Toronto International Film Festival 2013

[Stay Puft]

Sept. 5 to 15, 2013. Less than two months to go!

I've started seeing ads for it around town (those lamp post banners on University, etc.), packages are on sale, and the first set of films (galas and special presentations) are being announced tomorrow morning. Also, my first volunteer meeting is this Thursday.

http://i.imgur.com/vwMin.gif

I may even be able to get time off from work this year to actually enjoy the festival. Fingers crossed.

[Winston*]

Wellington International Film Festival starts this Friday:).

[B-side]

I'll be there. My first time leaving the country. I'm sure you're all super eager to meet me, but my celebrity status belies a rather mundane existence.

[Stay Puft]

I totally missed this but they actually announced the first film back in May. (http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/185/TORONTO%20INTERNATIONAL%20FILM %20FESTIVAL%20PRESENTS%20THE%2 0WORLD%20PREMIERE%20OF%20GODFR EY%20REGGIO’S%20VISITORS%20WIT H%20LIVE%20ORCHESTRAL%20PERFOR MANCE_original.pdf?1369241857)

World Premiere of Godfrey Reggio's VISITORS. The first screening is Sunday, Sept. 8 at 6pm @ the Elgin. This screening will be presented in 4k digital and feature live musical accompaniment by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, performing the film's Philip Glass score. The event will be presented by Steven Soderbergh.

This is going to sell out so goddamn fast. Wow.

[Stay Puft]

Here we go! (http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/195/Galas%20and%20Special%20Presen tations%202013_FINAL_original. pdf?1374603997)


GALAS

American Dreams in China (Peter Ho-Sun Chan)
The Art of the Steal (Jonathan Sobol)
August: Osage County (John Wells)
Cold Eyes (Choi Ui-seok and Kim Byung-seo)
The Fifth Estate (Bill Condon) - TIFF Opening Night Film
The Grand Seduction (Don McKellar)
Kill Your Darlings (John Krokidas)
Life of Crime (Daniel Schechter) - TIFF Closing Night Film
The Love Punch (Joel Hopkins)
The Lunchbox (Ritesh Batra)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Justin Chadwick)
Parkland (Peter Landesman)
The Railway Man (Jonathan Teplitzky)
The Right King of Wrong (Jeremiah Chechik)
Rush (Ron Howard)
Shuddh Desi Romance (Maneesh Sharma)
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (Mike Myers)


SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
All is By My Side (John Ridley)
Attila Marcel (Sylvain Chomet)
Bad Words (Jason Bateman)
Belle (Amma Asante)
Blue is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche)
Burning Bush (Agnieszka Holland)
Can a Song Save Your Life? (John Carney)
Cannibal (Manuel MartÃ*n Cuenca)
Dallas Buyers Club (Jean-Marc Vallée)
Devil's Knot (Atom Egoyan)
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her (Ned Benson)
Dom Hemingway (Richard Shepard)
Don Jon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
The Double (Richard Ayoade)
Enough Said (Nicole Holofcener)
Exit Marrakech (Caroline Link)
Felony (Matthew Saville)
For Those Who Can Tell No Tales (Jasmila Žbanić)
Gloria (Sebastián Lelio)
Going Away (Nicole Garcia)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino)
Half of a Yellow Sun (Biyi Bandele)
Hateship Loveship (Liza Johnson)
Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski)
L'intrepido (Gianni Amelio)
The Invisible Woman (Ralph Fiennes)
Joe (David Gordon Green)
Labor Day (Jason Reitman)
Like Father, Like Son (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Man of Tai Chi (Keanu Reeves)
MARY Queen of Scots (Thomas Imbach)
Mystery Road (Ivan Sen)
Night Moves (Kelly Reichardt)
Omar (Hany Abu-Assad)
One Chance (David Frankel)
Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch)
The Past (Asghar Farhadi)
Philomena (Stephen Frears)
Pioneer (Erik Skjoldbjærg)
Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve)
Quai d'Orsay (Bertrand Tavernier)
REAL (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
Starred Up (David Mackenzie)
Third Person (Paul Haggis)
Those Happy Years (Daniele Luchetti)
Tracks (John Curran)
Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer)
Violette (Martin Provost)
Visitors (Godfrey Reggio)
Walesa. Man of Hope. (Andrzej Wajda)
We are the Best! (Lukas Moodysson)
Le Week-End (Roger Michell)
You Are Here (Matthew Weiner)
Young and Beautiful (François Ozon)

[Stay Puft]

I'm excited to see the new Kiyoshi Kurosawa, but disappointed that over the last few months the title has been whittled down from The Day of the Real, Perfect Plesiosaur to just Real. Oh well.

[Boner M]

I think I'll only have enough for a 10-pass this year, unless I land the work I've applied for (fingers crossed!) In that case I'll probably book Night Moves, Under the Skin, Blue is the Warmest Color and maybe REAL of the announced titles so far.

I'm more excited by the Locarno lineup (http://www.indiewire.com/article/locarno-film-festival-announces-2013-lineup?page=2#articleHeaderPan el) announced a few days ago, and hope a bunch of it makes its way here (New Albert Serra, yo!)

[Raiders]

Love that lineup, but alas as always, I have no hope of going. Honestly, half of the Special Presentation titles I am anxious to see.

[Stay Puft]

(New Albert Serra, yo!)

Yeah I'm excited for that one. His previous have played TIFF so I imagine it should make its way here.

[Boner M]

Venice lineup announced (http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-films-from-terry-gilliam-hayao-miyazaki-david-gordon-green-jonathan-glazer-top-70th-venice-film-festival-line-up-20130725), lots of titles that'll hopefully head to TIFF (Tsai, Garrel, Wiseman, Wang Bing, Ti West...)

[Stay Puft]

A new Tsai! Yay!

...but where's Hou Hsiao-hsien? You promised, Boner.

[Boner M]

I don't even know if the Hou exists anymore.

[Ezee E]

Steven Knight returns only a few months after his first directorial effort "Hummingbird" with "Locke," a thriller starring Tom Hardy and shot in one take

Interested.

[Stay Puft]

Just got back from my volunteer meeting. TIFF has lost another venue! The AMC theatre at YDS (which is actually a Cineplex now anyways) is no longer a festival partner. That was one of its biggest venues, too. Crazy. So many good festival memories there.

To compensate, though, the Scotiabank theatre is now an exclusive TIFF venue, which is pretty neat (and equally crazy - although I assume TIFF is not using its IMAX screen, so that should remain open to the public).

[Russ]

Somebody please let me know if Ayoade's The Double is worth seeing.

Sidenote: I had no idea he was voicing in The Boxtrolls movie.

[Stay Puft]

Lots of announcements this week...

