I can’t speak for the rest of this town’s cinema lovers, but one of the best parts of our film festival for me has always been the surprises. Not knowing which films I’m going to end up seeing, who’s going to be at the screenings, and which ones I will like.
My priorities when choosing what to see usually range in this order:
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Availability — As in mine… I actually get a little busy from time to time.
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Affordability — Do I pay $40 for a movie ticket or eat for a day?
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Accessibility — Will there be any seats left by the time I know what I’m buying?
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Exclusivity — Will it be playing in every cinema in a couple month’s time?
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Familiarity — Is there a touchstone I can use to contextualize the film, such as a director, actor or story I’m already familiar with.
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Hype — Have I heard any?
This year’s festival will actually be one of those rare occasions when I’ll be quite busy. My days will be spent guiding tourists around Toronto on a double decker bus, while my evenings will be spent driving a Cadillac Escalade for one of the festival’s party organizers. The upside is that I’ll have money to buy tickets; unfortunately it also puts most of the event’s screenings out of consideration.
Now legend has it that the mere mention of Dork Shelf’s name had TIFF’s publicity people begging us to take the highest level of media credentials, which we gratefully accepted. This meant that I had the good fortune of spending one of my only days off before the festival officially launches viewing several pre-screenings. I was told to show up at the theater at 10am, state my affiliation and present the necessary documentation, but I wasn’t told which films were being screened. It would be a day of pleasant surprises indeed.
