My 2015 Films

My picks for 2015:

• 25 April (Leanne Pooley, New Zealand): a stunningly animated look at the landings at Gallipoli during the First World War.
• The Danish Girl (Tom Hooper, United Kingdom): from director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech), this film based on David Ebershoff's novel stars Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) as a man who discovers new feelings and eventually becomes one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Also stars Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina).
• Dheepan (Jacques Audiard, France): winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2015, the latest from Jacques Audiard (I previously saw his Rust and Bone at TIFF) follows a Tamil family that flees from Sri Lanka to France.
• Endorphine (André Turpin, Canada): I've seen Turpin's work as a DoP on Incendies and Maelstrom. His latest directorial effort intertwines the stories of three women all named Simone.
• The Final Girls (Todd Strauss-Schulson, USA): a kind of send-up and homage to horror films, with Taissa Farmiga as the daughter of a famous horror movie star who is transported with her friends into one of her mother's films.
• Francophonia (Alexander Sokurov, Germany/France/The Netherlands): Sokurov's latest film that sounds reminiscent of one of his previous works, Russian Ark.
• Hardcore (Ilya Naishuller, Russia/USA): shot from a first-person point-of-view, this film follows a resurrected cyborg super solider on a mission to rescue his wife from a psychotic supervillain.
• High-Rise (Ben Wheatley, United Kingdom): based on J.G. Ballard's novel of the same name, with Tom Hiddleston as a new resident who must navigate the social politics and class structure of a monolithic apartment tower.
• Horizon (Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Bergur Bernburg, Iceland/Denmark): an examination of the work of Icelandic landscape painter Georg Gudni Hauksson).
• Lace Crater (Harrison Atkins, USA): a woman attends a house party in the country, ends up sleeping with a burlap-wrapped ghost, and strange things start happening to her body.
• Mr. Right (Paco Cabezas, USA): Anna Kendrick meets Sam Rockwell and they fall for one another, only it turns out Rockwell is a hitman, and the body count starts to pile up. Saw Kendrick last year in The Last Five Years and Rockwell in Laggies.
• Love (Gaspar Noé, France): probably will be the most interesting use of 3D I'll see at the festival this year.
• Office (Johnnie To, China/Hong Kong): To's first musical, about backroom corporate politics.
• Our Little Sister (Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan): Kore-eda's latest to hit TIFF finds three sisters in a seaside town who learn their estranged father had another daughter who comes to live with her stepsisters are her father's death.
• Schneider vs. Bax (Alex van Warmerdam, Netherlands/Belgium): a black comedy about a hitman trying to kill novelist, although the novelist may be more than he seems.
• Veteran (Ryoo Seung-wan, South Korea): Ryoo's latest (I've previously seen his The Berlin File) follows a maverick detective that takes on a huge corporation that flaunts the law.
• Where to Invade Next (Michael Moore, USA): Moore's latest film asks the question about what would happen if the US were better at invading other countries, and launches off from there.
• Yakuza Apocalypse (Takashi Miike, Japan): a mish-mash of everything from monsters to gangsters and everything in between.
• Youth (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/United Kingdom/Switzerland): Sorrentino's follow up to The Great Beauty finds Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel reflecting on life and the world while relaxing at a spa in the Swiss Alps.

Tags: 2015,films,tiff

TIFF 2015 Off-sale (Sold Out) Screenings

This post is a placeholder for people to add comments for any films that they notice as sold out (i.e. off sale) when completing the online ticketing process for My Choice packages for TIFF 2015. Feel free to post a comment for anything you see as sold out when you log in to make your picks to help others out.

Note that films may come off sale if people release them before checking out because they changed their mind or failed to complete the check out process. Also, even though a screening sold out during the My Choice selection process, it may become available again when individual tickets go on sale.