First up, the 25th anniversary edition of Midnight Madness. Hitoshi Matsumoto returns to TIFF!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/200/Midnight%20Madness%202013_orig inal.pdf?1375188384

Afflicted (Derek Lee and Clif Prowse)
All Cheerleaders Die (Lucky McKee) - Opening Night Film
Almost Human (Joe Begos)
The Green Inferno (Eli Roth)
Oculus (Mike Flanagan)
R100 (Hitoshi Matsumoto)
Rigor Mortis (Juno Mak)
The Station (Marvin Kren)
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Sion Sono)

[Stay Puft]

Next up, Vanguard films - the bold and bodacious (as per the press release, not my own words):
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/205/Vanguard%202013_original.pdf?1 375194314

Blue Ruin (Jeremy Saulnier)
Borgman (Alex van Warmerdam)
Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari (Alexey Fedorchenko)
The Fake (Yeon Sang-ho)
Horns (Alexandre Aja)
People in Places (Juan Cavestany)
Proxy (Zack Parker)
The Sacrament (Ti West)
Sapi (Brillante Mendoza)
Sex, Drugs & Taxation (Christoffer Boe)
Soul (Chung Mong-hong)
The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani)
Thou Gild’st the Even (Onur Ãœnlü)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Simon Hawkins and Zeke Hawkins)

[Stay Puft]

And now the TIFF Cinematheque program, comprised of seven restored classics:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/204/TIFF%20Cinematheque%202013_ori ginal.pdf?1375194277

Shivers (David Cronenberg) - digital restoration
Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis) - 35mm restored print
An Autumn Afternoon (Yasujiro Ozu) - digital restoration
Manila in the Claws of Light (Lino Brocka) - 4k restoration
Rome Open City (Roberto Rossellini) - press release just says restoration
Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais) - 4k restoration
Le Joli Mai (Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme) - digital restoration

[Stay Puft]

And here come the documentaries!
With the notice that other docs will be announced later outside of the TIFF Docs program.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/202/TIFF%20Docs%202013_original.pd f?1375194193

A Story of Children and Film (Mark Cousins)
Ain't Misbehavin' (Marcel Ophüls)
At Berkeley (Frederick Wiseman)
Beyond the Edge (Leanne Pooley)
Burt's Buzz (Jody Shapiro)
The Dark Matter of Love (Sarah McCarthy)
The Dog (Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren)
Faith Connections (Pan Nalin)
Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story (Barry Avrich)
Finding Vivian Maier (John Maloof and Charlie Siskel)
Hi-Ho Mistahey! (Alanis Obomsawin)
Ignasi M. (Ventura Pons)
Jodorowsky's Dune (Frank Pavich)
The Last of the Unjust (Claude Lanzmann)
The Mayor (Emiliano Altuna Fistolera)
Midway (Chris Jordan)
Mission Congo (David Turner and Lara Zizic)
The Square (Jehane Noujaim)
Tim's Vermeer (Teller)
The Unknown Known (Errol Morris)
Unstable Elements (Madeleine Sackler)
When Jews Were Funny (Alan Zweig)

[Stay Puft]

And finally here are the ten films from the City to City program.
This year's focus is on Athens, Greece.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/203/City%20to%20City%202013_origin al.pdf?1375194244

The Daughter (Thanos Anastopoulos)
The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas (Elina Psykou)
J.A.C.E. – Just Another Confused Elephant (Menelaos Karamaghiolis)
Miss Violence (Alexandros Avranas)
September (Penny Panayotopoulou)
Standing Aside, Watching (Yorgos Servetas) - Opening Night Film
To the Wolf (Aran Hughes and Christina Koutsospyrou)
Unfair World (Filippos Tsitos)
Wasted Youth (Argyris Papadimitropoulos and Jan Vogel)
Wild Duck (Yannis Sakaridis)

[Gamblor]

A Story of Children and Film is excellent.

[Stay Puft]

Oh yeah they announced the Canadian films this week. Try not to get too excited. Lord knows I couldn't control myself.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/213/Canadian%20Features%202013_ori ginal.pdf?1375983408

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Enemy (Denis Villeneuve)
The F Word (Michael Dowse)
Gabrielle (Louise Archambault)
The Husband (Bruce McDonald)
Tom at the Farm (Xavier Dolan)
Watermark (Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky)

DISCOVERY
All the Wrong Reasons (Gia Milani)
Rhymes for Young Ghouls (Jeff Barnaby)
Sarah Prefers to Run (Chloé Robichaud)

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
A Journey (Catherine Martin)
The Animal Project (Ingrid Veninger)
Cinemanovels (Terry Miles)
Le Démantèlement (Sébastien Pilote)
The Dick Knost Show (Bruce Sweeney)
Empire of Dirt (Peter Stebbings)
Siddharth (Richie Mehta)
Stay (Wiebke von Carolsfeld)

VANGUARD
Asphalt Watches (Seth Scriver and Shayne Ehman)
Gerontophilia (Bruce LaBruce)

MASTERS
Triptych (Robert Lepage and Pedro Pires)

[Stay Puft]

And here are the Canadian short films:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/215/Short%20Cuts%20Canada_original .pdf?1375891031

Also, the tofilmfest website finally went live and has apparently leaked some unannounced films:
http://tofilmfest.ca/films/?by=Announce&at=05Aug&yr=2013

New films from Catherine Breillat and Claire Denis in the Masters program!
Also Cristi Puiu's latest in the Wavelengths program, along with a Ben Rivers x Ben Russell collaboration (sure to make a-g fans all hot and bothered).

[Stay Puft]

Yo the Wavelengths lineup is off the chain this year:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/221/Wavelengths%202013_original.pd f?1376413344

Traditional Wavelengths programs:

Wavelengths 1: Variations On...
Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper (David Rimmer)
Pop Takes (Luther Price)
Airship (Kenneth Anger)
El Adios Largos (Andrew Lampert)
The Realist (Scott Stark)

Wavelengths 2: Now & Then
Instants (Hannes Schüpbach)
Pepper's Ghost (Stephen Broomer)
Man in Motion, 2012 (Christophe M. Saber, Ruben Glauser and Max Idje)
Flower (Naoko Tasaka)
Constellations (Helga Fanderl)

Wavelengths 3: Farther Than the Eye Can See
Farther Than the Eye Can See (Basma Alsharif)
Main Hall (Philipp Fleischmann)
45 7 Broadway (Tomonari Nishikawa)
Bann (Nina Könnemann)
Dry Standpipe (Wojciech Bakowski)
Gowanus Canal (Sarah J. Christman)
Nefandus (Carlos Motta)

Wavelengths 4: Elysium
Trissákia 3 (Nick Collins)
Brimstone Line (Chris Kennedy)
Listening to the Space in my Room (Robert Beavers)
Mount Song (Shambhavi Kaul)
Natpwe, the feast of the spirits (Tiane Doan na Champassak and Jean Dubrel)

And then there is also a collection of:

Medium Length Films
Un conte de Michel de Montaigne (Jean-Marie Straub)
The King's Body (Jõao Pedro Rodrigues)
Redemption (Miguel Gomes)
A Thousand Suns (Mati Diop)
Letter to a Refusing Pilot (Akram Zaatari)
Song (Nathaniel Dorsky)
Spring (Nathaniel Dorsky)
Three Lanscapes (Peter Hutton)

And finally a slate of features (originally, this would have been the separate Visions program):

Feature Length Films
A Field in England (Ben Wheatley)
A Spell to Ward off the Darkness (Ben Rivers and Ben Russell)
I'm the same, I'm an other (Caroline Strubbe)
La ultÃ*ma pelÃ*cula (Raya Martin and Mark Peranson) [preceded by RP31 (Lucy Raven)]
MANAKAMANA (Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez)
Pays Barbare (Yvervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi)
Story of My Death (Albert Serra)
Stray Dogs (Tsai Ming-Liang)
The Battle of Tabatô (Joao Viana) [preceded by The Disquiet (Ali Cherri)]
The Missing Picture (Rithy Panh)
The Police Officer's Wife (Philip Gröning)
The Strange Little Cat (Ramon Zürcher)
'Til Madness Do Us Part (Wang Bing)
Three Interpretation Exercises (Cristi Puiu)

