I gotta say, while buying tickets for TIFF remains a pain in the ass, this year was less painful than most. One thing to watch out for, however, is the SQL Server Errors. Once again, the website’s servers aren’t robust enough to handle the sudden influx of traffic, which tends to create a few problems along the way. I discovered this myself when after some 1800 seconds (aka half an hour) spent in the virtual waiting room, I landed on a Server Error page as soon as I got through. After getting back in line, I made it in the next time, but saw several more error screens when navigating through the schedule.
A word to the wise: Don’t hit refresh or close your browser in anger. The back button is your friend, and will keep your session intact, though you may need to hit it a couple times. I had the misfortune of springing an error page when I went to pay for my tickets not once, not twice, but three times, though it seems that they only charged me once I finally got through, thankfully…
Another thing I’ve learned from my years attending TIFF (this will be my seventh festival; I moved here just in time for the ’05 edition) is that you can’t always get what you want to see. If you’ve budgeted for five screenings, you’d better pick six or seven films, cuz a couple are bound to sell out–especially if you’re not the first in line. I had nine movies on my radar screen this year, two of which managed to sell out three screenings each in less than an hour, so be forewarned…
That said, here are the seven films I’ll be seeing over the next couple weeks:
9.79* (UK, directed by Daniel Gordon)
About a month after Canada’s lukewarm performance at London 2012, this documentary looks back at what was then this country’s greatest Olympic triumph–and subsequently became our largest national sporting disgrace. Though Donovan Bailey would eventually wash the taste of Ben Johnson out of our mouths, the fact remains that the first Canadian to become the World’s Fastest Man did so on PEDs. But did you know that six of the eight runners in that final race in ’88 would later test positive, too? This film is said to take a closer look, both at what happened in Seoul, and also at the greater impact of the steroid culture surrounding sports today. No word as to whether Ben Johnson will be attending the Q&A session, but you might be able to spot him hawking Cheetah Energy Drinks on Bloor St. afterwards. 
West of Memphis (USA, directed by Amy Berg)
Though I usually avoid the gala events, I shelled out the extra bucks for this Premium screening at the Ryerson Theatre–and not because Johnny Depp and the Dixie Chicks will be in attendance. When I was a teenager, I certainly could’ve been considered an “outsider with a taste for heavy metal music and the occult,” and thus the story of the West Memphis 3 really hits home for me. Let’s just say that had I grown up in Tennessee, not Calgary, I might’ve ended up on death row with these guys. Not only does the two-and-a-half hour documentary tell the story of the falsely-accused headbangers’ decade-plus prison stint, but Damien Echols, the man who was facing death for a crime he didn’t commit, will also be there for the Q&A. Suffice to say this is a long more meaningful than some swanky Hollywood premiere, so I don’t mind paying roughly what it costs to see a big-name band at The Phoenix or The Opera House for this one.
This is another screening I just had to see. (Note that the Saturday showing is already sold-out.) Graham Chapman’s 1980 mock-bio A Liar’s Autobiography (Volume VI) has been put to film, narrated by the man himself. This one apparently features appearances by his surviving Monty Python castmates, though it also appears to be mostly animated. Did I mention the film’s being shown in 3D? It’s bound to be rather silly, I presume…
Disconnect (USA, directed by Henry Alex Rubin)
The closest thing to a major motion picture I’ll be taking in at TIFF, this is said to be a tale of multiple interwoven narratives portraying how the internet, social media and the like, is ruining our lives, with an ensemble cast featuring Jason Bateman and Michael Nyqvist among others. Personally, I avoided Facebook for years until it finally sucked me in sometime last summer. This topic is certainly of interest to me.
Liverpool (Canada, directed by Manon Briand)
I had three French-language films on my watch list, but this is the only one I could get tickets to, a tale of a naive young coat-check girl who unwittingly gets sucked into the Montreal underworld. Stars Louis Morissette, who’s a bit of a big deal in Quebec. Surprised to see that Véronique Cloutier isn’t on the cast list, though. I thought those two were joined at the hip…
Wasteland (UK, directed by Roman Athale)
Interesting to note that I’m seeing three British films this year, although this is the only drama. Described as a cross between Ocean’s Eleven and The Usual Suspects, albeit set in Northern England, it’s Athale’s feature-length directorial debut, and the only cast-member I recognize is the guy who played that weird invisible kid on the British TV show Misfits. I suppose this one might be hit-or-miss, but chances are I wouldn’t get to see it in theatres otherwise–and that’s the main reason I go to TIFF.
Underground (Australia, directed by Robert Connolly)
Here’s another screening that’s premiering at the perfect time. Underworld tells the true story of how Wikileaks alleged rapist Julian Assange got his start as an 18-year-old hacker in ’89, up to his first dramatic arrest by the Australian Federal Police. I don’t suppose he holed himself up in the Ecuadorean Embassy back then though, did he?