Tags: 2015,tickets,tiff

2015 Programme Book Bag

If you pre-ordered the Programme Book, you should have gotten it with a bag (while supplies last). I'm going to stop calling it a gift bag as it's really more a bag of sponsor advertising. :-) This year's bag included:

• a Timberland/TIFF branded reusable bag
• the TIFF Programme Book
• the TIFF Official Film Schedule
• 500 ml O.N.E. coconut water
• two $50 off coupons for airbnb
• a book of Ciroc cocktail drink recipes
• a visitor guide for the Toronto entertainment district
• a Birks special offer of a pendant with purchase
• a $15 off coupon for Express and Express Men
• a Rimowa luggage entry for a draw for tickets to the closing night gala
• a flyer about the tiff.net/ignite donation campaign to help aspiring filmmakers
• a TIFF membership flyer
• a Timberland flyer
• a coupon for the Windsor Arms spa
• a flyer for Pizza Nova
• coupons for Cineplex theatres
• I think there may also have been a can of pop in some bags, but not in mine

Tags: 2015,festival,tiff

TIFF My Choice Selection Times Going Out

TIFF is sending e-mails today to people that purchased a My Choice ticket package. This e-mail lets you know when you can log into the ticketing website to select your films. You don't have to log in right at your start time; you have from the start time to September 4 at 7:00 PM EST to make your selections, although it's to your advantage to select as soon as possible. I got a good time this year, 11:00 AM on the 31st.

If you purchased multiple packages, you will have to log in separately for each one and make the selections independently.

It is important to note that once you log in, you need to make all your selections at once. You cannot pick some, log out, then log back in at a later date.

Don't panic if you haven't received your e-mail yet; it can take a while for TIFF to send them all out. Also, double-check your spam folder in case it ended up there. If you haven't received it after today, contact the festival directly to check on your time (check the TIFF website for the Customer Relations e-mail address or phone numbers).

Tags: 2015,tickets,tiff

TIFF 2015 Pricing and Dates

Dates and pricing for the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival are out.

Important dates include:

• July 15: Ticket packages go on sale to TIFF Members
• July 22: Ticket packages go on sale to Visa cardholders (for both Members and Non-members)
• July 29: Ticket packages go on sale to everyone for all payment methods
• August 24: My Choice package holders get e-mail with their timeslot for selecting films online
• August 25: Official film schedule is published and the Festival Box Office opens
• August 27: Patrons Circle Members can purchase individual tickets
• August 30: Patrons Circle, Benefactor, and Ambassador Members make My Choice Flex Package selections
• August 31: Contributor Members make My Choice Flex Package selections
• September 1: Non-members make My Choice Flex Package selections
• September 4: 7:00 PM ET deadline for submitting My Choice Flex Package selections (for Members and Non-members)
• September 6: Individual tickets go on sale
• September 7: 
• Members can pick up Flex Pack selections and exchange tickets
• 9:00 AM ET Contributor Members and up can make Back-Half and Daytime Pack selections
• 12:00 PM ET Individual/Dual Members and up can make Back-Half and Daytime Pack selections
• September 8: 
• Non-members can pick up Flex Pack selections and exchange tickets
• Non-members can make Back-Half and Daytime Pack selections
• September 10 - 20: TIFF 2015!

Individual tickets for Regular screenings are $25 for adults, $18 for 25 and under, $21 for 65 and older, and $20 for rush. For Premium screenings, prices are $48 for adults, $30 for 25 and under, $40 for 65 and older, and $40 for rush.

Prices include taxes but not service fees.

My Choice packages (where you select the films you want to see):

• Regular Flex Pack
• 10 tickets for $200
• purchase in increments of 10, up to 100
• note: unlike previous years, there is no graduated pricing at higher levels, so 100 tickets is $2,000, which is about a 10% increase over 2014
• Premium Flex Pack
• 6 Premium tickets for $395
• Back-Half Pack
• for screenings between Sept 15 and Sept 20
• 6 tickets for $75
• 12 tickets for $150
• Daytime Pack
• for screenings before 5:00 PM
• 20 tickets for $250
• 40 tickets for $500

TIFF Choice packages (where the festival selects films for you):