[Stay Puft]

Also announced today: The remaining Galas and Special Presentations!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/225/Galas%20&%20SPs%202013_original.pdf?137 6402573

GALAS

Blood Ties (Guillaume Canet)
Bright Days Ahead (Marion Vernoux)
Words and Pictures (Fred Schepisi)

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

A Promise (Patrice Leconte)
The Armstrong Lie (Alex Gibney)
Blind Detective (Johnnie To)
Child of God (James Franco)
The Face of Love (Arie Posin)
Fading Gigolo (John Turturro)
The Finishers (Nils Tavernier)
How I Live Now (Kevin Macdonald)
The Last of Robin Hood (Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland)
The Liberator (Alberto Arvelo)
Love is the Perfect Crime (Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu)
Lucky Them (Megan Griffiths)
Rock the Casbah (Laïla Marrakchi)
Singing Women (Reha Erdem)
Southcliffe (Sean Durkin)
Sunshine on Leith (Dexter Fletcher)
Therese (Charlie Stratton)
Unforgiven (Lee Sang-il)
The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki)

[Stay Puft]

And there's also Contemporary World Cinema, which has more films than you can shake a stick at:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/220/Contemporary%20World%20Cinema_ 2013_original.pdf?1376402465

A couple things jump out at me, namely Alain Guiraudie's Stranger by the Lake and Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant, but there's a whole lot in there I don't know anything about.

Also, if family films are your bag, the last announcement today was TIFF Kids:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/224/TIFF%20Kids%202013_original.pd f?1376402545

Not much left to be announced now, just Masters and Discovery, I think.

[elixir]

Yo the Wavelengths lineup is off the chain this year
Yeah, wow. Lots I would want to see. Blah, I need the schedule to come out...

[Stay Puft]

Yeah, wow. Lots I would want to see. Blah, I need the schedule to come out...

It's killing me because I just know I'm going to have to change my entire volunteer schedule.

But not much longer now regardless. The full schedule is being published online on the 20th. Next week!

[Boner M]

Yo Puft if you hear about anyone selling a 10 or 20 flex pass, lemme know as they sold out before I could get one.

Otherwise I'm relying on single tix, but I'll get the Wavelengths package as well, even if it is a random selection. Lineup's just too damn good.

[Stay Puft]

Some more leakage: a NY publicist has inadvertently confirmed Jia's A Touch of Zen (Masters, no doubt) and Raya Martin confirmed via twitter that Lav Diaz's is also at the fest (he knows the film's producer, so this is straight from the producer's mouth; so probably also Masters).

[NickGlass]

Press accreditation confirmed. Now, uhhhh, how am I even going to begin to parse through these programs.

[Stay Puft]

The schedule has arrived!
http://tiff.net/thefestival/filmprogramming/schedule/day1

Also, it turns out they're using the IMAX screen after all. Interesting. The festival will have IMAX screenings of Gravity, Man of Tai Chi, Metallica Through the Never, and a new IMAX 3D version of The Wizard of Oz.

Also, a new venue: The Glenn Gould Studio. Neat.

Also! A new film added to the Midnight Madness lineup: Witching & Bitching from Alex de la Iglesias.

[Stay Puft]

And then here finally is the Masters program:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/231/Masters_original.pdf?137700395 8

A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhangke)
Abuse of Weakness (Catherine Breillat)
Bastards (Claire Denis)
Closed Curtain (Kambozia Partovi and Jafar Panahi)
Concrete Night (Pirjo Honkasalo)
Home From Home – Chronicle of a Vision (Edgar Reitz)
How Strange to be Named Federico: Scola Narrates Fellini (Ettore Scola)
Moebius (Kim Ki-duk)
Norte, The End of History (Lav Diaz)
Our Sunhi (Hong Sangsoo)

[Stay Puft]

And the remaining programs. Peruse at your leisure.

Discovery:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/230/Discovery%202013_original.pdf? 1377003905

Mavericks:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/228/Mavericks_original.pdf?1376968 481

Future Projections:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/tiff-prod/press_releases/229/Future%20Projections_original. pdf?1377003926

[Stay Puft]

Oh yeah, the sneak preview screening was last night. I assumed these would always be films that premiered at earlier fests (last year was On the Road, for example, which had premiered at Cannes), but nope, they actually gave us a preview of a world premiere last night, from the Special Presentations section. Neat. Of course because it's a TIFF world premiere we were sworn to secrecy, so my lips are sealed, but eh it's nothing to get excited about. It's an idealistic, feel-good sort of film, the kind of thing Match Cut just loves what with the swelling soundtrack and violin cues letting you know when to cry. Not a bad film, but it's just there.

[Ezee E]

Oh yeah, the sneak preview screening was last night. I assumed these would always be films that premiered at earlier fests (last year was On the Road, for example, which had premiered at Cannes), but nope, they actually gave us a preview of a world premiere last night, from the Special Presentations section. Neat. Of course because it's a TIFF world premiere we were sworn to secrecy, so my lips are sealed, but eh it's nothing to get excited about. It's an idealistic, feel-good sort of film, the kind of thing Match Cut just loves what with the swelling soundtrack and violin cues letting you know when to cry. Not a bad film, but it's just there.

If we guess, will you wink???

[B-side]

Probably the Mandela flick.

Everyone should post their (tentative) schedules and see where we match up, if at all. Here's how mine looks right now:

We are the Best! - Sept. 9th 7pm
Tom at the Farm - Sept. 10th at 5:15pm
La ultima pelicula - Sept. 10th at 9:30pm
The Wind Rises - Sept. 11th at 6pm
A Touch of Sin - Sept. 11th at 9pm
Blind Detective - Sept. 12th at 6pm
Joe - Sept. 14th at 2:30pm
Stray Dogs - Sept. 14th at 9pm
Manuscripts Don't Burn - 15th at 1:45pm
Closed Curtain - 15th at 9:45pm

[Watashi]

Match Cut loves feel good, idealistic movies?

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Match Cut loves feel good, idealistic movies?

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/012/132/thatsthejoke.jpg

[Boner M]

Oh yeah, the sneak preview screening was last night. I assumed these would always be films that premiered at earlier fests (last year was On the Road, for example, which had premiered at Cannes), but nope, they actually gave us a preview of a world premiere last night, from the Special Presentations section. Neat. Of course because it's a TIFF world premiere we were sworn to secrecy, so my lips are sealed, but eh it's nothing to get excited about. It's an idealistic, feel-good sort of film, the kind of thing Match Cut just loves what with the swelling soundtrack and violin cues letting you know when to cry. Not a bad film, but it's just there.
The Fifth Estate, I'm guessing.

[Boner M]

My tentative schedule's here (http://tiff13.tiffr.com/schedules/ibarr)

Everyone going should be using this site.

[Stay Puft]

I don't have a tentative schedule yet. Need to start working on one before ticket sales next weekend.

But you should all come to the Midnight Madness screening of Hitoshi Matsumoto's R100.


Probably the Mandela flick.


The Fifth Estate, I'm guessing.

Nope. Those are both Galas, this is in the Special Presentations program. But I will say it was announced at the same time as those films, in the first batch of announcements back on July 23rd.

It doesn't have a high profile like those two (I actually hadn't heard of it before seeing it) but it still has a respectable cast.

[Boner M]

But you should all come to the Midnight Madness screening of Hitoshi Matsumoto's R100.
Still haven't seen any of his stuff (super-pissed I missed Symbol in '10), but that one's definitely on my radar.

