Toronto Filmfest Meetup

August 31, 2005 8:48 AM

Any Toronto Mefites going the the film fest? Would a meetup be possible or are the schedules gonna be too fucked? Also, what are you seeing/do you recommend?
posted by dobbs to MetaFilter Gatherings at 8:48 AM (18 comments total)

I'll be volunteering at the Varsity every night that week, you might see me there. I'd love to hear what people recommend too, because I'm pretty lost.
posted by Evstar at 9:12 AM on August 31, 2005

Well if you do have a meetup can you give tcp a shoutout? He must be getting miserable on his own down there.
posted by biffa at 9:55 AM on August 31, 2005

biffa, I don't understand your comment. tcp is in Germany, no? I'm talking about the Toronto film festival.

Evstar, I'll have my sched picked out tonight or tomorrow and will post details.
posted by dobbs at 11:25 AM on August 31, 2005

I'm planning on attending, but it is probably next to impossible to coordinate watching a movie as a group. Getting tickets is such a a battle.
posted by chunking express at 11:41 AM on August 31, 2005

biffa, nevermind. I understand now.

chunking, I wasn't meaning co-ordinating a screening (I prefer to watch movies alone) but just a drink or two in between or something.
posted by dobbs at 12:19 PM on August 31, 2005

I might come to my first meetup, depending of course on the scheduling.
posted by loquax at 4:25 PM on August 31, 2005

YAY DRINKING


I'm in.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:57 AM on September 1, 2005

I'm in, tho' I haven't really been around much lately.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:09 AM on September 1, 2005

Cool. I'll be submitting my ticket requests tomorrow and should know my sched by monday or whatever. Will post here.
posted by dobbs at 10:29 PM on September 1, 2005

i'll be coming by. sure count me in!
posted by joelf at 3:26 PM on September 3, 2005

okay, so i finally got my schedule fixed (for the most part) and it in fact doesn't look like I'm gonna have much free time.

I was expecting to be working a bit during the fest but I finished up the job today and then hit the box office--as a result I'm seeing more than I thought I would when I posted the call for a meetup.

So... doesn't look like I'll be meeting up, but in case anyone's interested in what I'm seeing, here it is. (And somewhere between these movies I need to zip home and tend to the dog. No, that's not a euphemism.)

Thurs Sep 5

815p - douches froides

Fri Sep 9

915a - the sun
1215p - sarah silverman

Sat Sep 10

1045a - President's Last Bang
345 - devil and daniel johnston


Sun Sep 11

930a - a history of violence
1245 - sketches of frank gehry
300 - seven swords
615 - backstage
945 - lucid

mon Sep 12

930a - The French Guy
1245 - oliver twist
3pm - cache
6pm - black sun
9pm - everything is illuminated


Tues sep 13

945a - bee season
12p - paradise now
330 - little fish
6pm - monobloc
845 - american gun

wed sep 14

1145 - a little trip to heaven
2pm - manderlay
9pm - twelve and holding

thurs sep 15

1030a - l'anulaire
115 - the heart of the game
630 - the fatalist
midnight - the great yokai war

friday sep 16

noon - 51 birch street
230 - everlasting regret
5pm - notorious bettie page
730 - death of mr lazerescu

Sat Sep 17

10a - dear wendy
noon - sympathy for lady vengeance
245 - l'enfant
6pm - last hangman
8pm - black bull

What are y'all seeing?
posted by dobbs at 7:07 PM on September 7, 2005

death of mr lazerescu

I've heard excellent things about this one, and I'm going to do my best to get there. I'm going to make it to Marock too, I can't believe it's not on your list!
posted by loquax at 9:43 AM on September 10, 2005

loquax, Marock didn't grab me. I hated the write up as it drew parallels to things I can't stand (Bowie and the Virgin Suicides) and I don't trust Cameron Bailey as a programmer. I know that these are really childish reasons not to see a film and had the title not been competing with many others I probably would have checked it out. Unfortunately, after 22 years of going to TIFF I've learned to trust my instincts, if only because I've walked out of so many films that, like Marock, had more strikes against them (for me) than for them in the write up.

Today, for instance, against all my instinct and better judgement, I went to A History of Violence as a friend insisted I would like it. I hated it. Sloppy, spoonfeeding, no subtext/basement nonsense. My dog coulda directed that story more interestingly and he hasn't even had any schooling in the topic. :)

Best things I've seen so far were The Devil and Daniel Johnston and Sketches of Frank Gehry. I gave them both a 5 on the vote sheet. (The Cronenberg got a 1 from me). The Sun was very slow but was one of the most beautifully shot films I've seen in years. Stunning.

If you do make it to Mr. Lazerescu, keep an eye out for me. I often have a bright orange messenger bag with me (though that day I'm seeing so much with so few gaps between them I may not lug it around). More than Likely I'll be alone, holding an iPod (wiith headphones clipped to my shirt) and a Moleskine notebook and wearing weird-looking, hand-stitched, brown leather shoes.
posted by dobbs at 1:49 PM on September 11, 2005

I will keep an eye out. I hope to make it. Actually my choice at this point for Friday is either Marock or Mr. Lazerescu, and I'm leaning towards Lazerescu (seeing as I can speak Romanian, too). If I go, I'll probably be the least descript person there though, so I'll look out for the bag and the shoes!
posted by loquax at 7:20 PM on September 13, 2005

loquax, did you get in? There was a hell of a rush line. I thought the film was fantastic--the best I've seen so far this year.
posted by dobbs at 9:06 PM on September 16, 2005

dobbs - no, I didn't. I saw the line and figured I'd never get in. Only after that did I see all the great mainstream press it was getting, explaining the line. I never dreamed that it would be so busy. Strangely enough, a Romanian friend of mine that I saw this weekend had a copy of it (straight from Bucharest, and apparently, defying all logic, legal), so I did end up seeing it. You're right, it was amazing. I saw it without subtitles, I really wonder how the translation was because some of the dialogue and language was quite good, the best I've seen in Romanian film for sure. Translations of Romanian films are also notoriously bad. If you liked it, check out Occident (if you haven't already seen it). I think Queen Video has it, if you can't find it, email me if you're interested. Sort of in the same vein (or at least with some of the same sensibilities) and at least somewhat acclaimed as the best Romanian movie ever, at least among the younger crowd.
posted by loquax at 9:23 PM on September 18, 2005

loquax, too bad you weren't able to see it with an audience but great you got to see it anyway. Odd that it's a legal copy as the actor who was here with the film read a letter from the director who claimed to not be able to attend the screening as he was busy trying to get the film released in his own country.

The actor with the film was also quite concerned about the subtiitles and said she was impressed with the amount of laughter throughout, thinking that many of the jokes would not have survived translation.

What's weird is that until I saw that film the festival was mostly just so-so. After that I saw four more films in a row and they were all terrific (dear wendy, sympathy for lady vengeance, l'enfant, last hangman), making a "just okay" festival into a much better one.
posted by dobbs at 10:07 AM on September 19, 2005

Oh, and thanks for the Occident suggestion. I have no seen it but will make an effort to.
posted by dobbs at 10:08 AM on September 19, 2005