Best bets for tickets for Sunday, September 13, 2009 from the festival alerts:
Blessed
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 8:30 PM
Scotiabank
Carcasses
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 6:15 PM
Scotiabank
Should I Really Do It?
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 8:00 PM
Varsity
Mall Girls
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 7:00 PM
AMC
My Heart Goes Hadippa
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 1:30 PM
Roy Thomson Hall
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Best Bets for Sunday, September 13, 2009
TIFF Mystery Screening
TIFF is having a free mystery screening of a world premiere of a new film by a "leading French director", at which the director and cast will appear. Tickets will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 12, 2009, with the film starting at 6:00 PM, at the AMC theatre at Yonge and Dundas.
Friday, September 11, 2009
30 For 30: Peter Berg and Barry Levinson
ESPN's Bill Simmons (aka The Sports Guy) has an essay up on the web on the genesis of the network's 30 For 30 project (http://30for30.espn.com/bill-simmons-essay.html). 30 For 30 consists of 30 films made by filmmakers, athletes, and others, exploring a variety of sporting-related stories.
Two of those films are playing at TIFF this year in the Mavericks program, and features both the film and a discussion with the filmmaker.
Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man) presents The Band That Wouldn't Die, about a marching band in Baltimore trying to keep football alive. This presentation is at the AMC on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 2;15 PM. Tickets are still available for $19.76.
Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom) presents Kings Ransom, about the trade that sent Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the LA Kings. This presentation is at the AMC on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 2:45 PM. Tickets are still available for $19.76.
Best Bets for Saturday, September 12, 2009
Best bets for tickets for Saturday, September 12, 2009 from the festival alerts:
Barry Levinson Presents The Band That Wouldn't Die
Saturday, September 12, 2009, 2:15 PM
AMC
Independencia
Saturday, September 12, 12:45 PM
Scotiabank
The Hole
Saturday, September 12, 3:00 PM
Ryerson
Trash Humpers
Saturday, September 12, 9:45 PM
Scotiabank
I, Don Giovanni
Saturday, September 12, 9:30 PM
Roy Thomson Hall
Thursday, September 10, 2009
TIFF BlackBerry App
The festival released an official app for BlackBerry devices, that allows you to browse film and ticket info, customize your schedule, view maps and trailers, read news, and get info on best bets for tickets.
The app can be downloaded from:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/tiff/app.jsp
Best Bets for Friday, September 11, 2009
Best bets for tickets for Friday, September 11, 2009 from the festival alerts (and this is for Friday, not today (Thursday)):
Women Without Men
Friday, September 11, 2009, 12:00 PM
Ryerson
If I Knew What You Said
Friday, September 11, 2009, 3:30 PM
AMC
La Pivellina
Friday, September 11, 2009, 4:00 PM
Scotibank
Hotel Atlantico
Friday, September 11, 2009, 6:30 PM
Isabel Bader
Short Cuts Canada 1
Friday, September 11, 2009, 9:30 PM
Isabel Bader
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
How Do I Buy Tickets for TIFF 2009? - Part 4
This is the fourth in a series of posts on how to buy tickets for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). In this post, we'll look at ways you can purchase tickets while the festival is underway.
You can purchase tickets in advance (i.e. not on the same day of the screening) by the following methods:
Online at http://www.tiff.net/
At the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen St W
- September 4 to 18: 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
- September 19: 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
At the Festival Box Office at Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St
- September 4 to 18: 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
- September 19: 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
By phone at (416) 968-FILM, or toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM
- September 4 to 18: 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
- September 19: 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Ticket prices are as follows:
- Regular Public Screenings - $19.76, Student/Senior - $17.14 (in person only, same-day sales only)
- Premium Public Screenings - $38.33, Student/Senior - $19.05 (in person only, same-day sales only)
- Children’s Tickets for Sprockets Family Zone programming only - Child (12 and under) - $12.86
Prices do not include GST, building-fund fee, or service charges. You can pay by cash, debit, or Visa.
