Montreal: Playback asked unit publicist Lorraine Jamison for a little help in suggesting dining and party destinations during the Montreal World Film Festival. Jamison’s credentials are solid. She’s been an insider at wff and at the Hamptons International Film Festival, and has helped many an industry type get around, working on major motion pictures like Snake Eyes, Murder at 1600, Mission to Mars, The Bone Collector and most recently, the upcoming David Mamet shoot Heist.

Jamison says there’s some consensus the best of the fest ‘and most fun party’ in recent years has been the Femmes du Cinema/wift bash, held at tres hip nightclubs like the Wax Lounge or Jello.

Astral Media’s opening-night, invitation-only gala at the Windsor Ballroom is another great evening.

‘A fun place to hang out late at night after people come back to the Wyndham [Hotel] is the festival bar in the hotel,’ says Jamison. ‘You sort of need a quorum to get them to stay open, but the American journalists and some of the American buyers hang out late, late into the night.’

Brasseries McAuslan’s popular Saint-Amboise Hospitality Suite is a good 5-7 p.m. place for free beer, especially for the international press and younger filmmakers looking to network, make new friends or just hang out and wait for a party invite.

Many of the festival’s international guests plan day trips to historic Quebec City. Also, says Jamison, ‘people love the charming outdoor character of Montreal, hanging out in the Old Port and in the cafes and restaurant patios on The Main (St. Laurent Blvd.) and along Prince Arthur.’

Distribs sometimes hold semi-private parties for business guests and friends following evening screenings, with the Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm dance-crazed glam bash easily among the most sought-after invitations.

Some of the most appealing eateries, says Jamison, include Le Latini on Rene-Levesque, only minutes from festival headquarters at the Wyndham. ‘It’s arguably the best Italian restaurant in Montreal and it’s also so close to everything.’

Another ‘wonderfully charming but simple’ restaurant which draws a festival crowd is Symposium, uptown on Park Avenue, or Milos, a very upscale Greek dining experience in the same neighborhood.

Laloux on Pine Avenue (Avenue des Pins) is a genuine industry favorite. It’s an upscale French restaurant where kindly staff can show lots of patience when the booze is flowing. Or try L’Express, the city’s definitive French bistro destination.

Jamison likes the near-to-the-festival Cafe du Nouveau Monde on Ste-Catherine, a meeting place for many of the city’s most accomplished performers.

(A note: Montreal is still pretty much a smoking town, even with new legislation on the books.)

Live pop, rock or blues is the nightly thing at the new Club Soda on St-Laurent, just around the corner from the Wyndham, while Biddle’s is a great jazz bar and restaurant located right downtown on Aylmer.

Ziggy’s downtown bar draws a sophisticated drinking crowd, while younger English-speaking filmmakers can be found at places like La Cabane on St-Laurent. Then there’s Schwartz’s, the most famous smoked meat joint in the whole world, right across the street. *

-www.ffm-montreal.org