• Premium Sampler
• 3 for $155 ($120 for youths and seniors)
• The Buzz List
• 5 for $1,500 (no youth or senior discounts)
• Daytime Sampler
• 5 for $96 ($80 for youths and seniors)
• films are screen before 5 PM
• Evening and Weekend Sampler
• 5 for $110 ($95 for youths and seniors)
• films screen after 5 PM or anytime on weekends
• Midnight Madness
• 10 for $185 ($120 for youths and seniors)
• Wavelengths
• 7 for $100 ($85 for youths and seniors)
• Closing Night Gala
• $205 (no youth or senior discounts)

More information is available on the festival website:

http://tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/tickets

Tags: 2015,tickets,tiff

My 2014 Films

My picks for 2014:

• 1001 Grams (Bent Hamer, Norway/Germany/France): Saw Hamer's Home for Christmas back in 2010, this sounds like a fun film.
• Before We Go (Chris Evans, USA): While Evans might be best known for Captain America, this marks his directorial debut, and from some interviews I've read, may be the direction he takes career-wise once his Marvel commitments are over and done with. A friend pointed out this year there are a number of films somewhat similar in nature to Before Sunrise, this being among them. I like both Evans (in films as varied as Captain America, Scott Pilgrim, and Snowpiercer) as well as Alice Eve, so I'm interested to see how this turns out.
• Cake (Daniel Barnz, USA): I like both Jennifer Aniston and Anna Kendrick, so picked this one for both of them.
• Clouds of Sils Maria (Olivier Assayas, France/USA): got some good buzz out of Cannes, plus I've seen a number of Assayas' and Juliette Binoche's films at the festival (sometimes together, sometimes not). Was disappointed by Words and Pictures last year, but I'm holding out hope for this film this year.
• Force Majeure (Ruben Ostlund, Sweden/Norway/Denmark/France): another one I heard buzz about from Cannes, about the effect of a father's actions when he thinks he and his family are about to die, but don't.
• Kabukicho Love Hotel (Ryuichi Hiroki, Japan): this film about people intersecting in a red-light district in Tokyo sounded interesting; I didn't realize that the star, Shota Sometani, is in another film I'm seeing this year (Tokyo Tribe).
• Kill Me Three Times (Kriv Stenders, Australia): sounds like an over-the-top, noir-ish film set in the Australian outback. Have to admit one of the main reasons for picking this is the photo of a black-clad, mustachioed Simon Pegg holding a rifle.
• The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (Mami Sunada, Japan): I'm seeing this documentary about Studio Ghibli back to back with The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. Having seen a number of Ghibli and Miyazaki films over the years, I'm really interested to get a look behind-the-scenes.
• Laggies (Lynn Shelton, USA): Keira Knightley plays a woman stuck in a state of arrested development since high school who gets a push out of her rut when her longtime boyfriend proposes to her. I like Knightley, and enjoyed her in last year's Can a Song Save Your Life?
• The Last Five Years (Richard LaGravenese, USA): Anna Kendrick is probably the only thing that could get me to see a musical like this, although I've liked some of LaGravenese's other work.
• Mavericks Conversation with Juliette Binoche: Having seen so many of her films at the festival over the years, was a no-brainer to pick this extended Q&A with her.
• Monsoon (Sturla Gunnarsson, Canada): intriguing look at the impact of this natural phenomenon on India. I've seen a couple of Gunnarsson's other films at the festival including Beowulf & Grendel, and Force of Nature.
• October Gale (Ruba Nadda, Canada): a thriller starring Patricia Clarkson and Scott Speedman.
• Over Your Dead Body (Takashi Miike, Japan): set in a theatre during rehearsals for production of a Kabuki play rife with murder and betrayal, life soon begins to imitate art. 
• Revivre (Im Kwon-taek, South Korea): a businessman with an ailing wife struggles with his feelings for his younger coworker, against his dedication to his family.
• Seymour: An Introduction (Ethan Hawke, USA): Hawke directed this documentary about classical musician Seymour Bernstein, that takes its focus from the question of why should anyone make art? Sounds like an interesting study, plus my girlfriend is a fan of Hawke's work.
• The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata, Japan): a film from Studio Ghibli co-founder Takahata, this film seems very visually distinct from Ghibli's (and Takahata's) normal style.
• Tokyo Fiancee (Stefan Liberski, Belgium/Canada/France): a Belgian woman obsessed with Japanese culture falls in love with a Japanese man obsessed with French culture.
• Tokyo Tribe (Sion Sono, Japan): based on a manga, this film is placed in a futuristic Tokyo beset by warring gangs and set ro a driving hip-hop beat.
• The Tribe (Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, Ukraine): a new student at a boarding school for the deaf and mute falls in with a gang of fellow students that revel in criminal behaviour from theft to prostitution, but soon falls afoul of friends.
• Winter Sleep (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey/France/Germany): I always mean to see one of Ceylan's films but never seem to get around to it. I'm disappointed I never got to see Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, so I made an effort this year to pick his latest, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year.

