Toronto Film Fest: Questions for film fest vets and Toronto residents. (1 Viewer)

[Eric Howell]

I’m going with a friend to the Toronto Film fest in a couple of weeks (starts 9/5). I’d like to hear from anyone who has been to film festivals before and/or who plan to go to Toronto this year.
They’ve announced the films ( Link Removed We bought a pair of daytime passes that’ll give us access to 25 films throughout the week(this is more than 2 films a day, but we might buy more to go at night). Hopefully this weekend I’ll have time to research all of the films so when we get the screen times we can start planning our days.
Questions about the festival:
1. How spread out are the theaters that are part of the fest?
2. How early does one need to arrive in order to insure a seat in the theater(how much of a difference is it between daytime and nighttime showings)?
3. How about the movies (see link above), any biggies there that should not be missed? Already know we want to go to Nosferatu with a live score performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (hopefully we will be able to get into that one).
4. Any other HTF’ers going?
5. Got any more sage like advice you could give me?
Questions for Toronto Residents (My mom and Dad would disown me if I didn’t ask these questions, that is if they haven’t already disowned me for using my vacation to go watch movies):
1. Are there any location/sites that any tourist worth his knee high socks and Hawaiian shirt can’t do without visiting? Mainly thinking about Historical sites and or nearby national parks(or whatever the Canadian equivalent is)
2. How about good restaurants? I like pretty much anything but seafood(go ahead and suggest those places too though). Please warn me about high prices, I hate getting a check and thinking how many DVDs I just ate(ie: damn I couldda bought 2 Criterions for that! ).
Thanks in advance!
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[Bill McA]

1. How spread out are the theaters that are part of the fest?
Uptown, Varsity, Cumberland, Backstage, ROM are all within 5 minutes walking distance of each other. The Elgin is a bit further away (about a 20-30 min walk) and the Roy Thomson Hall is a good 30-45 walk from the top 5. However, there are taxi's everywhere and bus routes.
2. How early does one need to arrive in order to insure a seat in the theater(how much of a difference is it between daytime and nighttime showings)?
I assume here that you know that you have to get tickets in advance (the daytime passes that you have are NOT tickets and will not get you into the cinema). That said, you line-up outside the cinema (2 line-ups, one for actual ticket holders, one for 'RUSH' tickets (any empty seats that are sold in the last minute). You will be allowed into the cinema 15 minutes before the start time. Same process applies for day and night screenings)
5. Got any more sage like advice you could give me?
That would depend if you don't understand the ACTUAL ticket process.
2. How about good restaurants? I like pretty much anything but seafood(go ahead and suggest those places too though). Please warn me about high prices, I hate getting a check and thinking how many DVDs I just ate(ie: damn I couldda bought 2 Criterions for that!)
I'm not really a restaurant person, but there are NO shortage of restaurants in the downtown area. Beware, there are lots of very chic & expensive restaurants in the area as well as reasonably prices ones. Yes, there are restaurants for every type of food going.
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[Edited last by Bill McA on August 22, 2001 at 09:27 PM]

 

[Sebastian_M]

Check out the Red Devil if you are near Roy Thomson Hall downtown. Its a two minute walk from the Hall. (Pearl and Duncan St.) If you are not downtown, The Steak Pit is a great steak place located north of Lawrence on Avenue Rd. If you walk around downtown you're bound to find a good restaurant, most are, just pick one which has food which you like. If you are at the Cumberland theater, walk south one block to Bloor and Avenue Rd. Then go west along Bloor to Pho Hung, a good Vietnamese restaurant which is on the second floor of a building on Bloor.
Seb
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[Eric Howell]

Wow, responses already.
Oh, note to the moderators, when posting this to the “Movies” section, my rational was that the majority of this thread would deal with any film recommendations HTF’ers would have. If it doesn’t shape up like that, I would understand moving it to the after hours forum.
Bill, you’ve assumed correctly that I’m a bit confused on the ticket process. My friend ordered the passes, so I don’t currently have access to the ticket instructions (hopefully detailed) that I assume arrived with them. From what I understand (based on the web page), on Tuesday (8/28 when the time schedule is released), we need to select showings we want and return the completed form. They will process our order and give us the tickets that were available. I’ll hold off on asking more about tickets until I talk with him about the information that arrived with the passes.
Thanks guys, I have a feeling I’ll be printing this thread out and bringing it with me for reference.

