Overheard @ TIFF’18

The Toronto International Film Festival descended on the busy streets of Toronto yet again. From film stars to directors, the celestial bodies didn’t shine on our grateful city but instead walked amongst us. This year was my first full year of taking in movies at the festival and devoting my time during the week to being downtown, meeting new and interesting people and watching films. Now as much as there is a lot of things to note about all of these films, I want to look more at the people or things that I talked about that truly shaped my viewings. Every film that I saw is worthy of being discussed and I’m sure you can find better-qualified people to do that and I even met some of them but I want to talk about how the festival I was at shaped my viewing of every film. The good, the great, the chance encounters and everything in-between.

HOMECOMING

WHERE TO WATCH: Amazon Prime Video, November 2nd.

From Left to Right, the cast and crew of Homecoming. Sam Esmail, Julia Roberts, Stephan James, Alex Karpovsky, Sissy Spacek, Dermot Mulroney, Micah Bloomberg Eli Horowitz

As the first thing that I got tickets for and watched, this was the one that if I didn’t see anything else, that I would be happy. It’s a world premiere, it’s from awesome creators has a stellar cast and it’s really cool. Standing in line, I met Greg. One thing I realized on my first day in line was that all the ‘important’ people had lanyards on. Whether they be a guest of someone, a critic, member of the press or the film industry they all have a lanyard and pass. Henceforth my favourite question of the festival comes, “Oh hey, you have a badge, what is that for?” comes into play. It’s such an easy way to talk to people about what they do and at the end of the day, I might not be on their level but we all have an interesting talk about the film we are going to see or just about the cool thing they do. Back to Greg, he was really excited to see the new TV show from the acclaimed creator of Mr. Robot, Sam Esmail. As was and we continued to discuss some of the things we were excited about for the upcoming festival. As our conversation continued, my inevitable question came up. “So what does your lanyard mean?” He explained he was a film producer of one of the documentaries at the festival and went on to explain his role in the documentary as well as some of the other work he had been a part of. He spoke super highly about his project and I expect none the less but as we were walking in he mentioned that it wasn’t their premiere at the festival but the first public screenings the next night and they were having some more screenings in the days to come that I should check out if I had time. We shook hands and parted ways as we walked into the every filling Ryerson Theatre.

Homecoming is a mystery wrapped in an enigma with a riddle on the side and some fries with it. It’s a delightful 30 min drama series that takes a look into a group of people at an American veterans rehab facility. The use of portrait video is engaging and the colours, design and cinematography all lend to the story they are trying to craft. This is definitely going to be worth the binge to figure out the twists and turns.

GHOST FLEET

WHERE TO WATCH: No release date yet.

From Left to Right, Directors Jeffrey Waldon and Shannon Service, Humanitarian Patima Tungpuchayakul with her translator, and TIFF Docs Curator Thom Powers

So this was the aforementioned project that Greg had mentioned the day before in line for Homecoming. He introduced me to the directors and one of the cinematographers of this film and along with that, the documentary blew me away. But before that, I had to stand in yet another line. This time I was lucky enough to stand next to a man named Chris who was a film buyer for a certain TV network in the US. He comes to festivals like this ones and many others and aims to make deals with the filmmakers to show their projects on his channel and get distribution for it, in the US. It’s really interesting because he says on an average day he is seeing 6 or 7 movies. Woah is right, now he says he only stays throughout the entirety of most films only if he is really intrigued but as a buyer, he knows what will match his channels brand and goal in what they are looking for in terms of content really well. The interesting part of our conversation was when he mentioned that they were moving to Canada in the next few months. One of his goals at TIFF this year was to scout out some Canadian content to add to their platform. We not only discussed the broadening of the media landscape but how people like Amazon is shaping how they deliver content because that is one of their partners are they grow internationally. It’s not a big network but they do have one show that I love and obviously, I didn’t get the chance to ask him about it. As we walked into the Scotiabank Theatre, we exchanged a handshake and sat in our seats. I did notice him leave about 2/3rds of the way in and I really hope he is trying to buy this film for his network so more people can see it. Also much love to Greg for helping produce this amazing film, but also being an awesome person to meet and get to know.

Back to the film. It’s a story you haven’t heard yet but you should. It focuses on Thai fishing ships that are enslaving young boys and men for years on end all to fill the companies fish quotas. The documentary goes on the search for some of these missing men and tries to reunite them with their families. It is both deeply saddening and makes you want to help in any way possible. And you can!!! Check out this website: http://www.vulcanproductions.com/ghostfleet/TheFilm  to learn more about the film and all the ways you can help.

WILDLIFE

Cast of Wildlife, Carey Mulligan and Director Paul Dano

WHERE TO WATCH: 19 October (USA) No Canadian Release Yet

Only throwing this one in because I think Paul Dano is a really cool creative young person. Also standing in the rain on a Monday morning is no more furtle ground to talk with the couple in front of me about all things Spider-Man and the new PS4 game. It was their first TIFF film so I was happy to fill them in with my limited knowledge and if you didn’t know there are cheaper rates for people under 25 so if that is you then why not take advantage of that. Also, love me some Jake Gyllenhaal so this film took great care with a classic Americana depiction of a family going through hard times.

