Reload

four days from now, I will be about halfway through film #1 of TIFF2016, "Toni Erdmann". For now, the film's have been selected and booked and, technology willing, my iPhone will be full of barcode admissions to this year's box of treasures.

So, where are we now? A brief summary

• TIFF is a little smaller this year, with 296 films on the schedule (the past few years had somewhere in the mid-300's). They've also dropped back the number of screenings to two per film rather than three for many of the titles. 
• TIFF overlaps with the Venice and Telluride festivals. They seem to have been scooped by one or the other two to a greater extent this year. From where I will be sitting, this won't have a big impact for me (the films which are the focus are not the ones I generally pick), but this must be a bit of a discomfort for the Festival. Bragging rights can be important!
• TIFF also shifted their box office software to one managed by Ticketmaster, just before the system was opened for this year's festival. There have been a number of irritating but not fatal glitches (see my earlier comment about technology being willing). We'll see how things go as we dive into the cinematic pool on Thursday.

I will again try to document what I've seen and heard over the next couple of weeks. Keep watching this space as the fun starts in a few short days.