[Ezee E]

I don't have a tentative schedule yet. Need to start working on one before ticket sales next weekend.

But you should all come to the Midnight Madness screening of Hitoshi Matsumoto's R100.





Nope. Those are both Galas, this is in the Special Presentations program. But I will say it was announced at the same time as those films, in the first batch of announcements back on July 23rd.

It doesn't have a high profile like those two (I actually hadn't heard of it before seeing it) but it still has a respectable cast.

DON JON!

BTW, I looked at the presentations, and completely forgot about the Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix movie. I hope that comes out well.

[Stay Puft]

Still haven't seen any of his stuff (super-pissed I missed Symbol in '10)

That's still one of the best TIFF screenings I've attended. I don't think I've ever seen the entire Madness crowd go completely silent like they did during the ending, and that's after a good hour+ of people actually falling out of their seats with laughter. That movie got its hooks in deep. What a trip.


DON JON!

Nope.

[Boner M]

Nope.
Surely it was the Albert Serra.

[Mysterious Dude]

I'll be there for three days. I expect to buy tickets in advance, but I don't know if I should buy them online before I go, or if I should wait until I get there. I'm sure there's a "convenience fee" if I get them online, but I'm worried they'll be sold out if I wait. What do you guys suggest?

[Stay Puft]

I've never bought tickets online so I don't know what the convenience fee is but I know there is one. I wouldn't worry too much about tickets being sold out, though. Screenings don't "sell out" in a conventional sense. Rather, they go "off sale" and will be on sale again whenever more ticket allocations become available (always check at 7am for new ticket releases, and particularly 7am the day of the desired screening). Also, something going off sale and staying off sale isn't even the end, because you can rush the film. There are separate lines for ticket holders and those trying to rush the film.

[NickGlass]

I'll be there for three days. I expect to buy tickets in advance, but I don't know if I should buy them online before I go, or if I should wait until I get there. I'm sure there's a "convenience fee" if I get them online, but I'm worried they'll be sold out if I wait. What do you guys suggest?

I would recommend attempting to secure tickets to perhaps one or two of your most highly anticipated films (or the buzziest titles on your wish list), just to be safe, and then purchasing the rest in person at the box office or in a rush line. You may have to be early and you will do a lot of waiting, but thankfully TIFF is the most rush-friendly festival I've ever attended.

[Stay Puft]

Yeah do what Nick says, that sounds like the best advice.

Also forgot to mention, but the Ai Weiwei exhibit is currently running at the AGO. If you're coming to Toronto for TIFF you might want to consider keeping a movie slot open to take in the exhibit, assuming this is your bag, baby. Jackman Hall is one of the TIFF venues so you're probably going to wind up at the AGO at some point anyways, particularly if you're seeing something from the Wavelengths program (and you probably are, because wow that lineup).

I haven't gone yet, but Toronto has been awesome about promoting Ai Weiwei's work. They installed one of his pieces, Circle of Animals, in Nathan Phillips Square this summer, and it's pretty cool. It's a series of bronze sculptures depicting/reinterpreting the zodiac animals, installed in City Hall's reflecting pool. After the AGO exhibit leaves, another piece, Bicycles Forever, is going to be installed in the square to coincide with Nuit Blanche. I'm looking forward to seeing the AGO exhibit, but I'm also loving that the city got on board to get some of his work out in public (I just don't know about Toronto some of these days, I swear... reading the press release with Rob Ford praising Ai Weiwei's democratic spirit, I thought I was in an episode of The Twilight Zone).

[Stay Puft]

Oh yeah and tickets on sale tomorrow!
Here's the current list of films that have already gone off sale:


09-07 12 YEARS A SLAVE 11:30 AM Ryerson Theatre
09-08 ALL THE WRONG REASONS 6:45 PM Scotiabank 1
09-07 BAD WORDS 4:00 PM Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
09-10 BASTARDS 9:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
09-11 BASTARDS 3:30 PM Jackman Hall (AGO)
09-07 BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR 2:00 PM Scotiabank 4
09-08 CHILD OF GOD 10:00 PM Scotiabank 3
09-14 COLD EYES 5:15 PM Scotiabank 2
09-09 DEVIL'S KNOT 9:00 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-09 ENEMY 10:30 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-08 ENOUGH SAID 10:00 AM Isabel Bader Theatre
09-07 FADING GIGOLO 9:45 PM Isabel Bader Theatre
09-08 FADING GIGOLO 3:45 PM Scotiabank 2
09-15 FADING GIGOLO 12:45 PM Scotiabank 1
09-09 FINDING VIVIAN MAIER 4:45 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
09-10 FINDING VIVIAN MAIER 7:15 PM Scotiabank 8
09-09 FOR NO GOOD REASON 7:15 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
09-11 GRAVITY 9:00 PM Scotiabank 12
09-15 GRAVITY 12:00 PM Ryerson Theatre
09-07 HATESHIP LOVESHIP 12:30 PM Isabel Bader Theatre
09-06 HORNS 6:00 PM Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
09-08 HOTELL 6:45 PM Scotiabank 11
09-07 IDA 7:30 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
09-08 LABOR DAY 9:00 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-07 LE WEEK-END 3:30 PM Isabel Bader Theatre
09-08 LE WEEK-END 6:30 PM Scotiabank 2
09-15 LE WEEK-END 2:30 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-14 LIFE OF CRIME 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall (Bal)
09-08 LIFE'S A BREEZE 4:45 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
09-06 LUCKY THEM 6:30 PM Isabel Bader Theatre
09-07 MADE IN AMERICA 10:15 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-13 MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM 5:30 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-09 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 7:00 PM Scotiabank 2
09-09 MISS VIOLENCE 7:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
09-07 MYSTERY ROAD 7:15 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-10 OMAR 7:30 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-12 OUR MAN IN TEHRAN 6:15 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
09-06 PALO ALTO 9:00 PM Scotiabank 4
09-10 THE DAUGHTER 7:45 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
09-11 THE DINNER 6:45 PM Scotiabank 2
09-07 THE DOUBLE 8:00 PM Winter Garden Theatre
09-08 THE F WORD 11:30 AM Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
09-13 THE FACE OF LOVE 3:00 PM Scotiabank 14
09-05 THE FIFTH ESTATE 6:30 PM Visa Screening Room
09-05 THE FIFTH ESTATE 8:00 PM Roy Thomson Hall
09-07 THE FIFTH ESTATE 12:30 PM Winter Garden Theatre
09-06 THE LAST OF ROBIN HOOD 9:45 PM Isabel Bader Theatre
09-09 THE LUNCHBOX 9:30 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
09-07 THE PAST 10:30 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
09-07 THE SEA 5:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
09-10 THE STAG 8:00 PM Scotiabank 2
09-13 THE STAG 9:30 PM Scotiabank 13
09-12 THE STRANGE LITTLE CAT 7:45 PM Jackman Hall (AGO)
09-08 THE UNKNOWN KNOWN 6:45 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-13 THIRD PERSON 8:45 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-06 TRAP STREET 6:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
09-06 WATERMARK 7:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
09-08 WATERMARK 9:00 AM Scotiabank 13
09-10 WHEN JEWS WERE FUNNY 9:15 PM Scotiabank 13
09-15 WHEN JEWS WERE FUNNY 4:45 PM Scotiabank 9
09-08 WORDS AND PICTURES 12:45 PM Isabel Bader Theatre

Visitors isn't off sale!