You can also view this list at letterboxd.com.

Tags: 2014,films,tiff

2014 Ticket Trades

As it was popular last year, I've created a page for comments for ticket trades and sales. Only post here if you are willing to trade tickets, or sell for the value you paid for the ticket. Do not post here if you are simply looking for tickets or are trying to sell above face value; I will delete such comments to keep the number of comments under control and to prevent scalping. To try to minimize issues, this blog now no longer accepts anonymous comments; you must sign into Google to post.

For people selling, the most a premium ticket should be is $46, and the most a regular ticket should be is $24. If you find anyone selling for more, post a comment and I will try to delete the offending post when I have time.

Double check any ticket before accepting it; I would not accept an under-25 or senior ticket unless you obviously fit that demographic, otherwise you risk not being admitted.

Use the information here at your own risk; I do not know anyone who may be posting here. If you do trade or buy, make sure whatever you receive looks and feels like your own ticket. Do not accept vouchers, e-mail confirmations, or anything else other than an actual ticket, otherwise you're probably getting scammed. If you have any issues, there is nothing I nor the festival can do for you; you're on your own.

Note if you do post here, you should delete your comment once you have gotten rid of your ticket, so that you don't continue to get inquiries. If you have problems deleting your comment, post another letting me know, and I'll try to remove it when I get a chance.

Tags: 2014,tickets,tiff

End of My Choice Ticketing and Start of Individual Sales

Note that Friday, August 29, at 7:00 PM Eastern time is the deadline for making any My Choice ticket package selections. If you have not made your picks by then, you have a second window starting at September 1 for TIFF members and September 2 for everyone else, until September 4 at 7:00 PM Eastern. If you still haven't made your selections by then, you will need to go to the Festival Box Office.

My Choice tickets can be picked up from the Festival Box Office starting September 1 for TIFF members and September 2 for everyone else (both starting at 9:00 AM). You will need your pickup voucher (which was attached to the original purchase confirmation e-mail when you bought your ticket package), reservation #, photo ID and credit card. If you want to exchange any of your picks, you can do so at the same time, up until 7:00 PM the evening before the screening.

If you bought a TIFF Choice package, you should receive an e-mail sometime on August 30 letting you know what films the festival selected for you. You can pick up your tickets from the Festival Box Office starting September 1 for TIFF members and September 2 for everyone else (both starting at 9:00 AM).

With both My Choice and TIFF Packages, you do *not* have to show up at the Box Office right at 9:00 AM, or even on that day, to get your tickets. In fact, I would recommend not showing up first thing unless you are trying to exchange My Choice tickets for different screenings.

If you didn't by a My Choice or a TIFF Choice package and just want to buy individual tickets, those go on sale at 9:00 AM Eastern on August 31. Note that the website will be extremely busy, and you may see the dreaded "virtual waiting room", which means the site will let you in once there is capacity. Don't be misled by the countdown timer in the virtual waiting room. When it ticks down to 0, you won't necessarily get in; the screen may just refresh and the timer reset. You can also try going in person to the box office or using the phone, but people have mixed experiences with every approach.

The festival will be posting an official off-sale list on the website on August 30 at 9:00 AM Eastern.

