After the deluge

I've had a few days to catch my breath, think about what I saw and to also see a few of the post-mortem articles in various publications.

One of the common themes in the post-TIFF media has been that "Hollywood" has been holding films back from festivals like TIFF and, as a result, that TIFF was smaller and less glitzy than previous years.

It reminded me that the festival I experience is quite different from the one that the media reports. While they do try to cover the breadth of the festival, their focus tends to be on the galas and high-profile "Special Presentation" screenings.

My focus was, needless to say, highly personal and in many cases, given a choice between a commercial film and something that wasn't, I went with the latter. As a result, I saw very good films like "33 Scenes from Life" and "http://tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/threemonkeys" rather than "Appaloosa" or "Burn After Reading" (both of which are in theatres now and which have received only fair to middling reviews).

In thinking about TIFF 2008, I wouldn't say that there were any transcendent experiences in the theatre this year, but most of the films were technically accomplished, well acted and interesting. I only saw two films which weren't very good --> "Vinyan" and "Cooper's Camera".

One of the highlights at TIFF were the post-film Q&As. Generally the best Q&As come from the directors, rather than actors, but the post-film Q&A for "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" was incredibly rude and great fun. I was in the audience for appearances by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge and The White Stripes Jack White at "It Might Get Loud" and visual artists Chuck Close and Julian Schnabel at "Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies", an interesting documentary which suggests that the earlier films of Melies were major influences on the cubist work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

Of the 43 screenings, that I attended, there were several very good films I saw. Besides some of the titles I've already mentioned, I would put "Ashes of Time Redux" and "Chocolate" at the top of the list. As it turns out, both are martial arts films, but the former is a beautifully poetic, mythic film while the latter is an explosion of stunningly rendered fight scenes. Both are highly recommended.

In previous years, I haven't necessarily had a "best" film. This year, though, "Hunger" was that film. I had commented on the film earlier, but the debate between Bobby Sands and a Catholic priest in the middle section and the final section detailing his slow deterioration as a result of his hunger strike made the film what it was.

The official list of prizes for the 2008 edition of TIFF can be found here.