John Street Ambience

The landscape of TIFF has shrunk to probably its smallest footprint since its origin in Bloor-Yorkville in the 70's. For 2022, the only theatre not in the King and John Street neighbourhood is Cinesphere and it is only being used for a handful of screenings. The Lightbox and the Scotiabank theatre at John and Richmond have been my home for the first few days, although I will end up in the Princess of Wales and Royal Alex before the festival finishes next weekend. 

Over the first weekend, I spent a fair bit of time outside around John and Adelaide. King Street was closed to car traffic through yesterday (Sunday) and there was a lot of foot traffic on King, which made moving off that street a slightly quieter and more pleasant experience. 

There's a new condo on the south-east corner of that intersection and a public art installation provides a series of cubes of various heights that work reasonably well as seating. I hung out there a couple of times, watching people go by. On the west side of the street, a high-rise sits on a plinth with a Fox and Fiddle pub and an Italian restaurant called Figo. 

The two times I was sitting there, there was a guy who came out onto a balcony 10 or 12 storeys up from the street, leaned over the railing and cried out "Freedom!". That was it. Not sure what freedom he was celebrating or desiring, but this seemed to give him the release he was looking for. 

Yesterday afternoon, Sue and I were able to grab a bite on the patio of the pub before our last film. As we were chatting there, a long keening emerged south of us, although it was one of joy, not sorrow. The crying went on for some time and was quite constant, with small variations in tone and volume. 

Turns out the screening at the Princess of Wales was for the film "My Policeman" and the screaming was for one of the stars -- Harry Styles. I don't think I've ever heard a sound like that at TIFF. 

Back in the theatres

After two years of pandemic-constrained TIFFs, 2022 is seeing a rebirth of an in-theatre experience. 

In some respects, it's both a confident and tentative return. For the former, theatres are now booking to capacity and masks are recommended, if not required. Just over 200 features are scheduled this year, representing a mid-point between the 2021 edition and 2019, the last pre-COVID version. As a result, daytime screenings are starting a bit later for the most part and the number of theatres has been reduced to the immediate area around the Lightbox (the Ryerson, Elgin/WinterGarden and Jackman Hall are part of history now). 

Last night was the opening night and King Street and the immediate area was full of people on the streets. My first screening, a Danish/Icelandic film called Godland, was probably about 90%+ full. Masks were in evidence, but in the minority. 

Godland was a very good introduction to TIFF22. A period piece about a Danish priest sent to a remote area of Iceland to establish a church was technically terrific (the cinematography and incidental music were stunning and the direction by Hlynur Palmason established an unsettled, compelling atmosphere that carried through the film. The priest, played with coiled intensity by Elliot Crosset Hove, is a student of wet-plate photography and his efforts to capture this new world form part of the narrative spine of the film, carrying into the presentation of the film itself, which is show in Academy ratio with rounded corners, not unlike the photos from that era. 

I have just over 30 films on the schedule. Hoping that the films to come will be as good as last night's offering.