You can purchase a maximum of 4 tickets to a single screening. All sales are final; to exchange tickets, there is a $2.50 fee per ticket, and you can only do exchanges up to the day before the screening (i.e. no same day exchanges allowed). Exchanges can only be performed at the Nathan Phillips Square or Roy Thomson Hall box offices.
For Student and Senior (+65) discounts, you need to present your ID with your ticket when entering the screening.
If a particular screening is marked as Off Sale, i.e. sold out, then keeping trying throughout the festival. People may exchange their tickets for other movies, and those originals are then released back for sale.
Additional tickets may also be made available the day of the screening, so try checking then. The TIFF website will list their "best bets" for same day tickets available on the following day, on the website at http://www.tiff.net/thefestival, and through e-mail if you subscribe to their TIFF Alerts at http://www.tiff.net/tiffalerts.
Try a different screening. Screenings early in the week tend to sell out faster than those later in the festival.
Try checking the forums at TIFF Reviews, at http://www.tiffreviews.com/forum/. People will often post if they are looking to trade their tickets.
If all else fails, you can try the rush line outside the theatre screening your film. If any last minute seats open up, because someone doesn't show up for their screening, or seats reserved for people associated with the film aren't all filled, the theatre may release those seats. People in the rush line will get first crack at purchasing any seats that come available (sales are cash only, so make sure you have enough on you). Note there is no guarantee anyone in the rush line will be able to get in.
On occasion, ticket holders that don't want to see the film or that have extra tickets, may go down the rush line offering their extras; I've been on both ends of this before, where I've sold my ticket to someone in the line, or been in the line and bought a ticket off of someone looking to sell.
Some tips for the festival:
- Make sure you are in the right line. Ask festival volunteers (the ones with the headsets or festival t-shirts) what line you should be in. Multiplexes like the Varsity will have multiple films lining up at the same time, so you want to make sure you are in the right one. Plus, each theatre has a rush line as well, which is for people who still want to buy tickets, not those who already have one.
- Be at the theatre at least 15 minutes before the start of the screening, otherwise you are not guaranteed a seat, even if you have a ticket. If you arrive more than 10 minutes after the scheduled start of a movie, they may not let you in.
- Not all theatres allow food and/or drink. The Cumberland, Varsity, AMC, and Scotiabank theatres allow food/drink since they are all part of the big theatre chains, but other theatres like Ryerson do not. So don't buy take-out or a big coffee right before you go into one of those.
- Don't leave empty seats next to you. Squeeze in, because generally speaking, every film will be playing to a packed house.
- Be aware of where you sit if you are watching a subtitled movie. Not all theaters have good sight lines to the bottom of the screen.
- If you have limited time between screenings, don't forget all the factors that might affect you: many screenings will have a Q&A after the movie, and the time for any Q&A is not factored into the screening time in the schedule (you're not obliged to stick around for the Q&A, though); films will occassionally start late for a variety of reasons; some theatres are far apart from one another.
- If you're watching a Midnight Madness film at midnight, don't forget that the subway may not be running by the time the film ends, so plan accordingly.
- Speaking of Q&As, if you're going to speak up, make sure you actually have a question or keep it short. No one else wants to hear you gush over the director or cast for 5 minutes, no matter how good the film was. If you want to do that, try to catch them after the Q&A is over. In a similar vein, it generally does not go over well if you want to spend your question severely criticizing the director without anything constructive to say or ask.
- Don't forget to turn off your cell phone, and for pete's sake, don't text or talk through the movie (especially if you're in the industry; the rest of us don't care how much of a Hollywood bigshot you are :-))
- It should go without saying that you shouldn't be taping movies, but in case that's not obvious, I've been at a number of films where they've had people scanning the audience during the screening, with and without night-vision goggles. Also note that taping movies is now a criminal offense that could net you 2 years in prison.
