TIFF (Toronto International Film Fest)

Aser

http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2007/08/toronto-film-fe.htmlWho is going? What are you seeing? Why is the site laid out so poorly?It's so annoying the full schedule is only coming out tomorrow. Makes things so much harder to coordinate. So far I want to check these 3....THE EXODUS Pang Ho-cheung, Hong KongBeat cop Jim (Simon Yam) uncovers a secret worldwide network of women conspiring to exterminate men. His investigation is soon thwarted with the organization's infiltration into the police force and soon Jim can no longer trust anyone, including his family.http://www.gscmovies.com.my/trailer/exodus_trailer.wmvSAD VACATION Aoyama Shinji, JapanOne night, a driver named Kenji (Tadanobu Asano, MONGOL), recognizes one of his passengers as his own mother who abandoned him as an adolescent. As seductively charming as she is loving, Kenji surrenders to dark undercurrents of feeling provoked by inexorable family ties and is forced to face both his past and his future.MAD DETECTIVE Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai, Hong KongA missing police pistol is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner, Wong, vanished while pursuing suspects in the mountains, yet his partner, Chi-Wai, miraculously returned unharmed. Hotshot inspector Ho (Andy On) is in charge of the investigation, but Ho knows his only chance of cracking the case lies in enlisting the help of Bun (Lau Ching Wan), the reclusive yet gifted mad detective.

alieNDN

i've checked it the last 3 years...totally interested in what's worth checking

DOR

How to get tickets? I always have a prob getting shit for something I actually wanna see.

Aser

if you want the 10 pack, you have to buy it by the 29th and have your selections in. Basically, it's a lottery system for films that have more requests than seats available. Then after that single tickets are available for films that haven't sold out. Finally, rush ticks are availbale day of showing. Basically they are seats left unused by fest passes/vip's/corporate sponsors etc.

Bassie can give a more thorough explanation since she volunteers.

Lust, Caution by Ang Lee just got hit w/ a NC-17 rating by the MPAA, oof!

bassie

DOR - where were you last year - I could have set you up!

I am bummed I can't work the Festival this year and it is also the first year I've had a non-film related job, so no understanding boss saying "Yes, it's ok for you to take the rest of the day off to see a movie."

Yea, the site is shit this year and unless things have changed since last week, where are the descriptions?

I'm not sure what I'll end up seeing, I do want to see the Argento and Sukorov films. The Midnight Madness pregamme looks pretty good. Seeing Scorsese present 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore' would be amazing, too, but that will sell out almost right away.

onetet

TIFF is one of the highlights of the year for me; I've only missed one year since '98. This year's line-up looks a little less exciting to me at first glance, but I've had that feeling before and ended up having a great time.

I bought two 10-ticket bundles, might pick off a few more stray films if time and budget allows.

Here's my short list, until I get a look at descriptions of the couple hundred films/directors I've never heard of...

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days by Cristian Mungiu

Alexandra by Alexander Sokurov

Captain Mike Across America by Michael Moore

Cassandra's Dream by Woody Allen (I'll probably skip this one, but I've been tempted by the rumor that he'll be there)

The Edge of Heaven by Fatih Akin

Encounters at the End of the World by Werner Herzog

Europa 2005, 27 Octobre by Jean-Marie Straub + Dani??le Huillet

Fengming, A Chinese Memoir by Wang Bing

Import Export by Ulrich Seidl

The Man from London by B??la Tarr

Margot at the Wedding by Noah Baumbach

Mister Lonely by Harmony Korine

One Hundred Nails by Ermanno Olmi

Paranoid Park by Gus Van Sant

Ploy by Pen-ek Ratanaruang

Secret Sunshine by Lee Chang-dong

Silent Light by Carlos Reygadas

Une vieille ma??tresse by Catherine Breillat

White Lies, Black Sheep by James Spooner

XXY by Luc??a Puenzo

Aser

click the variety link I posted, there are synopsises available for movies.

bassie

Thanks! I see they made a film of Monica Ali's Brick Lane - don't have high hopes for that adaptation...

onetet

Hey, did anyone else buy the "Out of Town Package" -- and if so, did you get yours yet?