Tons of shit tends to go off sale in that first hour window, though. Hmmm. Fuck it, I think I might head down to the box office soon and camp out. I need tickets to Visitors like I need oxygen.

[elixir]

my schedule: http://tiff13.tiffr.com/schedules/cinelixir

[Stay Puft]

From the time tickets went on sale (9) to the time I got to a ticket window (9:30), A Touch of Sin went off sale. BOO.

But I got tickets to Visitors so FUCK YEAH.

[Boner M]

Touch of Sin's playing the Lightbox next month, though - So is Bastards. Ditched both of 'em from my schedule, the latter w/ the most regret.

[Stay Puft]

Ah, problem solved! Then it's off my schedule, too. I had the fall preview guide handed to me by a volunteer, but I didn't see the Jia mentioned anywhere. Claire Denis retrospective at the Cinematheque next month, though, with Denis in attendance, so AW YISS (and Bastards straight off my schedule).

Blind Detective was my backup for the Jia slot, but damn... I'm starting to think that's going to show up afterwards, too, in one way or another. Toronto loves Johnnie To.

[Stay Puft]

Yo it begins!

...but I'm not seeing anything yet as I'm still stuck at work for the remainder of the week.

I hate everybody seeing the Albert Serra this weekend. And the Panahi, which I don't think I'm going to able to catch. (Both have an additional screening closing weekend... at the same bloody time. Wouldn't be TIFF without a classic scheduling conflict.)

[Stay Puft]

I hate everybody seeing the Albert Serra this weekend.

Haha and Boner just texted me about it. Fucker. I'm so jelly.

I did manage to squeeze a movie in today, though: Kiyoshi Kurosawa's REAL. Which means I get to go to work tonight having skipped my usual nap. I'm gonna be a wreck but oh well.

[Watashi]

12 Years a Slave is getting insane gusho reviews.

[Ezee E]

12 Years a Slave is getting insane gusho reviews.

As it should.

[Stay Puft]

Yo E when are you going to post some thoughts on the stuff you saw at Telluride. The wait is killing me.

[Rowland]

The only vaguely negative review I've seen so far for 12 Years a Slave is from Chaw, and even he said it was a very good film that only compared unfavorably to the source material and McQueen's previous films.

[Stay Puft]

I was turned away from the Chris Marker today. FUCK. MY. LIFE.

Found this, though:
http://www.theseventhart.org/main/tiff13/

They've been live streaming interviews with filmmakers, and they've been pretty good. More just relaxed, lengthy discussions. I'm still waiting for them to upload the Hirokazu Kore-eda interview, but I caught the end of the MANAKAMANA talk and watched the Albert Serra talk during the livestream today. Good stuff, very casual and informative and insightful. Serra spent a lot of time talking about the various cameras he was using to shoot Story of My Death, how technical compromises led to the final look of the film, and how his cinema wouldn't exist at all without the so-called digital revolution. Great insight into his methodology and philosophy. Also shared an amazing anecdote about Pedro Costa's reaction to the film. This is not making the wait any easier. I have to wait until the 15th to see the film...

[NickGlass]

I've been updating my Twitter (https://twitter.com/nick_mccarthy) with brief reactions to films I've seen at TIFF. Stranger by the Lake and Manakamana have been the top so far.

[Stay Puft]

Slow start, but today was my first actual day of vacation so I tried to make up for it by cramming in six (6) movies, though to be fair that includes some Wavelengths stuff so not as impressive at it sounds. But still... I already feel tired.

The viewing log so far...

Day -15
Belle (Amma Asante) **

Day 1
nothing

Day 2
Real (Kiyoshi Kurosawa) ***

Day 3
nothing (but not for lack of trying. fuck you, toronto)

Day 4
Song (Nathaniel Dorsky) ***
Spring (Nathaniel Dorsky) ****
Three Landscapes (Peter Hutton) ***
Visitors (Godfrey Reggio) **
The Selfish Giant (Clio Barnard) ***½
Oculus (Mike Flanagan) **½

No plans for tomorrow, other than volunteering duties. I'll write some reactions up to all of this stuff starting tomorrow, too, but just a few quick notes for now:

Amma Asante's BELLE was the film we saw during the preview event. Sounds like we got the wrong slavery movie.

Four silent movies in a row on Day 4. A nice opportunity to decompress from all of the bullshit of my life and start my vacation/TIFF experience feeling purified. That being said, though, the film I was most excited to see - Reggio's VISITORS - was a disappointment. Dorsky's SPRING, however, a revelation.

[Stay Puft]

Some brief reactions to the two films I saw while still grinding away at work:

http://i.imgur.com/YqkT2Pi.jpg

Amma Asante's BELLE -

As I teased before, this is an idealistic movie with big speeches and important themes and really, who's going to argue with it? It's the kind of movie where a character yells "slavery is wrong" at the camera and then there's a reaction shot of all the other performers cheering. Case closed. Everybody can go home feeling good. It's not really a bad film for all that, though - the acting is fine, the production values are fine... I'd say the biggest problem is just how flat everything looks. Quite a dull movie visually that just sort of plods along from one scene to the next. It doesn't add up to much more dramatically, either, as the film splits its time between a couple different plot threads, so that the relationship between Dido and John happens more or less because it has to, because it's based on a true story. But again, for all that, the scenes are all well performed and dramatically competent. It's such an earnest film, it's hard to hate... but it's also hard to give a damn. Respectable, forgettable.

http://i.imgur.com/7uESdTL.jpg

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's REAL -

A rather dopey film but also sort of sweet and endearing. It works for me because Kurosawa doesn't cheat: this is a mystery movie, and all the pieces add up in the end (even with one utterly ridiculous plot twist that almost made me turn on the film, so kudos to Kurosawa for holding it together). It has sci-fi and j-horror trappings, and some classic Kurosawa touches - there are some great scenes here, both for laughs and scares, and one in particular that made some people in my audience scream - but at its core it's a low key, sometimes preposterous, always heartfelt (even if to a fault - there's one shot near the end so amazingly ott I can't tell if it's terrible or the greatest thing ever), drama about guilt and remorse. It's not one of his strongest aesthetic works, though. The look of the film is a bit cheap and tacky at times, owing to some questionable special effects and compositing - but the special effects heavy conclusion is surprisingly good (at least relative to what comes before). The big climax is something new for Kurosawa, if I'm not mistaken, and suggests a possible career direction that, well, sure, why not... Kiyoshi Kurosawa, blockbuster filmmaker, anyone?

[Boner M]

I lost my 14 tickets on Saturday but found them returned to the box office today. Emotional rollercoaster.

Anyway, highlights so far have been Manakamana, Norte, the End of History, the Wavelengths 1 program and At Berkeley. Also greatly admired Closed Curtain and the gorgeous 4K restoration of Manila in the Claws of Light. Nothing's been bad; even Breillat's Abuse of Weakness and Serra's Story of My Death have resonated well after indifference/frustration.

General vibe at the festival's been pretty ecstatic; lots of love for lots of different films.

[Stay Puft]

I lost my 14 tickets on Saturday but found them returned to the box office today. Emotional rollercoaster.

I just read through your twitter. Best movie I've seen so far at TIFF. Jesus Christ, dude.

(Seriously, though, I only got as far as "I lost my 14 tickets" and started feeling physically ill. However briefly, you lived my fucking nightmare.)

[Stay Puft]

Oh and I need all the details of the Serra Q&A hostilities.

