Here's an irony befitting a plot line on Frasier: while TV icon Kelsey Grammer and 2,000 small-screen glitterati do the Hot Springs, pitch, celebrate, meet and drink in spectacular Banff, the screen story of the month will play out among the asphalt peaks of Toronto.

Sophia Loren is in town, and Toronto's got it bad for her.

The screen legend joined her son, director/writer Edoardo Ponti, producer Gabriella Martinelli (Naked Lunch, Romeo + Juliet) and former Festival of Festivals director Helga Stephenson at a news conference in late May to promote the launch of principal photography on Between Strangers, a Canada/Italy treaty coproduction.

By the time Banff has its official opening June 11, Between Strangers, which Ponti says is a tale of three women "moving through self-realization and self-discovery," will be in its second week of a planned eight-week shoot. Martinelli says Between Strangers Productions coproducing with Mediatrade S.p.A. and Jean Vigo Italia S.r.l. of Italy - a 67% Canada-33% Italy equity split. She won't name an exact budget for the film, but says it's "under US$10 million."

Montreal-based Equinox Entertainment is distributing in Canada and Overseas Film Group of L.A. is international sales agent.

Loren's son Edoardo is the writer and makes his feature directing debut on this, his mom's 100th movie, which also stars Gerard Depardieu, Mira Sorvino, Malcolm McDowell and Deborah Kara Unger.

"I think that working with my son is going to be for me an earthquake of emotions," says Loren.

Loren, who was in her first film at age 15, sighs over the current state of Italian cinema but she hopes the efforts of "four or five" prominent names such as La vita e bella director Roberto Benigni could revive the national cinema.

Martinelli says Between Strangers will post in Italy, and should be finished by January. She says it may launch at the Venice or Toronto film festivals, and would likely then have a theatrical launch.

Along with Martinelli, producers are Elda Ferri and Roberto Pace. Financing is from Mediatrade in Italy and in Canada, funders include Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund, TMN-The Movie Network and Super Ecran. *