Labour Day weekend in Toronto means many things. It's the end of the CNE and, by implication, the end of summer (as I type this, I hear the occasional roar of jets passing over Bloor West Village to thrill the spectators at the Air Show). For many, it's the last weekend before school starts up. I was out for a ride this morning and passed a number of cars delivering students to residences at the U of T Mississauga and Humber College along the Lakeshore.
And for me, it's TIFF. Over the past week or so, I've received and reviewed the catalog and made my choices. The tickets are waiting for me downtown and the fun begins on Thursday afternoon, with a free screening of David Cronenberg's "Shivers" (TIFF is presenting a massive program of Cronenberg's work in October, making this the early launch of that exhibition).
So how does one go about choosing a set of films for TIFF? For me, the catalog is like a giant bis of coloured tiles and glass and the calendar is the frame. A first pass through the catalog produces a collection of bits that far exceeds the space available; over a period of a few hours last week, I looked at each piece, compared against the rest and tried to build something that "fit".
I'm at that stage now, where the image is in place, although it's not yet clear which pieces will actually become the focal points for this year. While I hope that all of my choices will be good, I know that some just won't make the grade while others which didn't stand out may actually produce the biggest impact of the festival. It's the surprises that are often the most memorable.
Looking forward as the lights dim, the curtain rises and the images begin to flicker in a few days' time.
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