Tags: 2014,tickets,tiff

TIFF 2014 Off-sale (Sold Out) Screenings

This post is a placeholder for people to add comments for any films that they notice as sold out (i.e. off sale) when completing the online ticketing process for My Choice packages for TIFF 2014. Feel free to post a comment for anything you see as sold out when you log in to make your picks to help others out.

Note that films may come off sale if people release them before checking out because they changed their mind or failed to complete the check out process. Also, even though a screening sold out during the My Choice selection process, it may become available again when individual tickets go on sale.

Tags: 2014,tickets,tiff

2014 Programme Book Gift Bag

If you pre-ordered the Programme Book, you should have gotten it with a gift bag (while supplies last). This year's gift bag included:

• The TIFF Programme Book
• RBC/TIFF coffee sleeve
• A bottle of Pepsi Next
• A 4-pack of Cashmere UltraLuxe toilet paper
• A flyer for Birks Days in September at Birks
• An offer from Pizza Nova for a free jar of tomato sauce with a walk-in order over $20
• L'Oreal lipstick
• L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner samples
• A 15% off coupon for restaurants in the Fairmont Royal York
• A "Green Savings Card" for Fashion Outlets (Niagara Falls is the closest one to Toronto)
• Two cards for a free appetizer with purchase of an entree at Milestones
• A coupon for Airbnb
• A coupon for McDonald's McCafe beverages
• A variety of coupons for Cineplex
• Information on becoming a TIFF Member
• Tourism flyers for Toronto and the Entertainment District
• A coupon for Express and Express Men stores
• A discount on admission to a photography exhibition at Casa Loma of Tom Sandler's TIFF portfolio
• A $20 gift certificate for Liberty Entertainment Group restaurants
• 2 TIFF donation buttons
• A small pewter pendant or earring or something with the letters JT on it (anyone know what exactly this is or who it's for?)

Tags: 2014,festival,tiff

TIFF 2014 My Choice Film Selection

If you purchased a My Choice package, you should receive an e-mail on Monday, August 18, letting you know the time at which you'll be able to go online to pick your films. If you bought a TIFF Choice package you won't get this e-mail as the festival will be selecting films for you.

If you don't receive an e-mail on the 18th, contact the festival to inquire further.

If you are not a TIFF member, then your start time will be a randomized time starting sometime between August 26 and August 29 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. If you are a TIFF Patrons Circle or Principal member, you can pick starting August 24. If you are a TIFF Contributor member, you can pick starting August 25.

Start times can occur anytime during the day (though not usually overnight since they take the system down for maintenance), so you could be at work when your start time comes up. Note you do not have to log in right at your start time; you can log in anytime between your start time and 7:00 PM Eastern on August 29.

However, it is in your best interest to pick your films as soon as you can, as inventory is consumed in real-time; i.e. the more popular screenings will go first, so if you are unfortunate enough to get a later start time, some films will be off-sale (i.e. sold out) by the time you go on).

A few things to keep in mind when making your picks online:

• You can only log in once. You cannot log in, make half your picks, logout, and log back in to make the other half. You have to pick everything at once. So if you bought a 50 pack of tickets to share with your friends, all picks have to be made by a single person at one time.
• Once you do log in, you have a limited amount of time to make your selections. I'd recommend that you look at the Official Film Schedule when it comes out on August 19, and start planning out your picks; not just the films you want to see, but the specific screenings as well (date, time, and theatre). Also plan alternatives in case your first choices are off-sale.
• One good tool for creating your schedule is a site called tiffr. Usually it spins up after the schedule comes out.
• Before you check out, you may want to double check if any of the off-sale screenings have come back on-sale; if people change their minds and release tickets back before checking out, then a screening may come back on-sale.

Tags: 2014,tickets,tiff

2014 Ticket Packages on Sale for all Payment Methods Wednesday July 9, 2014

Just a reminder, ticket packages go on sale for all payment methods (not just Visa) for the general public tomorrow, Wednesday July 9.

Tags: 2014,tickets,tiff

TIFF 2014 Ticket Packages

The festival has released details on ticket packages for the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, which is on from September 4 to 14, 2014.