- Be nice to the volunteers; they don't get paid for this (other than getting a ticket from whatever is still available after having worked for several hours in a row). Just think about how much *more* expensive the festival would be without them. :-)
If you want a really detailed breakdown of tips of what to do during the festival, check out Larry Richman's series of posts, the first of which is linked below:
Friday, September 04, 2009
Tickets On Sale Now
Tickets for the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival are now on sale.
As a commenter posted, prices are:
- Regular Public Screenings - $19.76, Student/Senior - $17.14 (in person only, same-day sales only)
- Premium Public Screenings - $38.33, Student/Senior - $19.05 (in person only, same-day sales only)
- Children’s Tickets for Sprockets Family Zone programming only - Child (12 and under) - $12.86
Prices don't include GST, building fund fee or service charges.
You can pay by cash, debit, or Visa (Visa only online).
Tickets can be purchased from:
- Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square
September 3 to 18, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
September 19, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM - Festival Box Office at Roy Thomson Hall
September 4 to 18, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
September 19, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM - Online (http://www.tiff.net/)
- By phone (416-968-FILM, or toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM)
Note the website is extremely busy right now, and I imagine the box offices will be the same.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Extended Serving Hours
Toronto Life has a listing of the bars, clubs, and restaurants that will have extended hours for serving drinks during the festival:
http://www.torontolife.com/daily/toronto-international-film-festival-2009/2009/09/03/getting-a-tiff-drink-a-complete-list-of-establishments-open-until-4-am-during-the-film-festival/
Thanks to my brother and his friend for the link.
TIFF Tickets on Sale Friday, September 4, 2009
Just a reminder that general ticket sales for TIFF begin at 7:00 AM on Friday, September 4, 2009. If you haven't bought a ticket package so far, then Friday will be your first chance to buy tickets.
Tickets can be purchased from:
Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square
- September 3 to 18, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
- September 19, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Festival Box Office at Roy Thomson Hall
- September 4 to 18, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
- September 19, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Online (http://www.tiff.net/)
By phone (416-968-FILM, or toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM)
During the festival, tickets can be purchased from Venue Box Offices, but that won't start until September 10.
Commenters can give their own takes, but pretty much any of the above options will be extremely busy on Thursday morning. People in line usually complain that people online have bought up all the tickets to popular films, but people online usually complain about problems with the website box office going down.
Note additional tickets may be released for films the day of the screening or throughout the festival, so if you can't get a ticket for something right away, keep checking back on other days. I'll post more tips in a subsequent posting.
Individual tickets will cost more than your average movie, and galas will cost more than that. I can't remember off the top of my head the exact price last year, but I think it was somewhere between $12 and $20 per ticket (please post a comment if you can remember the exact price you paid last year for individual tickets).
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
My Fest Schedule
Got confirmation on my films for this year:
Perrier's Bounty, Ian FitzGibbon (Ireland/United Kingdom)
Backyard, Carlos Carrera (Mexico)
Five Hours From Paris, Leon Prudovsky (Israel)
Defendor, Peter Stebbings (Canada)
Les Herbes folles, Alain Resnais (France/Italy)
In Conversation with Michael Caine
V.O.S., Cesc Gay (Spain)
Police, Adjective, Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania)
Accident, Soi Cheang (Hong Kong, China)
Soul Kitchen, Fatih Akin (Germany)
Gigante, Adrián Biniez (Uruguay/Argentina/Germany/Spain)
Vengeance, Johnnie To (Hong Kong, China/France)
La Soga, Josh Crook (Dominican Republic/USA)
Like You Know It All, Hong Sang-soo (South Korea)
Kamui, Yoichi Sai (Japan)
Bare Essence of Life, Satoko Yokohama (Japan)
La Donation, Bernard Émond (Canada)
Les Derniers jours du monde, Arnaud Larrieu, Jean-Marie Larrieu (France/Spain/Taiwan)
Men on the Bridge, Asli Özge (Germany/Turkey/The Netherlands)
L'Affaire Farewell, Christian Carion (France)
Mr. Nobody, Jaco Van Dormael (France/Germany/Canada/Belgium)
Air Doll, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan)
Road, Movie, Dev Benegal (India/USA)
Hipsters, Valery Todorovsky (Russia)
Advance Order Pickup Begins September 3, 2009
Just a reminder that pickup of Advance Order tickets begins tomorrow, Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 7:00 AM at the festival box office at Nathan Phillips Square. You will need your Pick Up Voucher to pick up your completed orders. If you did not participate in the Advance Order procedure, then you must wait until September 4, 2009 at 7:00 AM to buy individual tickets.
