August 25, 2009

A Creature of Habit

The TIFF program book is sitting on my desk, and my office smells of fresh print, which means I'll be eating at Arby's today. Why? Because three years ago I grabbed my program book when I left for lunch and happened to flip through it while eating curly fries and a ham sandwich. And the next year I did the same thing. And now it's a habit -- one of the many TIFF-related rituals I observe each summer.

Others? After checking into my hotel on Thursday afternoon, I immediately walk to a crappy pizza place on Yonge and eat a slice while people-watching. After lunch, I pick up my tickets, thumb through the thick stack, and then buy some groceries in the bottom floor of College Park. I always carry the same old leather bag throughout the fest and meticulously squirrel away used tickets in one of its front pockets. My favorite habit is walking slowly to morning movies at the ScotiaBank, arriving just a few minutes before the screening time, and grabbing a cup of coffee on the way into the theater. These, I have to admit, are some of the most satisfying moments in my life.

Come to think of it, most of my habits are food-related, and they're all as essential to my TIFF experience as the movies are, probably because they often involve conversations with old friends. I always eat at least one meal with Girish at Zyng. I always grab a chicken shawarma at St. Patrick Market. I always run into Andrew and Moen at the food court in Village by the Grange. (I'll always associate the taste of pho with the Cinematheque Ontario.) Late in the week, I always end up at Fran's, exhausted and incoherent, after another 4- or 5-film day.

Anyone else have TIFF rituals?

August 23, 2009

My Other New Favorite Trailer

For L' Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot:

My New Favorite Trailer

If this trailer for Colony is typical of the film's aesthetic, I'm there.

August 20, 2009

Thoughts on the final film list?

With the latest round of press releases, we now have the complete list of films. The schedule will go live next Tuesday, which gives us five days to bitch and moan about the omissions (Rivette! Costa! Ade! Cisse!), cheer for the new additions (Denis!), and, hopefully, discover some hidden gems among the long list of premieres and first-time directors.

Most of the people who keep an eye on this site have since moved the discussion to Twitter and Facebook, but if you have thoughts about the lineup, I'd love to hear them. And, please, if anyone can recommend a film that might otherwise be overlooked, share it in the comments.

I'm thinking that with some kind providence from the scheduling gods, I won't have much trouble finding 35-40 good/great films this year.

Releases:

August 19, 2009

Dialogues, Mavericks, and a few more Docs

Five press releases yesterday. I've already updated Dialogues, Mavericks (Frederick Wiseman!), and Real to Reel.



August 13, 2009

Additions to Galas and Special Presentations

I've updated the Gala Presentations and Special Presentations lists.

August 11, 2009

City to City, Future Projections, and Dundas Events

I've added the City to City program to the master list. It includes a couple classic films, Efraim Kishon's The Big Dig (1969) and Uri Zohar's Big Eyes (1974), along with Keren Yedaya's Jaffa, which got mixed reviews at Cannes, and a new, two-part History of Israeli Cinema by Raphael Nadjari. Of the Future Projections, I'll definitely catch Phantoms of Nabua by Apitchatpong Weersethakul. I've never attended any of the events on Dundas Square but a visit by Neil Young is tempting.

August 6, 2009

New additions to Contemporary World Cinema and Visions

Eleven more films have been added to the Contemporary World Cinema program; seven more were added to Visions. Official release:

August 4, 2009

Canadian Films Announced

I've updated all of the program listings except for Short Cuts Canada, which I don't plan to post. However, I did just notice there's a new 10-minute Guy Maddin short, Night Mayor, included in the program.