Check out the official festival site here:

http://tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/ticketing/ticketwizard

The Ticket Wizard provides help on selecting which package may be best for you.

The Ticket Product List provides information on each ticket package and on single tickets, including a detailed breakdown of pricing.

The Ticket FAQ answers common questions about the ticketing process.

The Ticket Info package provides information about the ticketing process including important dates.

Ticket Policies has information about conditions and restrictions, such as how many packages you can buy per account.

I've made some initial observations about the ticket packages for this year in another post:

http://tifftalk.blogspot.ca/2014/06/tiff-2014-ticket-package-changes.html

Important dates to keep in mind (dates in bold represent points of interest for non-TIFF Members):

June 24, 2014	Ticket packages go on sale to TIFF Members at 10:00 AM ET.
July 2, 2014	Ticket packages go on sale to the general public if paying by Visa (probably at 10:00 AM ET).
July 9, 2014	Ticket packages go on sale to the general public for all payment methods (cash, debit, Visa, MasterCard, American Express) (probably at 10:00 AM ET).
August 18, 2014	E-mails sent out notifying My Choice ticket package holders of their selection window.
August 19, 2014	Official Film Schedule released and Festival Programme Books available at 9:00 AM ET.
August 21-23, 2014	Individual tickets available for purchase for TIFF Leadership, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze members starting at 9:00 AM ET, according to Member level. In 2012, TIFF Leadership members could enter the first day starting at 7:00 AM, Platinum at 11:00 AM, and Gold at 3:00 PM. Silver could enter the second day starting at 7:00 AM and Bronze at 11:00 AM.
August 24, 2014	Select screenings online at tiff.net (or by phone or at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) for TIFF Patrons Circle and Principal Members, according to member level, for Regular Flex and Premium Packages, In 2012, TIFF Leadership members could enter the first day starting at 7:00 AM, Platinum members at 11:00 AM, and Gold members at 3:00 PM. TIFF Silver members could enter the second day starting at 7:00 AM and Bronze members at 11:00 AM. TIFF Principal members could enter the third day starting at 7:00 AM, while Contributor members got a randomized start time from the third day onwards.
August 25, 2014	Select screenings online at tiff.net (or by phone or at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) for TIFF Contributor Members, according randomized start time.
August 26-29, 2014	Select screenings online at tiff.net (or by phone or at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) for the general public for Regular Flex and Premium Packages. Package holders will receive a randomized start time.
August 29, 2014	End of ticket selection window at 7:00 PM ET for Regular Flex and Premium Packages for the general public and TIFF members.
August 30, 2014	List of off-sale (i.e. sold out) screenings is posted on tiff.net at 9:00 AM ET.
August 30, 2014	TIFF Choice Package holders receive e-mail notifying them of the screenings they will receive.
August 31, 2014	Individual tickets available for purchase for the general public starting at 9:00 AM ET at tiff.net or by phone or at the Festival Box Office).
September 1, 2014	TIFF Members can pickup their ticket packages and make exchanges starting at 9:00 AM ET.
September 2, 2014	Select screenings online at tiff.net (or by phone or at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) for TIFF Contributor Members and up, starting at 9:00 AM ET. TIFF Individual/Dual members can select starting at 12:00 PM ET.
September 2, 2014	General public can pickup their ticket packages and make exchanges starting at 9:00 AM ET.
September 2, 2014	Select screenings online at tiff.net (or by phone or at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) for the general public for Back-Half and Daytime Packages.

Tags:

TIFF 2014 Ticket Package Changes

TIFF has released information about the tickets and packages available for the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, on from September 4 to 14, 2014.

Some changes from last year:

• The TIFF Choice Canadian and City-to-City Packages no longer exist
• There is a new 'Buzz List' package where you get priority access to five "big-ticket" premium screenings, but it will set you back $1,500
• There is Rush ticket pricing for regular and premium screenings that is lower than the normal adult ticket pricing
• Prices have gone up around 1 to 8%, with some exceptions:
• The Child (under 12) pricing no longer exists, but there is still 25 and Under pricing. For children under 12 that would represent an increase of 15 to 24%
• The Daytime Pack is the same price as 2013
• There is no Senior/Student pricing for the Closing Night Gala Film this year

Where there is a more significant pricing difference is in the Regular Flex Pack. The table below shows the difference in prices from last year to this year. Both the 2013 and 2014 prices include taxes but not fees.