If you provided an e-mail address to the festival on your order envelope, you should receive back a confirmation of which of your first and/or second choice films you received. If you did not get a film because there were no seats remaining, you will receive a voucher which you can exchange for a different film of your choice at any time from September 3 onwards. If you did not receive an e-mail confirmation before tomorrow morning (regardless of whether you provided one or not), then you should just show up tomorrow with your Pick Up Voucher anyway.
If you want to use your voucher(s) and/or exchange any of your existing films, you can do so tomorrow as well. Note you cannot purchase additional tickets over and above what was in your order until general sales begin on Friday, September 4, 2009 at 7:00 AM.
Some tips:
- If you received all your choices, then I would recommend you *not* show up right at 7:00 AM, as you'll be waiting in line longer than you need to.
- Don't forget your Pick Up Voucher!
- Note ticket pick up occurs in one line, and exchanges in another. Make sure you ask a festival volunteer to make sure you're in the correct line.
- You must pick up your tickets and/or vouchers before doing any exchanges.
- Plan ahead if you are going to make exchanges. One of the things that slows everything down is people who end up taking a long time at the front of the exchange line to flip back and forth through the schedule trying to find a film they want to see.
- The festival usually posts big boards listing all the screenings, and some films will be marked as Off Sale. This means those screenings have no advance order tickets available for them, and you will not be able to select them at this time. It is possible additional tickets will go on sale starting September 4, or on the day of the screening.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Box 48 out of 54 Drawn
Processing of advance orders will start at box 48. There were 54 boxes in the draw this year.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
2009 Advance Order Procedure Deadline Monday
Just a reminder that for anyone participating in the Advance Order Procedure (i.e. anyone with a 10-ticket, Festival, Festival Lite, Day, or Day Lite packages), the deadline for dropping off your completed order is Monday, August 31, 2009 at 1:00 PM. If you fail to drop off your package by then at the festival box office at Nathan Phillips Square, then your order will be processed after everyone else.
Shortly after the deadline the festival will randomly draw a box number. Orders will be processed starting from that box. If you supplied an e-mail address on your envelope, then the festival will usually send you an e-mail once your order has been processed, letting you know which films you did and didn't get. If you didn't get some of your first or second choices, then you will receive a voucher for those selections, which can be exchanged for a ticket to another film of your choosing.
You can pick up tickets/vouchers starting Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 7:00 AM at the Nathan Phillips Square box office. If you got all your picks, you do not need to show up at 7:00 AM.
For those not participating in the Advance Order Procedure, general tickets go on sale September 4, 2009 at 7:00 AM, by phone, at the festival box office, or online.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Update on Premium Screenings
I heard back from Customer Relations at the festival, and here's what they had to say, which seems to confirm both what Tess and Parabola had heard from different people:
"There has been a printing error in the Public Advance Order Book, which does give Festival, Daytime, and 10-Ticket Package holders the public access to Premium Elgin Screenings (evenings, opening and closing gala, and mid-afternoon screenings on the first weekend).
We are committed to honouring this error and will accept orders that include Premium Elgin screenings - so if you would like to select these films please feel free to do so.
That said, we would suggest that you add a second selection to your order (ed: i.e. a backup 2nd choice) - there is a limited amount of stock available and as such there are no guarantees that we can fully honour those requests."