I did for the first time this year... basically it's a benefit to out-of-towners where they Fed Ex you the program book ahead of everyone else, and you have 24 hours to look it over and get your picks back to them. Supposedly (from what I've heard from people who've bought it in past years) this way you basically get 100% of your picks.

Thing is, they're supposed to get the book to me by 10 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday), and no sign of it so far. I expected a tight turn-around, but this is a little bit of a nail-biter; since I have to have Fed Ex pick up my package Thursday, there's really no margin for error.

bassie

I just asked a friend at the Festival about this and everything is on its way. Let me know if you don't get it tomorrow and I'll see what I can find out. I didn't deal with out of town packages last year, so my knowledge of the process is limited in cases of books not arriving on time.

onetet

I just asked a friend at the Festival about this and everything is on its way. Let me know if you don't get it tomorrow and I'll see what I can find out. I didn't deal with out of town packages last year, so my knowledge of the process is limited in cases of books not arriving on time.

Thanks!

The people I know who've used it in the past all had good experiences, but so far mine has been a little sketchy. The mailer they sent me which enticed me to buy this package wasn't very detailed, and the two people I've spoken with at the box office gave me two different versions of how the process works (both of which differ from how the mailer described it).

bassie

LOL - yes, well...
Sorry, it won't be funny when the book doesn't arrive, I know. Seriously, there is always confusion in the office about this stuff, but it usually works out.

onetet

The frustrating thing (other than the worry that the book won't come in time) has been that I haven't gotten a confident-sounding answer about whether the vouchers I bought physically come in the same package, or if they come separately, or if they don't come at all but there's a record on file that I bought them and I just fill out some sort of list. I'm just trying to visualize what's headed my way, and no one in the box office really seemed to know for sure.

Aser

so the schedule is FINALLY up on the website. They really expect people to put their entire lives on PASUE & rush down to submit the forms. I really hate how archaic this process is.

bassie

I've got my list and times and I'm hoping for at least half of them to not be sold out by the time I get my ass to the Box Office.

Aser

well if you do the 10 pack and submit your choices before 1pm Friday, then you're on equal footing no? I'm splitting a 10 pack w/ someone, let me know what you end up picking.

A couple other ones I found interesting...

http://www.tiff07.ca/filmsandschedules/filmdetails.aspx?ID=705311620251293

http://www.tiff07.ca/filmsandschedules/filmdetails.aspx?ID=706271101411512

bassie

I don't think I can get to 10 and I want to see more than five...my (wish) list:

Edge of Heaven
Man from London
4 Months...
White Lies Black Sheep
Chop Shop
Unfinished Stories
Mother of all Tears

Aser

my friend was just down at college park. She said it's a complete zoo, totally unorganized.

bassie

LOL - yup!

onetet

just scheduled a Fed Ex pick-up for my order form. Have some doubts that it'll arrive at the box office by 1pm tomorrow, as it needs to to be processed.

Aser

just call and tell them of your situation. Make sure they mark down your name and also take down the name of the person you spoke with. Better yet converse in email so there's a document trail.

onetet

just call and tell them of your situation. Make sure they mark down your name and also take down the name of the person you spoke with. Better yet converse in email so there's a document trail.

they know my situation... my program guide and order forms didn't arrive here until almost noon today. I was supposed to have circa 36 hours to look over the book -- instead I spent last evening giving myself a migraine clicking on every one of those damn movies.

I've spoken to two different people there and sent multiple emails, so there's a record of my situation -- but if they sell out all my screenings before they get my order form, I don't know how they'll be able to help me.