Number of Tickets	2013 Price	2014 Price	Increase
10	187	200	6.9%
20	373	400	7.2%
30	559	600	7.3%
40	656	800	21.9%
50	706	904	28.0%
60	848	1085	27.9%
70	989	1266	28.0%
80	1130	1447	28.1%
90	1271	1626	27.9%
100	1412	1808	28.0%

As you can see, at the high-end this is a huge jump. Just in case you are wondering if the 2013 prices didn't include tax or something like that, in 2013 I bought a 60 pack and two programme books, and after tax it came to $942. This year, 60 tickets alone will be $1,085 after tax.

I'm not sure why there is such a huge jump in the regular flex package pricing. The My Choice premium packages only went up by 3%. This would seem to be heavily penalizing the avid festival goer that sees a lot of films, or people that pool together to purchase tickets. For 2013, buying a 100 ticket package was 75% of the cost if you bought 10 10-packs. For 2013, buying a 100 ticket package is 90% of the cost if you bought 10 10-packs.

Tags: 2014,tickets,tiff

Bars and Parties Around TIFF

blogTO has a listing of bars with extended hours for TIFF around the downtown core

http://www.blogto.com/film/2013/09/50_bars_with_4am_extended_last_call_for_tiff_2013/

as well as TIFF-related or themed parties during the festival:

http://www.blogto.com/film/2013/09/tiff_party_guide_2013/

Tags: 2013,festival,tiff

Ticket Trades

Due to popular request, I've created a page for comments for ticket trades and sales. Only post here if you are willing to trade tickets, or sell for the value you paid for the ticket. Do not post here if you are simply looking for tickets or are trying to sell above face value; I will delete such comments to keep the number of comments under control and to prevent scalping. To try to minimize issues, this blog now no longer accepts anonymous comments; you must sign into Google to post.

For people selling, the most a premium ticket should be is $46 (that includes tax and $1/ticket service charge), and the most a regular ticket should be is $24.50 (that includes tax and $1/ticket service charge). If you find anyone selling for more, post a comment and I will try to delete the offending post when I have time.

Double check any ticket before accepting it; I would not accept an under-25 or senior ticket unless you obviously fit that demographic, otherwise you risk not being admitted.

Use the information here at your own risk; I do not know anyone who may be posting here. If you do trade or buy, make sure whatever you receive looks and feels like your own ticket. Do not accept vouchers, e-mail confirmations, or anything else other than an actual ticket, otherwise you're probably getting scammed. If you have any issues, there is nothing I nor the festival can do for you; you're on your own.

Note if you do post here, you should delete your comment once you have gotten rid of your ticket, so that you don't continue to get inquiries.

Some people have already posted trades to the off-sale page (you may have to go to the newest comments to see it).

Tags: 2013,tickets,tiff

TIFF 2013 Ticket Pickup Starts Tomorrow, Monday, September 2, 2013

Monday, September 2, 2013 is the first day you can pick up your tickets for My Choice, TIFF Choice, and individual ticket purchases. Go to the Festival Box Office (or if you are a TIFF Member, you can go to the appropriate TIFF Member box office) to pick up your tickets.

If you have a My Choice or TIFF Choice package, you will need your pickup vouchers, reservation #, photo ID, and the purchasing credit card for verification. Note if you used senior or student pricing you will likely also need those IDs as well. In practice, they may only check your voucher and photo ID, but I'd recommend having the other items as well to avoid any issues. If you lost your voucher, then according to the festival website, they can only be replaced in-person on September 2, and you will need the above items (minus the vouchers).

If you want to exchange selections (provided your package allows it), you can also do those starting September 2 and up to 7:00 PM the evening before the screening you are exchanging. Note that not all package allow exchanges.