So, net result is you can pick anything you want in the Advance Order Book, but just note if you happen to pick a Premium Screening, and you end up far back enough in the draw, you chances of getting that film are smaller. Thanks to Jesse at the festival for the clarification.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Can I Pick Premium Screenings in the Advance Order Book?
At this point, it sounds like no, you shouldn't pick Visa Screening Room Premium Screenings even if they do show up in the Order Book. People seem to be hearing different things from different people (commenter Tess earlier heard it was ok), but commenter Parabola did a bit more investigation:
"I went over the box office folks, and the person there brought over someone "official looking". He said it was a screw-up that the premium shows were in the Order Book. He wasn't sure what the resolution would be, but advised that if you want to risk picking something obviously "premium" (e.g., those 6pm/9pm showings at Elgin), be sure to have a backup choice because he didn't know if any of those selections would end up being honored."
So, the safest bet at this point is to not select anything that might be a premium screening. This would be any screening at the Visa Screening Room (the ones at Roy Thomson Hall don't show up in the book) that also happens to be the first screening of the film at the festival (you can check which screenings each film has on pages 85 - 91 on the official schedule).
I haven't heard back from the festival on my e-mail query, but feel free to add comments to this post if anyone hears anything else. Hopefully the festival will make some sort of clarification.
2009 Programme Book Gift Bag
If you ordered a 2009 Programme Book, you will get it in a tote bag filled with some goodies (while supplies last). If you just ordered one of the ticket packages or passes, you don't get a tote bag.
This year, you get:
- A tote bag (kind of like the reusable bags Loblaws sells)
- A Stella Artois beer glass
- Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn plus a small bag from RBC to put in (just like you get at the theatre)
- A 35 g sample of Gillette Style Power Gel
- A 50 ml sample of Pantene Pro-V Shampoo
- A 7 ml sample of Olay Definity
- A coupon for 10% off a Porter Air flight
- A $1 coupon for Covergirl products
- A Pizza Nova gift card
- A 3 sample serving of Starbucks coffee
- A gift certificate for Matignon restaurant (worth $10 at lunch, $20 at dinner)
- A flyer from Mike Weir Wine
- A Toronto tourist magazine
- A 591ml bottle of Aquafina plus water.
- A pen/orange highlighter (for completing your advance order book)
- An advance order book
- An envelope for the advance order book
- A copy of the official festival schedule
- The 452-page, full-colour Programme Book
Advance Order Procedure Updates
I'll be revising the post describing how to complete the Advance Order Book later today, but note that the process for specifying a second choice has changed. For veteran festival-goers, the one thing to note is that if you do specify a second choice for a slot, it's assumed that you want the same number of tickets as you did for the first choice.
Also, anyone participating in the Advance Order Procedure (10-ticket Package, Festival Package, Festival Package Lite, Day Package, or Day Package Lite) can exchange tickets at no extra cost (i.e. the standard $2.50 ticket exchange fee is waived). However, ticket exchanges can only be made up to the day before the screening (i.e. same-day exchanges are not allowed).
The box office opened a bit before 10:00 AM today, and there wasn't much of a lineup to pick up forms.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Advance Order Process Begins Tomorrow
Just a reminder that the Advance Order Process begins tomorrow, Tuesday, August 25, 2009, for anyone who purchased one of the "You Choose" ticket packages (the Festival Package, Day Package, or 10-ticket Package). Starting at 10:00 AM, you can use your Envelope voucher to pick up an Official Film Schedule, an Advance Order Book, and an Order Envelope. Consult part 2 of the series on how to buy tickets (http://tifftalk.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-do-i-buy-tickets-for-tiff-2009-part_07.html) for more information on how the process works. Note you don't have to show up right at 10:00, you can pick up your package any time, as long as you get your completed order in before Monday, August 31, 2009 at 1:00 PM.
You can also pick up the programme book if you have a Programme Book voucher.