[number8]

Weird drama on twitter about Alex Billington calling 911 on someone for using a cell phone during Ti West's Sacrament.

[elixir]

I've been updating my Twitter (https://twitter.com/nick_mccarthy) with brief reactions to films I've seen at TIFF. Stranger by the Lake and Manakamana have been the top so far.
Followed. Manakamana is so wonderful! (We may have been at the same morning screening?) I'm so psyched for the Guiraudie. Next weekend! Favs so far besides that Sensory Ethnography Lab sensation - never stop, guys! - are Wiseman's At Berkeley, Dorsky's Spring, and A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness.

[elixir]

Weird drama on twitter about Alex Billington calling 911 on someone for using a cell phone during Ti West's Sacrament.
Not a response to this exactly, but I thought a film festival - this is my first, rly, so - would be better in terms of talking/cell phone usage, but nope, people are assholes no matter what!

[number8]

Weird drama on twitter about Alex Billington calling 911 on someone for using a cell phone during Ti West's Sacrament.

Holy shit this is blowing up now. Got on Buzzfeed, then Associated Press and now Gawker. It's about to get really sad: this is going to be the biggest news out of this year's TIFF.

[Watashi]

I didn't know Denis Villeneuve had TWO movies premiering at TIFF. Enemy sounds interesting and has gotten some polarizing reviews.

[Stay Puft]

Holy shit this is blowing up now. Got on Buzzfeed, then Associated Press and now Gawker. It's about to get really sad: this is going to be the biggest news out of this year's TIFF.

This is really, really weird.

I suppose I understand the piracy thing but P&I screenings are a different beast, and this is actual festival policy. I'm not press or industry so I don't know how people feel about that in general, but I've seen guys running in and out of theatres and taking phone calls and making deals for a movie while it's still screening. That seems like standard business? Or are people getting sick of phone usage in general and want policy revised?

Perhaps we should ask Billington why he uses his phone during public screenings, which is not festival policy. Because people have seen him doing that.

[number8]

It's basically friction caused by putting Press and Industry people in the same screenings. Industry people are there for business, not to watch films. Press people are there to assess the films. My experiences with P&I screenings were never that bad, but supposedly at this year's TIFF the Industry people were conducting their business in the theater during the screening rather than going in and out. And yes, it's always been festival policy to allow it, and I guess Billington just didn't know that before and got annoyed when he found out. It is bizarre.

[Stay Puft]

It's basically friction caused by putting Press and Industry people in the same screenings.

Ah this makes sense. Thanks.

I'm allowed in to P&I screenings as a volunteer (and I've never had a problem with them yet) but not being P&I I'm not thoroughly familiar with that side of the festival experience (and I haven't been to any so far this year).

[Rowland]

Hmm, the new Ti West sounds an awful lot like a feature length Christian-themed take on Gareth Evans and Timo Tjahjanto's awesome Safe Haven short from V/H/S/2.

[Raiders]

It also stars Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz, AJ Bowen and Kentucker Audley. Long live mumblegore.

[number8]

Shots fired.


“At every screening at the Festival front of house staff are on hand to deal with concerns from audience members. We regret to hear that a press delegate felt his experience of a press and industry screening was compromised, however we firmly believe that 911 is for emergencies only.”

[Stay Puft]

A few words about the a-g stuff I saw on Sunday...

http://i.imgur.com/GpkIZZc.jpg

Nathaniel Dorsky's SONG & SPRING -

It took me a while to acclimate myself to Dorsky's cinema - this being my introduction - so I imagine I would be much more appreciative of Song on a subsequent viewing. Which is not to say I didn't already enjoy it, finding much to appreciate in its often disorienting rhythm (some shots begin so close to a subject as to be abstract, before the brain finally processes what exactly it is looking at). All that is merely to explain that it wasn't until Spring that I was firmly on board, thoroughly absorbed by the striking images on display. It may also help that Spring has a clear thematic focus, where the shorter Song felt more like a brief work of free association. Spring, however, is an undeniably impressive work of personal filmmaking, a record of Dorsky's creative impulses as he chases a singular concept of cinema in his own backyard. Peter Hutton actually said it best during the Q&A: watching Dorsky's work is like tumbling down the rabbit hole. It's the most refreshing and rapturous cinematic experience I've had at the festival so far.

Unfortunately, the screening was also plagued by projection issues. Technical difficulties delayed the start of the film, and then Song was out of focus (another reason it will need a reappraisal). Dorsky was upset, disappointed for the audience as much as his own artistic ego, it seems, and yet surprisingly not angry. He called it the worst projection he's ever seen, granted, but when I saw him after the screening, he just looked crushed and defeated. He looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I felt so bad for the guy I didn't even know what to say.

http://i.imgur.com/PBbJzwJ.jpg

Peter Hutton's THREE LANDSCAPES -

Like Dorsky's Spring, this has a clear thematic focus, but unlike Dorsky's work, it also has a deliberate structure, being divided into three distinct chapters that each employ a similar visual strategy to document its subject. It makes for an interesting counter-point to Dorsky's work, and yet despite the clear focus and three-part structure, it also somehow manages to feel like two different movies being slammed together. Hutton travels to areas around Detroit and the Hudson River Valley for his first two chapters, documenting workers and their surrounding landscapes, but in the third chapter he's suddenly in Ethiopia. And where the first two chapters are full of long takes and large scale shots (Hutton never gets close to the workers), the third chapter is suddenly a documentary about salt mining, with shorter cuts and close-ups to document the finer details of the mining process. I have to admit I loved this chapter. Its intimacy gives it an urgency that that the first two chapters lack, and makes those chapters seem like mere curios in comparison (though it's a good film overall).

Also making for an interesting counter-point is that Dorsky's films were celluloid (and the amazing quality of the cinematographic images Dorsky produces make an incredible argument for the strengths of celluloid imagery), but Three Landscapes was a digital transfer, a result of a necessary comprise during post-production (I can't remember the details of why he had to do this). He seemed generally surprised and pleased by the result, but I have to say, I think the film may have been worse off for it regardless. Not terrible by any means, but I did notice some artifacts as a result of the transfer that hampered the quality of the images (at first I actually assumed the source was video, was a bit surprised it was shot on 16mm).

[Henry Gale]

Got to see Gravity and Under the Skin! Posted thoughts in their 2013 threads.

Also somehow happened to see, shake hands with and compliment Pierce Brosnan, chatted with Jonathan Glazer outside after his film, and noticed Nic Cage's car pull up before his autograph line for Joe. Of course I used it as a prime opportunity to get close and yell Wicker Man quotes at him.

[Stay Puft]

Just poppin' in again for a quick viewing log update. Lots to talk about! But it'll have to wait...

Day 5
nothing (day set aside for volunteering duties)

Day 6
We are the Best! (Lukas Moodysson) ***½
Jodorowsky's Dune (Frank Pavich) ***
Almost Human (Joe Begos) *½

I'm up to five movies in a row for free on Day 7. Lukas Moodysson himself comped me for his film. I'm doing good this year!

[NickGlass]

Day 6
We are the Best! (Lukas Moodysson) ***½


Good to hear you liked the Moodysson, and yet it makes me feel even more regretful for skipping it in favor of Life of Crime (simply because it's the Closing Night Gala and thought it would be more important 'coverage') this afternoon. Such mediocrity. It can't even figure out Elmore Leonard's tone.

