She’s been in front of the cameras since she was 14, thanks to a somewhat doe-eyed early screen presence, but now that Heather Graham is over 40, she’s looking to protect and serve the next generation with steely resolve.

It’s not a police state of being, she says. It’s about being in the moment, and simply observing the emotional reality around her – and within her.

An avid practitioner of yoga and meditation, Graham says it’s not always easy maintaining focus in the kaleidoscopic world of entertainment, but whenever she works with kids, she almost feels it’s her duty to inspire through example.

“I remember what it was like to work on my first movie,” says Graham, sitting in a wingback chair in one of Toronto’s grand old dames. “And I think it’s really important to be able to preserve the joy of it all, because it’s all a game of let’s pretend, no matter how old you are.”

Graham has worked with kids in two of her last outings, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, and the truly transcendent The Flying Machine, which features classical piano superstar Lang Lang guiding a winged piano over Europe and is currently unfurling as part of the Toronto International Film Festival.

From HaleyO’s blog: “Yesterday, I went to the fabulous The Flying Machine gala at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). As luck would have it, Heather Graham sat RIGHT next to me as we watched the film.”

Read Haley’s full post here at Today’s Parent and check out her pictures from the premiere.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to embed the video, but you can click on the image below to watch the video on tribute.ca. Enjoy!

Heather attended the première of “The Flying Machine” at TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival, yesterday (Sept 11) and looked amazing in her little white dress.

She also went to the Sony Pictures Classics 20th Anniversary party later the same day.

You can find photos from both events in the gallery here and here.