The Frisco kid

Leggat star of fest

By ALEX ROMANELLI

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Helmer Peter Chan opens his musical 'Perhaps Love' at the San Franciso fest.

 

HOLLYWOOD -- Peter Chan's Hong Kong musical "Perhaps Love" may have opened the 49th annual San Francisco International Film Festival on Thursday, but it was fest's executive director Graham Leggat who was the real star of the show.

Bay Area's biz illuminati turned out in force for Leggat's inaugural fest. Topper received unanimous praise from the likes of Tom Luddy, co-director the Telluride Film Festival, and George Gund III, San Francisco Film Center prexy.

Melanie Blum, San Francisco Film Society prexy, was also singled out for tapping Leggat for the post.

"Within five minutes of speaking to him I knew he was the right man for the job," she said.

Leggat's secret?

"I'm new in town so I can see things with a fresh eye," he said. "And no festival has meant so much to its city as SFIFF. San Francisco is one of the cities that is truly cosmopolitan, truly international, so it's one of the few cities where everyone from around the world feels at home."