[Stay Puft]

I was planning on seeing two more movies yesterday, but when I stopped home briefly after the first two (I was ditching my volunteer shirt, and made that previous post above), I found ants. Fucking bastards started infiltrating the kitchen. Had to be dealt with immediately, or I wouldn't be able to think about anything else. Therefore...

Day 7
All the Wrong Reasons (Gia Milani) **
Canopy (Aaron Wilson) **
stupid ants

I was too tired afterwards and fell asleep. But I can't complain too much: I saw those two movies randomly, for free, on my volunteer shift, and even got paid afterwards (somebody dropped cash in the theatre, and nobody claimed it, so one of the theatre reps slipped it to me).

Watchin' movies, gettin' paid. I'm doing so good this year not even ants can keep me down.

[Stay Puft]

Also, on the volunteer shift before that one, I was inside a theatre during a footage check and saw a couple scenes from Kim Ki-duk's Moebius. Haha oh wow that movie looks fucked up. I might have to try to see it later in the fest.

I also saw the "special surprise" for the Midnight Madness audience this week. It was a preview of The Raid 2: Berandal! I have to admit I got a little giddy. The preview was of a scene in a subway featuring a female assassin disposing of her target's bodyguards with a couple of hammers. It looked exactly like The Raid so no surprises there I guess. Like that film, this scene from Berandal has some ott gore that I'm not too fond of, if I'm being honest (if they'd just keep it dialed back like in Merantau, or stick to the practical gore and not add stuff in post, the scene would be much stronger, imh). But that being said it also has some great camerawork and action choreography - the very good news being that it was a much tighter and focused action scene than anything in The Raid. Of course, it's just one scene, and may not be indicative of the rest of the film (which could still very much suffer from pacing problems on the whole), but it does look like Evans is taking some of the criticism about the pacing of scenes in the first film to heart.

[Mysterious Dude]

I saw six movies.

Tuesday
Rags and Tatters ***
We are the Best! ****

Wednesday
Des étoiles (Under the Starry Sky) ***½
A nagy füzet (Le Grand Cahier) **½

Thursday
Walesa. Man of Hope ***½
The Kids from the Port *

[Stay Puft]

I'm really slowing down. And my computer blew up yesterday.

Day 8
My Love Awaits Me by the Sea (Mais Darwazah) **½
Bends (Flora Lau) ***
R100 (Hitoshi Matsumoto) ***

Day 9
The Major (Yuri Bykov) ***

I had a couple more things lined up this weekend but I also have two more volunteer shifts. Ugh I'm so tired. I don't know if I can sit for three hours for the Gröning even though I really want to see it. And I never want to stand in a line again.

[Henry Gale]

Awards announced. All others here. (http://tiff.net/thefestival/festivalawards)

BlackBerry People's Choice Award: 12 Years a Slave

BlackBerry People's Choice Documentary Award: The Square

BlackBerry People's Choice Midnight Madness Award: Why Don't You Play In Hell?

Haven't seen McQueen's film, but it's still gratifying to see something more challenging and potentially deeper than a lot of the sorts of feel-good crowdpleaser that tend to take top honours (Silver Linings, King's Speech, Slumdog all come to mind). I had a feeling Slave would win considering how much people have talked it up (both online and the people I spoke with around the festival), but I also had a possibly irrational fear that something like the James Corden as Paul Potts comfort-food biopic would sneak up and win.

Extremely happy with the few things I got to see this year, along with the chance meetings that came between them. Gravity, Under The Skin and The Wind Rises are all great film experiences completely unique to one another that I can't wait to revisit, all made even better by the atmosphere of the festival itself. A lot of the time I don't think about how lucky I am to live in Toronto, but it's weeks like this I definitely feel it.

[Stay Puft]

I am obsessed with the idea of writing a dictionary of cheeses.

Day 10
nothing (just more volunteering duties today)

Day 11
Story of My Death (Albert Serra) ***

Just sort of glad it's over at this point. Ended up not seeing much closing weekend, but still had a solid run. A front-loaded experience this year, as all the best stuff I saw was in the first half, but still managed quite a consistent back half with a healthy sampling of solid, three star films.

My computer blowing up meant I didn't get anymore write-ups done but I can start working on those again tomorrow, I guess.

And my screening of the Albert Serra was... better than expected? Not as many people walked out as I assumed, though from what I overheard nobody really liked it anyways. One person, one whole person, clapped when the credits started, to which a handful of people started laughing. That seemed about right. Still wish I could have been there earlier for a Q&A, though.

[Stay Puft]

Oh yeah and I guess I saw Witching & Bitching on Day 10 but I slept through at least half of it, maybe even two-thirds of it, so I'm not counting that. And so I can't call it the worst film I saw at TIFF this year because, yeah, I can't count it. But seriously, what I did see... unrelenting misogynistic garbage. Good grief. So there's that!

I gotta say, I'm walking away from TIFF this year sort of unenthused about ever going to Midnight Madness again. That's not even a comment on the quality of the films. Rather, there has been an anti-intellectual undercurrent that I've noticed about this sidebar in the past (though I've always hesitated to generalize an audience), and it became rather aggressive this year. Seeing the audience embrace Witching & Bitching certainly plays a part in that: reading twitter reactions, I was dismayed to see people calling it a smart commentary on gender politics (the whole film is the director blaming his ex-wife for everything), and this isn't the first time Colin, the programmer, has championed an apparently blatant work of misogyny (see also I guess: Cold Fish), which speaks to this audience's taste for insular, exclusionary genre fare. What really surprised me was seeing a sex worker, who attended the screening of R100, get thoroughly shut down by both the audience and Colin personally when she asked Matsumoto a question about stereotyping sex workers. This "conversation" continued afterwards on twitter, with people calling the sex worker "pathetic" for asking such a question and Colin mounting the most inane justification for his response (it's not a documentary). The content of both the question and the film is entirely irrelevant now: the way the situation itself was handled was shameful, and signalled the low point of the festival for me.

[Bandy Greensacks]

What about the filmmaking, though?

[Boner M]

Here's everything I saw in a rough order of preference:

http://letterboxd.com/ianb/tag/tiff13/films/by/rating/

Only long review I've written was for Tsai's Stray Dogs, which is film of the fest and film of year, I reckon:

http://www.torontoscreenshots.com/2013/09/16/stray-dogs/

[Stay Puft]

Had a busy week, but still wanted to get something more written in the thread, so here's just a brief rundown of my reactions to everything else I saw:

Visitors (3/7) - Steven Soderbergh hosted a discussion panel after the movie, which was great. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performed the Glass score live in the theatre, which was great. Everything about this screening was great except for the film itself, which was just sort of eh. Reggio made a big deal about creating a new language and an experience that was open for the viewer to interpret, but there are nonetheless specific ideas in the film (e.g. one sequence is about our relationship to modern technology and personal computing devices) that don't seem to add up to anything, and conceptually it only served to remind me of a similar Kiarostami film. Even Reggio's reason for wanting to shoot b&w with empty backgrounds did not have the intended effect on me. As a TIFF volunteer who has actually stood and watched audiences watch movies regularly, I felt this movie sort of missed the mark.

The Selfish Giant (6/7) - Tied with the Moodysson as the best feature film I saw this year (the Dorsky is the best stuff I saw overall, but I'll make a distinction here, whether that's useful or not). Barnard's "realist fable" is a successful blend of cultural documentation (even her child actors are non-professionals who actually scrap for a living) and narrative myth making (Barnard is riffing on the Wilde story). Barnard makes some great stylistic choices, from the moody establishing shots featuring a horse motif and an underscore that subtly bubbles up out of the soundscapes, to choreographing action on multiple planes (e.g. in one shot, the protag's older brother runs by in the background and yells at him), so that the setting feels dense, alive (and the film as a whole mercifully free of realism). The latter half of the film is more single-minded, however, as the film races to its inevitable outcome (and as such doesn't have as much of what I just described), but I still found the whole experience powerful and heartrending so I can hardly fault it.