If you are not doing any exchanges, I would recommend that you do not show up at the box office first thing on the 2nd, as people making exchanges will likely be there, and those usually take a long time, so you'll be waiting in line for nothing.

If you bought a TIFF Choice package, you should receive an e-mail on September 2 outlining the films the festival has selected for you.

If you purchased a Back-Half or Daytime package, your selection window will start on September 2. If you want to see which films are already off sale, you can go the site now for individual tickets and see which ones are unavailable.

Tags: 2013,tickets,tiff

TIFF 2013 Experiences

I've had a couple of requests to create a thread where people can post their experiences, or must-sees, or must-avoids for TIFF 2013, so I've added this page for just that purpose. Please feel free to add in the comments any films you liked or disliked, or anything about your experiences at this year's TIFF. But try to avoid any long-winded rants or anything like that: I reserve the right to prune the comments down especially if things start getting out of hand. I'll see how this page goes this year, and if it's successful, I'll try to do this again next year.

Tags: 2013,festival,films,tiff

Tips on Attending TIFF

I've had a few commenters asking about tips on attending the festival once you have you tickets in hand. I have a post for that (http://tifftalk.blogspot.ca/p/going-to-festival.html), but probably the most detailed information I've seen recently is on Larry Richman's blog, where he's put together a series of posts on what happens during the festival:

http://www.larry411.com/how-to-do-toronto-international-film-festival-real-tips-for-real-people-1
http://www.larry411.com/how-to-do-toronto-international-film-festival-real-tips-for-real-people-2
http://www.larry411.com/how-to-do-toronto-international-film-festival-real-tips-for-real-people-3
http://www.larry411.com/how-to-do-toronto-international-film-festival-real-tips-for-real-people-4

Some general things to note:

• Theatres are generally not right next door to one another, so be sure you leave yourself enough time.
• Public transit, especially the subway, is the best and fastest way to get around. Check out the Toronto Transit Commission's site at ttc.ca for information on fares, routes, closures, and service advisories. One important thing to note is that there are still nightly shutdowns of the Yonge subway between Eglinton and Finch stations every night (except Saturday). If you need to head north from downtown after a late film or Midnight Madness, keep in mind that you'll eventually be shunted onto shuttle buses.
• One other thing to note with the subway: on Sunday, it starts up significantly later, so check the schedule for those days.
• If you ask a question during Q&A after a film, keep it short and actually ask a question rather than just gushing; no one else wants to hear that.

If you have your own tips for others, feel free to post them in the comments.

Tags: 2013,festival,tiff

TIFF 2013 Individual Tickets On Sale Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013

Individual tickets go on sale to everyone tomorrow, Sunday, September 1, 2013 at 9:00 AM Eastern. If previous years are any indication, the online system will be heavily loaded down when ticket sales start. You may get lucky and get in right away, but more often than not you will be shunted into a "virtual waiting room" which features a countdown timer. Not sure if they'll change the way that works this year, but note in previous years, the countdown didn't actually mean anything; you wouldn't actually gain entry at the end of the countdown, it would just reset more often than not.

You can also buy in person or by phone, but I've heard stories from other people who went in person that all the films they wanted were already off sale by the time they made it up to the counter.

You can check my post from last year on how online individual ticket sales work: http://tifftalk.blogspot.ca/2012/09/tiff-2012-individual-ticketing-process.html

If you want an idea of which films are off sale (i.e. sold out, you can check the official off sale page, or you can check my post here: http://tifftalk.blogspot.ca/2013/08/tiff-2013-off-sale-sold-out-screenings.html, or you can check the tiffr page commenter 12amMovies posted based on comments to this blog. Many thanks to 12amMovies for posting and updating the tiffr page, and everyone who contributed off-sale screenings to the page. I know people who came later definitely appreciated the information.

Since it will be difficult for people to login initially when individual sales start, if you do manage to get in and get a chance to see any additional off-sales, feel free to add them to my comment page: http://tifftalk.blogspot.ca/2013/08/tiff-2013-off-sale-sold-out-screenings.html.

Tags: 2013,tickets,tiff