AD VITAM

WHERE TO WATCH: Nov 07, ARTE TV (watch online)

Cast and Crew of Ad Vitam, Director Thomas Cailley, Garance Marillier, Katia Raïs, Yves Cape

Again in the line to enter, you walk up to a line and always double check that this is the right line. Many theatres in some areas and many lines makes for a lot of work but just asking is the most important part here. As I walked up I was happy to notice yet another person with a lanyard and yes I did ask them that fateful question. “So, what does that lanyard mean?” This lady was a writer for the British magazine, Sight and Sound, she is the indie film writer and that is why she is here. She talked about some of her favourites including High Life which she gushed about as well as waiting in anticipation of the new Isabelle Hupert film.

The thing about TIFF is you would assume most of the items that are being played are movies and for the most part, you are correct. With the ever-growing TV landscape more and more projects are being done by the talent of all sorts and if you read the description past the 3rd paragraph of Ad Vitam you would also know this. I didn’t so assume my shock when about 55 minutes in credits start rolling. Was that the end? Did I fall asleep? But it starts again with ‘Previously on Ad Vitam’ and now I understand its a TV series. From then I know I’m here for a deep dive with these characters and I’m in.

SHADOW

WHERE TO WATCH: Early 2019 Release (Well Go USA Entertainment)

Roy Thompson Hall

Roy Thompson Hall

This is more like overseen @ TIFF. Just here to gush about how beautiful Roy Thompson Hall was for this Gala screening. And the screen. Beautiful. It’s a widescreen venue that allows the image to be as big and as clean as possible and this was an amazing film to see. As a love letter to Kurosawa and Zach Snyder, this Chinese epic takes you to ancient mystical China and wraps you in an epic story. The screen stretches on for days and most times you will see movies, there are black bars on the top or bottom but not here. The screen is just the image and it’s huge. The hall makes every seat sound like you are in the middle and while it is a little pricey, it’s worth it to make a night of it.

While most of the lines and audiences at TIFF are mostly Caucasian and tend to lean towards more older people, this one was noticeably different. All types of East Asian people showed up for this premiere and it changed my perspective on how I saw this movie. It was almost like a stamp of approval that not only film fans were excited for this but it moved into that wider audience of people that were excited. It was great to see people that would understand this on multiple levels seeing it and I can only say from my experince that there is a place for all kinds of film fans at a place like TIFF.

Artisitic Director, TIFF Cameron Bailiey, Director Zhang Yimou and translator

22 JULY

WHERE TO WATCH: October 10, Netflix

Winter Garden Theatre

Winter Garden Theatre

If there is somewhere the love of cinema can be matched by anyone’s love of architecture, it is 100% at the Winter Garden Theatre. Nestled high above the bustle of Yonge Street, it’s almost like walking out of the city and into the forest when you enter this beautiful theatre. Not only did we get to see the sweet new Netflix logo (it’s awesome and colourful) but the movie took me for a loop. Contrasting the theatre, it took a look at the Norweigan terrorist attack in 2011 and the trauma the teens involved went through. It’s brutally real and takes an honest look at trauma and grief in an awesome way. I was soothed by the atmosphere of the theatre but put right back on edge thanks to the movie.

Hundred percent I will be going back just to spend time in this beautiful theatre.

The Man Who Feels No Pain ( Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota)

WHERE TO WATCH: No release date yet

Director Vasan Bala, Actors Abhimanyu Dasani, Radhika Madan and Stunt Co-ordinators Eric Jacobus and Dennis Ruel

When walking around downtown Toronto, you are completely going to walk by people you have no idea who they are but are making all of the movies you love or will be loving. It only matters when they ask you for directions. “Excuse me, can you help with directions” is what I hear off to my left. I look and there are 3 lost South Asians so obviously, because we all know each other, I help out. Directing them to an office on Wellington St is easy enough and I am about to send them on their way when I notice yet another lanyard with a badge. Now I don’t have time for my regular question so I scan the badge and wait, I know that name and movie. It’s the one I am seeing in 2 days. The only Indian movie that I am seeing and here is the director right in front of me. Obviously, I am eager to explain this to him and tell him how excited I am to get into some awesome Bollywood flavour in my festival. He is super awesome and plays it off like it’s nothing and he hasn’t been told how awesome it is from the other showings off it but here we are getting to talk to the man that would go on to win the People’s Choice Award for Best Midnight Madness Feature. Better than the Predator movie, better than the acclaimed Halloween movie. It’s this small Bollywood movie that the actors did all of their own stunts for. He was super grateful for my help and if I only I saw him again, I could just geek out about his love letter to all kinds of action movies, old and new.

Films that I also loved but didn’t really have a cool story but are just as good: Complicity, The Weekend and Fausto

Now that was my journey during the ten days at the Toronto International Film Festival, the best part over all the amazing movies was truly being able to deliver film references in my regular conversations and to have people understand them. All the people I met were amazing and it truly made waiting in lines the best part of the festival. I only partially understood why it was called the people’s festival but now I know for reals.

To close out I want to give some Tips, Tricks and Shoutouts for people looking to see some films for TIFF’19

1. Try to see movies at the TIFF Bell Light Box (best seats) Roy Thompson Hall (best screen) or Winter Garden Theatre (best theatre)
2. Some movies are discounted if you are under 25
3. Follow the TIFF Staff on Twitter. Not @tiff_net but do that also. Find the TIFF Programmers. These are the people that go out looking for the films to watch. It’s a little tricky to find but worth it. For example, Thom Powers is their documentary programmer. Great follow if you want to learn more about docs and he has a great podcast also.
4. Learn about the different programs. There are many different types of films and watching various ones really shapes how you understand the festival. As cool as the big premieres are, seeing small artsy films can leave you long after the festival is over.
5. Take chances. Pick random films and see how you like it. Maybe the first line is interesting or the pictures look cool. Challenge yourself to try something new.