September has arrived. For many people, that means the return of school, a time of dread and disappointment. For me, however, it means the return of the Toronto International Film Festival, easily one of the most exciting times to be in the city.

Once again, this year, I will be covering the festival for blogTO (along with several other really talented film writers) so be sure to check out all the coverage on our special TIFF2007 section of the website. Expect several updates daily—including industry news, film reviews, filmmaker interviews, and celebrity party photos—from today until the end of the festival on September 15, 2007.

Festival flash

In the past week, I’ve been posting a series of articles called Festival Flash, where I’ve looked at a few hot topics surrounding this year’s festival. Here’s a quick look at each post. If they seem interesting to you, click through to blogTO where you can find the full text.

Festival Flash : Canadian Films
Canadian cinema often gets a bad rap, especially within Canada itself. After all, we live in the country that brought the world Meatballs III. Yet, for every Ginger Snaps Back we release, our nation also comes out with notable films such as Exotica and Les Invasions Barbares. The Toronto International Film Festival has always been an important locale for this country’s filmmakers to showcase their newest and best work, and this year is no different. There’s enough Canadian talent in this year’s festival to wash the taste of Johnny Mnemonic out of our nation’s collective memory.

Festival Flash : Short Films
My favorite film from last year’s TIFF wasn’t an intense Hollywood drama or an independent foreign feature. Instead, it was The Saddest Boy in the World, a short film by Canadian filmmaker Jamie Travis. Sadly, Travis doesn’t have any new films at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, but the lineup of short films playing during the Short Cuts Canada programme at TIFF 2007 is more than impressive.

Festival Flash : Big Blockbusters
In addition to all the movies you can see at TIFF that are never going to make it into wide release on our side of the world, the festival also features some large blockbusters that will be making their premiere here before they settle in megaplexes around the world. While I wouldn’t suggest using all your passes for the Toronto International Film Festival on major Hollywood pictures, there are a few features that might be fun to see before they hit the big screen in the upcoming months — even if it’s only to brag to your friends that you’ve seen them already.

Festival Flash : Hidden Gems
I’m still working on figuring out my picks for the Toronto International Film Festival, and unlike Matt, I don’t have such rigid criteria when making my choices. That being said, I too will watch anything starring Ellen Page, so at least Matt and I agree on that point. So here we are, about 24 hours before you have to hand in your picks, so it only makes sense I highlight a few movies that are promising to be quite good but may get overlooked when most people make their selections.

Festival Flash : Stars and Celebs
If the crowds of people, all wielding cameras and markers, that assembled in front of the Intercontinental Hotel in September of last year were any indication, the Toronto International Film Festival can sometimes be about the star power that assembles in our city rather than the wonderful cinema on our screens.

There’s a lot more than just the Festival Flash posts on blogTO, so be sure to stop by pretty often and check out all the updates in the upcoming days.

Film list

I’ve had a few people ask about the movies that I plan to catch at this year’s festival, so just to be nice, here’s my complete film list. Of course, there are many more films I would have loved to watch, but I was constrained because of scheduling and availability. If you do manage to see something that’s not on this list, let me know.

Feature Films

• Fugitive Pieces
• Lust, Caution
• Michael Clayton
• No Country for Old Men
• Rendition
• Persepolis
• Juno
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Eastern Promises
• Into the Wild
• Unfinished Stories
• The Last Lear
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Run, Fat Bay, Run
• Brick Lane
• Across the Universe
• Happiness
• Paranoid Park
• Shadows
• Margot at the Wedding
• Poor Boy’s Game
• Emotional Arithmetic
• Young People Fucking
• Contre Toute Esperance
• Caramel
• Les Chansons D’Amour
• Amal
• Flash Point
• Before the Rains
• Barcelona (A Map)
• Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame
• Night
• Help Me Eros
• Blind
• The Tracey Fragments
• Nothing Is Private
• Married Life
• Cassandra’s Dream
• Chacun son Cinema
• Angel
• Walk All Over Me
• Reservation Road

Short Films

• Blood Will Tell
• Madame Tutli-Putli
• Four Walls
• I’ve never had sex…
• Bumblebee
• Les Grands
• Tic Tac Toe
• A Short Film About Falling
• Dada Dum
• Hirsute
• Latchkey’s Lament
• No Bikini
• Smile
• Loudly, Death Unties

A bit scarce

I apologize if it is a bit hard to get a hold of me over the next two weeks, but as you can see from the film list above (and the multitude of interviews I will be doing) I’m going to be a bit busy. If you really need to get a hold of me, ring my mobile: I’m almost sure to neglect my email during the festival.

If you’re in town and going to be attending the festival, you can find me either at the Varsity, Cumberland, or the Press Office for about 18 hours of every day. (I’ll be either writing or sleeping for the other six hours.) Drop me a line and we can grab a coffee.