Projector malfunction delays Borat film

Fans longing to see Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat movie will have to wait another day after a mechanical problem forced the Toronto International Film Festival to reschedule the screening.

The British comedian's movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, was to make its North American debutand launch the Midnight Madness program of the film festival.

But a projector malfunction stopped the film short, forcing a delay in the screening. While they waited, the crowd was entertained by Cohen and Borat director Larry Charles, the longtime Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David collaborator. Film director Michael Moore, who was in the audience, also took questions from the crowd.

The film was ultimately rescheduled to Friday at 11:59 p.m. at the Elgin Theatre. The film festival said patrons retaining their ticket stubs from Thursday's show would be admitted.

Cohen arrived on the red carpet in character as Borat Sagdiyev, the often-smiling TV personality from Kazakhstan who tours the U.S., ostensibly to deliver features to an audience back home.

The popular recurring character on Cohen's Da Ali G Show gets much of his comedy from acting as offensively as possible around Americans to test their reactions. And so it was last night, when Borat arrived in a cart pulled by a group of women dressed as peasants.

The film follows Borat as he takes a road trip across America on a Holy Grail-like quest of Canadian actress Pamela Anderson. But the film is mostly an opportunity to show Borat in as many squeamish situations as possible with an unsuspecting public.

Cohen describes the film as a "dramatic demonstration of how racism feeds on dumb conformity, as much as rabid bigotry."

But the Cambridge University-educated comedian has faced criticism, particularly from the Kazakhstani government, for his portrayal of Borat and depiction of Kazakhstan as a boorish, backward state. The country's Foreign Ministry threatened to sue him after statements he made hosting the MTV Europe Music Awards.

In response to the threat, Cohen issued a response in Borat character, saying after recent reforms that "Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats and age of consent has been raised to eight years old."

Cultural Learnings is scheduled for wide release in November.