mingling with some of the city’s tastemakers.

This year’s Artists for Peace and Justice TIFF party at La Societe was… in a word… rammed. The height of philanthropic sophistication on Friday night, it was co-hosted by Haggis, NKPR’s Natasha Koifman, and everyone’s favourite interviewer George Stroumboulopoulos. The guests were boisterous, the elbow room but a quark-size, and the vibe all-encompassing. You couldn’t help but be taken in by the crowd, the cause, and the cocktails.

Check out the vibe at the APJ TIFF 2012 party below – and a special quick interview with Abbie Cornish at the after party for the TIFF premiere of Seven Psychopaths held at the soon-to-open Patria – and be sure to learn more about Artists for Peace and Justice. Educate, then donate…