This will only be my second year covering the Toronto International Film Festival, in any official capacity that is. Last year, I had no idea what to expect from TIFF, as it is more affectionately known. I wanted to hit the festival running but TIFF just ended up running me ragged instead. If I wasn't sprinting from one venue to the next to catch another screening, I was rushing to an interview or trying to squeeze in some of the mounting writing that was waiting for me at home. I wasn't eating or sleeping properly and the moment I thought I had two minutes to breathe, my body shut down and I suffered through the last stretch of the festival with a massive head cold. Despite all of this, it was still one of the best times of my entire life.
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A reader took this shot at the TIFF Box Office and sent it to me. |
It may be naive to suggest but I am determined that this year is going to be even better. This year I will be sure to take my vitamins daily and to buy a subway pass so that I don't have to show up to interview filmmakers I admire with sweat dripping down my brow. I will also be stepping up my film intake as well. I devoured 30 films last September and this year I hope to hit 40. Having caught a bunch of films in pre-TIFF press screenings, I am already nicely on track to accomplish this. I'm also in a pretty good position to make some last minute recommendations for anyone looking to scour craigslist for exorbitantly overpriced tickets.
Keeping in mind that I've only seen 10 films so far, here are a few I don't think you should miss ...
THE ARTIST
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
This much buzzed about silent film is my early prediction for the Cadillac People's Choice Award, an honour based solely on festival goer votes. It is charming and simple but its execution is an intricate design that will surely wow both audiences and critics, just as it did earlier this year at Cannes.
DRIVE
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Refn took the directing honours at Cannes for this fact paced, ultra violent thriller. This is none too surprising considering how smooth the ride really is; it swerves through its seedy premise just as easily as it does the streets of Los Angeles. And with Ryan Gosling at the wheel, Refn can take me anywhere he likes.
THE IDES OF MARCH
Directed by George Clooney
And if you didn't get enough Gosling after that, you can catch him in the starring role in Clooney's first directorial effort in three years. To be honest, I cannot decide which movie I prefer him in; his abilities are becoming more and more remarkable with each passing year it seems and Clooney more than redeems himself for his last film, LEATHERHEADS, too.
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Directed by Sean Durkin
This was my first TIFF11 film of the year and it has set the bar pretty high for everything I've seen since. Durkin's first feature made an indelible impression on Sundance audiences earlier this year and while that was surely in no small part due to his disturbing screenplay and direction, it is the breakout performance by newcomer, Elizabeth Olsen, that everyone will be talking about come awards season.
MELANCHOLIA
Directed by Lars von Trier
I would not have believed you if you had told me that one of my favourite movies of 2011 would be by the notorious Lars von Trier. While the director will not be in attendance at TIFF (he does not fly and lives in Denmark), his presence will surely be felt by anyone who sees his latest. I have never seen such a darkly humorous take on the apocalypse, nor one that is as unforgettable as this one.
Score tickets to any of those films and you will not be disappointed, I assure you.
Here now is the full list of films I hope to catch during the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival.
50/50
Directed by Jonathan Levine
THE ARTIST
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
A DANGEROUS METHOD
Directed by David Cronenberg
A MONSTER IN PARIS
Directed by Bibo Bergeron
ALBERT NOBBS
Directed by Roberto Garcia
ANONYMOUS
Directed by Roland Emmerich
BURNING MAN
Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky
BUTTER
Directed by Jim Field Smith
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Quebecois director, Jean-Marc Vallee returns to TIFF with CAFE DE FLORE |
CAFE DE FLORE
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee
CHICKEN WITH PLUMS
Directed by Marjane Sartrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
COMIC-CON: EPISODE IV - A FAN'S HOPE
Directed by Morgan Spurlock
CORIOLANUS
Directed by Ralph Fiennes
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS
Directed by Whit Stillman
DEATH OF A SUPERHERO
Directed by Ian Fitzgibbon
THE DESCENDANTS
Directed by Alexander Payne
DRIVE
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
FRIENDS WITH KIDS
Directed by Jennifer Westfeldt
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TIFF opens with this Davis Guggenheim directed documentary about U2 |
FROM THE SKY DOWN
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
THE IDES OF MARCH
Directed by George Clooney
INTO THE ABYSS
Directed by Werner Herzog
JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME
Directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass
KEYHOLE
Directed by Guy Maddin
THE KID WITH THE BIKE
Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
THE LADY
Directed by Luc Besson
LAST CALL AT THE OASIS
Directed by Jennifer Yu
LIKE CRAZY
Directed by Drake Doremus
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Directed by Sean Durkin
MELANCHOLIA
Directed by Lars von Trier
MISS BALA
Directed by Gerardo Naranjo
MONEYBALL
Directed by Bennett Miller
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TIFF then closes the festival with PAGE EIGHT, from Oscar nominated screenwriter, David Hare. |
PAGE EIGHT
Directed by David Hare
PEACE LOVE AND MISUNDERSTANDING
Directed by Bruce Beresford
PINA
Directed by Wim Wenders
RAMPART
Directed by Oren Moverman
SHAME
Directed by Steve McQueen
THE SKIN I LIVE IN
Directed by Pedro Almodovar
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Directed by Julia Leigh
TAKE SHELTER
Directed by Jeff Nichols
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Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams try not to step on each other's feet in Sarah Polley's TAKE THIS WALTZ. |
TAKE THIS WALTZ
Directed by Sarah Polley
THINK OF ME
Directed by Bryan Wizemann
TWIXT
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
TYRANNOSAUR
Directed by Paddy Considine
W.E.
Directed by Madonna
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Directed by Lynne Ramsay
WINNIE
Directed by Darrel Roodt
The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 until September 19.
For more information, visit the TIFF website.
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