Oculus (4/7) - A horror movie about a mirror that kills people. It sounds ridiculous but actually kinda worked for me, for two reasons: 1) the mirror is a character with a specific set of character traits, so that its behavior in the story is predictable and internally consistent, something supernatural movies like this tend to ignore; and 2) the film boasts a dynamic plot that intertwines two time periods, which serves multiple purposes of course (exposition, backstory, etc.) but is also cleverly the mirror's main defense mechanism (confusing the characters themselves, as they witness the flashbacks as children, so that they can't maintain a grip on reality or their location in the house and therefore fight the mirror). It's all pretty hokey and stupid but I credit the filmmakers for actually having ambition and putting in the work to make it succeed (the film was thoroughly planned and storyboarded to maintain continuity between multiple time periods, and the plotting flows surprisingly smoothly). Not great but has a couple good scares. This is in contrast to...

Almost Human (2/7) - This movie has absolutely no ambition whatsoever. It's made by a group of diehard horror fans and it shows. It's pure fan service. The filmmaker's passion is obviously for gore because that's the only good thing about the film: the special effects are surprisingly well done, given the budget. Which of course means the rest of the movie is terrible: terrible writing, terrible acting, terrible everything. There's really nothing more to say. Almost Human is the poster child for the worst tendencies in genre filmmaking. It's depressing to see films like these aspire to so little.

Jodorowsky's Dune (4/7) - A pretty straightforward documentary that lets Jodorowsky himself do most of the heavy lifting (which might actually be a good idea anyways). What a shame that this version of Dune never materialized! It's incredible seeing the passion all of the people involved have for the project even today, and there's one scene in particular where Jodorowsky just loses it and starts ranting at the camera, his wounds having apparently never healed, despite his best efforts to convince us (himself) that he moved on. And the film makes a pretty good argument for Jodorowsky having nevertheless influenced Hollywood filmmaking from that point on (though a couple of the comparisons between modern films and Jodorowsky's workbook are a bit of a stretch). Highlight: Jodorowsky going off on a tangent about raping women and Frank Herbert. People in my audience were visibly upset. It was so outrageous I just sat there in disbelief.

We are the Best! (6/7) - The most entertaining film I saw at TIFF, quite easily, but also a smart and gentle film. It has the utmost respect for its characters, for their youthful, counterculture rebellion, and for everything about them that is naïve and inexperienced. It respects the processes by which these youths attempt to discover themselves and forge identities. It's ridiculously funny, it's full of energy, it's sad and touching and beautiful and uplifting and amazing. Highly recommended to every Match-Cutter.

All the Wrong Reasons (3/7) - Meh. It's not a bad movie, but there's a scene near the end where a character is standing on a bridge looking out over the water, and a coupe kids below see him and start yelling "jump! jump! kill yourself!" and so on. Manipulative tripe. That's all that needs to be said.

Canopy (3/7) - About what I could have hoped for stylistically, and all the more impressive given that it's a debut. Great attention to detail on the soundtrack, and even the special effects in the opening sequences are handled with skill. This director has some serious potential, but unfortunately the film stumbles where it matters the most: dramatically. It's a mostly silent film (only a handful of lines of dialogue in total, not counting a song one of the characters sings in one scene) about two WWII soldiers who try to survive the jungles of Singapore. And it's hopelessly cliché. Every scenario you can imagine based on this concept happens, like one big narrative checklist. And then it tries to go Terrence Malick at the end and botches the landing spectacularly. Better luck next time.

Okay this is actually getting long. I'll write up the rest in a bit.

[Boner M]

Can't wait for the Moodysson. Been a while since I've seen a really great feelgood film; Somer's Town might be the last one.

[Winston*]

Was expecting at least a bit of feelgoodery in The Selfish Giant, based on the Wilde story. Nope.

[Stay Puft]

Was expecting at least a bit of feelgoodery in The Selfish Giant, based on the Wilde story. Nope.

Haha. There is some great humor in the first half, though. Arbor has some funny lines, and the older brother.

The horse racing scene is amazing, too. I know it's a controlled set but those were not professional stuntmen and goddamn that is unsafe. I wanted to tell Barnard she was crazy for shooting that.

[Stay Puft]

And the last batch. A solid run to end the fest.

My Love Awaits Me by the Sea (4/7) - Inspired by the art of Hasan Hourani, filmmaker Mais Darwazah journeys to Jaffa and records her trip with a camera. The elements of the film are all loosely connected and don't land with much force, but individual scenes taken on their own are quite good, and the more conventional talking head interview segments are some of the most enjoyable. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is compelling enough a topic that simply listening to a few different people discuss their own stories and perspectives makes for a watchable enough film.

Bends (5/7) - My favorite part of the film is how deftly first time filmmaker Flora Lau weaves two different stories together, so that the two main characters, a rich HK woman whose husband vanishes and her mainland chauffeur who is trying to get his pregnant wife across the border, simultaneously feel like focal points and background noise, constantly weaving in and out of each other's stories without paying the other much attention. It's not always dramatically compelling but strong performances and Christopher Doyle help it across the finish line.

R100 (5/7) - It wasn't until close to the end that I realized what Matsumoto was doing here. He has made his own version of Takeshi Kitano's Glory to the Filmmaker!: a celebration of an artist's freedom of expression. It's proof that Matsumoto still has a ways to go before he can get on Kitano's level, but it's also impressive that Matsumoto has established such a rich and singular cinematic voice in only four films. This is by far the strangest thing he has done, but as a comedy of escalation it's outrageously funny, a slow burn to insanity (even the screening reminded me of seeing the Kitano here a few years back: at both screenings, there was a guy sitting next to me who was quiet for the first half of the film, seemingly not reacting to it at all, and then at one point was finally defeated and just lost it and started laughing uncontrollably).

The Major (5/7) - My kind of genre film: Straight to the point. This is a lean, relentless police thriller detailing the corruption of a small rural Russian police force (the police major of the title hits and kills a child with his car, and the whole division tries to make the problem go away, until the major suddenly develops a conscience). It can get hokey but it's never less than gripping, and Bykov (who also plays one of the main characters, and quite well) keeps the story on point.

Story of My Death (5/7) - I like Andréa Picard's write up of the film, characterizing it as a clash between Enlightenment and Romanticism. I don't know that I could add anything to that. As per Serra's style, it's droll and often vexing, but it also achieves a wonderfully (and wonderfully disturbing) hypnotic quality as Dracula slowly enters the picture and death begins consuming the film. The music is amazing, and I love how it seems to regress to nothing more than heavy droning and percussion in the second part of the film. Some of the later passages, particularly the slaughter of the ox, are quite memorable for this reason. But the first part also has some memorable passages and amusing details, like a brief throwaway scene alluding to Casanova's never completed dictionary of cheeses. I probably prefer Birdsong to this (part of the success of Birdsong is its brief runtime, I think, whereas this one does meander a bit too much for my tastes), but Serra's cinema is in a world of its own and I'm glad it exists (if only to piss off unsuspecting audiences who keep turning up for it at TIFF).