Our Festival

Dear Toronto,

As I sat on the bus, clutching my 180°, the new TIFF Bell Lightbox programming guide, I was almost overcome with excitement.

As I’m sure you all know, TIFF officially starts today (even though we’ve been doing coverage all week). TIFF is an opportunity for film lovers, cinephiles and casual viewers alike to participate in the ongoing history of cinema. A small army of programmers work long hours to ensure that they’re bringing you the very best of what the world has to offer in that year. With TIFF Bell Lightbox, they will extend their ability to bring you films you don’t even know you love yet.

I’ve been honoured by the privilege to have sneak peeks of some of TIFF’s initiatives over the last few months. It has been a genuinely humbling and invigorating experience. But every time I get a media invite to something I know it’s only a matter of time until the public is allowed the same access. TIFF often takes heat for being an “elitist” organization, often viewed as existing only for the pretentious film lover who will happily tell you that their first viewing experience in life was Wavelength, to which nothing else will compare. After spending the last six-months developing a relationship with this organization, seeing what it does, and most importantly, why they do it, I can tell you with 100% certainty that the rumours are not true. In fact, let’s start some new ones:

Psst, don’t tell anyone I told you this, but TIFF is run by film geeks.

They giggle, get goosebumps and geek-out just like you and I. They gobble film and quiver with excitement about seeing something they’re really interested in. They revel in meeting people who are just as excited about film as they are and they love to share the films they love. It’s that last part that’s really important: They love to share the films they love.

For many years TIFF’s logline was “For the Love of Film”, and there has never been more truth in advertising. For all the issues and problems that festival-goers sometimes report, TIFF remains the largest public festival in the world. Whether you want stars (lots of them will be here and they are in attendance at many public screenings) or just plain good films from around the world, you’ve got it all at your fingertips for 11 days. With the creation of TIFF Bell Lightbox, a building that is being lauded as “Toronto’s newest cultural landmark”, there is now a public place you can go – year round! – to immerse yourself in film and its history. And I really can’t stress this enough: They do it all for you, the viewing public. They are so much more than just a festival. They are committed to accessibility; to knowledge and education; to the impact that film has on our societies, communities and lives. They place no boundaries on what they provide, and yet somehow boundaries exist.

What I’m really trying to get at here is that you shouldn’t let anything get in the way of enjoying film at TIFF in the next 11 days. There are still lots of tickets left for wonderful films that were hand selected for your viewing enjoyment. Tickets are reasonably priced and won’t eat into your budget. If you’re indecisive, hate lineups, or your budget can’t take it, there is an entire program at TIFF Bell Lightbox starting this Sunday that you can enjoy free-of-charge. There is a literal buffet of film out there right now people, please accept this invitation to come enjoy it with us — this week and all year round.

Sincerely,

Trista and the Toronto Film Scene Festival Team

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