Pick up your materials from the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square at 100 Queen Street West (located in a white tent, west of the square). The box office is open from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM every day. The closest subway stations are Queen and Osgoode. Don't forget to bring the following:
- Envelope voucher
- Programme book voucher, if you bought one
- The Visa card used to make the purchase (assuming you bought with one)
- Photo ID (student or senior ID if you purchased with a discount)
- Any confirmation e-mail sent to you by the festival.
If you bought any of the other packages (Visa Screening Room, Midnight Madness, Wavelengths, City to City, Festival Experience, Globetrotter, Double Date Gala, Roy Thomson Hall Closing Night Gala and Party), you do not pick up any tickets until Thursday, September 3, 2009 starting at 7:00 AM. Festival Student Cards cannot be used until the date printed on the card.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Shinsedai Cinema Festival Review
The inaugural Shinsedai Cinema Festival, a showcase of new, independent Japanese filmmakers, is going on this weekend in Toronto at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. I attended on Saturday and took in 5 films:
- Freeter's Distress, a self-documentary by Hiroki Iwabuchi, a young grad trapped in a low-paying temporary job at a Canon manufacturing plant. A personal look at a wider social and economic problem in Japan, with corporations resorting to more and more temporary workers in an attempt to cut costs, but at the price of trapping a substantial portion of young people in a marginal, hand-to-mouth existence with little prospects for the future. The film is effective at communicating the hard and often demoralizing life, but doesn't always make it easy to sympathize with Iwabuchi as his lethargy often gets the better of him. Also screened with the short film Suzuki & Co.
- The Peaches Programme, three short films all from Peaches, a collective of female Japanese directors. emerger focuses on a neglected housewife desperate for sex and a gay man seeking to reconnect with his ex, who find strength in one another to break out of their relationship dilemmas. Bunny in Hovel sees the return of the prodigal son to a dysfunctional family, which brings up long buried secrets. Csikspost finds a young girl wishing for a new mother and wife for her and her single father. All three films were executed well, although probably liked emerger and Csikspost more (for the latter, in case it's not clear, a doxy is a mistress).
- Little Birds, a documentary from Takeharu Watai, shot inside Iraq from a few days before the US invasion, to a year later. The film contains some powerful imagery as it focuses on the children who become unwilling victims of the conflict and the impact on their families. A few stories become the core of the movie, from a man who loses three of his children to an errant bomb; a boy who loses his hand when he picks up an unexploded munition; and a girl who gets glass embedded in her right eye when an explosion happens next to her house. Also screened with the short Israel Mix, which was a visually interesting film, but in retrospect, I'm not sure it was the best match for the feature.
- Thunderfish, a drama about a photographer who travels to an island searching for his friend after receiving a cryptic phone call. He soon becomes caught up with the odd inhabitants of the island, including an alluring prostitute he becomes enthralled with, only to find a sinister undercurrent to the mysterious goings-on. Director Touru Hano, cinematographer Tetsuhiro Kato, and star Junko Kimoto were in attendance, which was quite welcome for a film that came out in 2005. Hano admitted to some noir influence, but nothing in particular. Kato cited In the Mood for Love and Snow Falling on Cedars as influences from a visual standpoint, and mentioned how the look of this film was in contrast to the desaturated nature of films like Saving Private Ryan. Screened with the short Right Place from Kosai Sekine.
- Electric Button (Moon and Cherry), a funny look at a young university student, Tadokoro, who joins the campus erotic writing club. He soon falls prey to co-member Mayama, a girl who sees Tadokoro as a way around her writer's block by seducing him to get material for her new book. But unexpected consequences result for both her and Tadokoro. A quite enjoyable and touching film.
Overall, a good mix of films, from shorts to features, and documentaries to dramas, with a bit of comedy sprinkled in, and some exposure to filmmakers not normally seen in the West. The day's viewing was also a good way to get geared up for TIFF. Shinsedai continues on Sunday, August 23 with more films, and tickets are still available at the door. Also on Sunday at 4:30 is a roundtable discussion on independent film in Japan which is free to attend.