I love the festival and work for a festival myself, so I know the chaos they're dealing with, and I'm not about to be a dick with anyone on their end, especially since most of them are volunteers.

But TIFF and FedEx both got me disappointed, given that this is a $150 service and they both dropped the ball at different points.

Aser

well if they understand your situation and don't mind you being a little bit past the 1pm deadline, then you have no worries. All forms collected are entered into a draw, so it doesn't matter if you hand in the form on Wednesday vs Friday. Everybody has equal footing.

but yup, the adminstration is terrible. Basically you have to cram and make your choices w/ no margin for error. They really need to incorporate the selection process into the website. Is that too much to ask for in this day and age.

bassie

If your package is part of a draw it goes into a numbered box. Once all the picks are in, they pick a number and that is the first box they begin with - go all the way to the last box and only then start at #1.

So if they pick box #40, the folks with their picks in box #39 are at the very end of the line.

If it is any consolation, there was just as much chaos last year with late arrivals and they do take all that into consideration.

onetet

I hear what both of you are saying, and I'm not all bent out of shape or anything. I just decided to use this service because I thought it would reduce the stress, but in reality I think it bumped my stress level up a notch or two. Next year I might just buy 20 vouchers and try my luck... since my taste skews towards small foreign films, I generally get into about 75% or more of the films I don't have advanced tickets for...

and since ticket prices are getting out of control, it seems like less and less people are taking chances on obscure films. Two of the best films I saw last year, Falkenberg Farewell (first-time filmmaker, bad review in one of the free weeklies) and the sublime and mind-expanding Syndromes and a Century were sparsely attended at best. I could've walked up 2 mins before showtime for each and bought tix on the spot.

BTW bassie, that's a weird process... one random box goes first, but then all the others in order rec'd?

bassie

Also, only Gala tickets are on sale right now, regular tickets don't go on sale til next week, so you are not competing with masses of people.

onetet

I don't think I can get to 10 and I want to see more than five...my (wish)
Mother of all Tears

Do you know this director's work? I noticed I don't have any Iranian films on my list this year, might try to rush this one if you've heard good things.

bassie

It is a weird process. I think they are trying to make it fair by not starting at #1 (unless they pick it) to take into consideration all the things that impede people from getting their picks in right away.

If there are 55 boxes in all, one random box goes first - let's say #40 - so #41 would be second...all the way to #55. Then they would start at #1 and box #39 would be the very last box they would go through.

onetet

It is a weird process. I think they are trying to make it fair by not starting at #1 (unless they pick it) to take into consideration all the things that impede people from getting their picks in right away.

If there are 55 boxes in all, one random box goes first - let's say #40 - so #41 would be second...all the way to #55. Then they would start at #1 and box #39 would be the very last box they would go through.

just seems like it should be entirely random then.

bassie

I don't think I can get to 10 and I want to see more than five...my (wish)
Mother of all Tears

Do you know this director's work? I noticed I don't have any Iranian films on my list this year, might try to rush this one if you've heard good things.

Do you mean Unfinished Stories? Mother of all Tears is Argento's film. I don't know the director's work, but the still caught my attention - reminded me of Shirin Neshat's work.

Persepolis is getting much hype and won at Cannes - but I think I'll wait on that one for wide release.

onetet

I don't think I can get to 10 and I want to see more than five...my (wish)
Mother of all Tears

Do you know this director's work? I noticed I don't have any Iranian films on my list this year, might try to rush this one if you've heard good things.

Do you mean Unfinished Stories? Mother of all Tears is Argento's film. I don't know the director's work, but the still caught my attention - reminded me of Shirin Neshat's work.

Persopolis is getting much hype and won at Cannes - but I think I'll wait on that one for wide release.

Yeah, I quouted the wrong title, I meant Unfinished... the image reminded me of Jafar Panahi, who I love (although Offside was a small step down, I thought). I've been hearing about Persepolis and know the graphic novel, but I'll wait for that one, too.