Toronto International Film Festival (Oh, the places I'll Go)

Two years ago it was to Sundance. It was a major dream of mine to go, now an item removed from my personal bucket list. Up next—Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). I fly away tomorrow for a ten-day trip in Canada visually soaking in all the films that I can. It is almost so unreal, that I have to keep telling myself that I am really going, trying to capture all of this excitement into something that I can process.

Personal enthusiasm aside, the line-up this year has some of the most anticipated films in the festival circuit. Celebrating its 35^th anniversary, Toronto has never failed to reveal the best in American and International cinema. I will go as far to say that this is the best festival in North America.

This is my first time with Industry Credentials. In non-festival speak, that means that I have a pass that will get me into the industry screenings of TIFF. To back up, TIFF is a market festival. This means that industry professionals, buyers, festival organizers and studio folks come to purchase the films that screen here that do not already have studio distribution. But these people do not screen the films with the general public; there is an entirely different screening schedule and set of theaters for us.

I have no idea what to expect, but I am as prepared as I can be. I have done my research on what is playing and what I really want to see. There are 300 films screening and my tentative schedule has me viewing between 35 and 40 films in 9 days, averaging about 5 films a day. There are so many good ones to choose from!

I know that I will not be able to see them all and for the sake of the Newport Beach Film Festival, I have to choose my films carefully, being that films with release dates already set are really no use to me. I am also heading into the screening room with our CEO and former Director of Submissions, so there are three of us with eyes on the screen; divide and conquer.

After splitting up the schedule, I am a giddy child with my wish-list. Even if I am unable to catch all the films that I want, I am just excited to be a part of the discussion, among film lovers like me. Here are just a handful of the titles, in no particular order, that I am excited about at this years TIFF (whether or not I get to see all of them):

BIUTIFUL (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER (Woody Allen)

THE ILLUSIONIST (Sylvain Chomet)

THE CONSPIRATOR (Robert Redford)

WHAT”S WRONG WITH VIRGINIA (Dustin Lance Black)

THE DEBT (John Madden)

THE PROMISE: THE MAKING OF DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (Thom Zimny)

ROUTE IRISH (Ken Loach)

ANOTHER YEAR (Mike Leigh)

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (Werner Herzog)

JOHN CARPENTER’S THE WARD (John Carpenter)

BLACK SWAN (Darren Aronofsky)

THE KING’S SPEECH (Tom Hopper)

127 HOURS (Danny Boyle)

BEGINNERS (Mike Mills)

EVERYTHING MUST GO (Dan Rush)

…the list goes on.

If you dare to follow what I will be watching, I will be updating as often as I can. And now, time for the next wild ride.