The fruits of Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry labour arrived on home soil for the Canadian premiere.

Ahead of the film’s May 12 release date, the team behind the Toronto and Waterloo, Ont.-shot biopic held a screening and Q-and-A at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday (April 21), followed by a party complete with a photo wall featuring the eponymous smartphone.

Toronto filmmaker Johnson directed the look at the journey of Canadian software company Research In Motion, now known as BlackBerry Ltd., which made its world bow in Berlin in February.

The producers are Niv Fichman, Fraser Ash and Kevin Krikst of Toronto’s Rhombus Media, and Matthew Miller of Zapruder Films. Miller and Johnson, who are both behind Toronto-based Zapruder Films, adapted the screenplay from the Canadian book Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff. Elevation Pictures is distributing the film in Canada.

Below are George Pimentel Photography photos from Friday’s soiree, which also featured cast members including Johnson, Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton and Mark Critch. Also in attendance was former Research In Motion chair and co-CEO Jim Balsillie.