 

[Bill McA]

quote: Bill, you’ve assumed correctly that I’m a bit confused on the ticket process. My friend ordered the passes, so I don’t currently have access to the ticket instructions (hopefully detailed) that I assume arrived with them. From what I understand (based on the web page), on Tuesday (8/28 when the time schedule is released), we need to select showings we want and return the completed form. They will process our order and give us the tickets that were available.[/quote]
Correct!
And I will make the assumption that your friend is currently in the Toronto area, as the completed forms must be returned in person (and as early as possible on the first return day) and the magazine that the forms are in can only be picked up in person.
If you don't get all of your picks, there are still alternate methods of getting those tickets.
If you have a ticket...you will get a seat in the cinema.
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[Edited last by Bill McA on August 23, 2001 at 11:44 AM]

 

[Gary Tooze]

Great work Bill,
As you know I live in Toronto much of this information is valuable even to me !
Hey Bill, Are you going ?
Maybe we could finally have that coffeee together...
Let me know,
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[Bill McA]

Gary
As you know, I would LOVE to be there again this year but the constellations are not in my favor this year.
I can't really afford to and my time SHOULD be spent in matters in regards to employment, rather than having a fantastic time at a film festival.
I've been going there every year since '95 and its always a blast. I have the whole process down to a science!
I'm especially pissed as David Lynch will be there this year and I will not.
Not to mention the latest work from Michael Haneke, Goran Paskaljevic, Sergei Bodrov, Danny Boyle (x2), Ken Loach, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Shohei Imamura, Takashi Miike, Guillermo del Toro and David Mamet.
I am NOT a happy camper!!!
P.S. - I hate coffee, never touch it
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[Edited last by Bill McA on August 23, 2001 at 11:40 AM]

 

[Ugo Scarlata]

I don't have much to add to Bill's excellent advice, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

Already know we want to go to Nosferatu with a live score performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (hopefully we will be able to get into that one).

I'm looking forward to that one as well (already have my ticket!) If you are serious about getting into that screening, your best bet would be to go through https://ticketing.ticketmaster.com/cgi/purchasePage_ca.asp?event_id=100032FEC5A98CB9

 

[Dave Yeung]

The last time I did the Toronto Film Fest was five yers ago, and finally I'm going again this year. I'm planning to catch about 35 films this year and I'm so excited!
As Ugo has suggested, I usually line up an hour before the show starts. That allows me to pick a nice isle seat (so that I can rush to the next movie when this one finishes). Usually the line up is not too bad as I get to chat with movie-goers to see if there are good films I miss.
Just in case Eric still need more info on the ticketing process, I attach the link to the Film Fest official website:
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Remember, after you drop off the order, you'll have to wait till Sept 3rd to find out if you get all your selection, and wait till Sept 4 to get your remaining single tickets.
Good Luck!!
Dave Yeung
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[Eric Howell]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Right now it doesn’t look like my friend will be able to do the stuff that needs to be done in person(he lives in Detroit). Hopefully we will end up getting into enough movies to make it worth our while. Disappointed that the ticket distribution method is so archaic, but understand it was our fault for not researching this enough before hand.
We can get there in time to buy the advanced single tickets that go up for sale Sept 5th. With any luck, they'll let us use our passes to get the advanced single tickets.

 

[Bill McA]

We can get there in time to buy the advanced single tickets that go up for sale Sept 5th. With any luck, they'll let us use our passes to get the advanced single tickets.

Eric
You CAN still use your daytime passes to get any tickets (provided the film starts before 6:00pm). They don't necessarily have to be bought in advance. It just means that many films will be sold-out before you get to choose your picks.
Even though a film is sold-out (RUSH ONLY), there will still be some tickets available.
A sold-out film isn't really sold-out. A certain amount of seats for each screening are pre-reserved for the media, guests, etc. The night before the screening, these pre-reserved seats are either 'claimed' or forfeited by the media. The forfeited seats then become available for sale (or use your passes) 1 hour before the 1st screening of the day at the specific theatre showing that film.
First come, first served till they are all gone.
This can be as many as 1 ticket to several hundred!
Once these tickets are sold out, the screening really is sold out....but you can STILL get tickets.
At every screening there is a 2nd line up, called RUSH tickets only and it's for people who don't have tickets.
All ticket holders are counted as they enter the cinema. If there are still empty seats (no-shows) 5 minutes before the screening, those seats are sold to the people waiting in the RUSH line (your passes can also be used here).
Got all that?
P.S. The box office people know how many tickets you have bought, as your pass number is in the computer at every cinema. Make sure you carry your pass with you. You can also pay cash for films that start after 6:00pm.
If you are hoping to see some actors and directors at the screenings, try to see the FIRST screening of that film, as many of the celebrities don't bother showing up for the second show.
Have fun!!!
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