The 51st Toronto International Film Festival arrived with tensions flaring between Canada and the United States, concerns about artificial intelligence in filmmaking and a massive evolution in how the arts organization courts industry members.
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organization → arrive → members
With the festival set to wind up Sunday, here’s a look at how some aspects of it fared.
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aspects → set → it
Jesse Eisenberg’s comedy “The Debut” moved audiences to tears and the filmmaker took charge of an enthusiastic audience Q-and-A at two public screenings.
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filmmaker → move → screenings
In the past, TIFF’s top award has been an early indicator of films primed for a best picture nomination at the Oscars.
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award → prim → Oscars
Peter Farrelly’s feel-good “I Play Rocky,” about the making of the beloved boxing film, had a knockout premiere.
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I → feel → premiere
Then there’s “Club Kid,” the moving comedy-drama about being thrust into fatherhood from first-time filmmaker Jordan Firstman, which seems to have captured viewers’ hearts.
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which → ’ → hearts
Meanwhile, critics are raving about “Wild Horse Nine,” from Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin McDonagh.
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critics → rave → McDonagh
If measured in crowd verve and the number of “I love you” screams cast in his direction, the buzziest star to grace TIFF was undeniably Hudson Williams.
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star → measure → TIFF
The breakout “Heated Rivalry” actor drew hordes of fans to King Street ahead of his sold out Q-and-A and the premiere of his new TV show “YAGA.”
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actor → heat → show
The audience shrieked with glee at the mere glimpse of the star’s red-bottomed Louboutins as he sat down for the fireside chat, but they also delighted in his direct responses to questions about fame and getting in character.
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they → shriek → character
The zealous welcome was made all the more stunning given the show that rocketed Williams to fame debuted less than 10 months ago.
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that → make → fame
Frequent TIFF goers are accustomed to pre-screening advertisements eliciting shouts and hollers from an audience trying to add a bit of insider fun to the festival.
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goers → accustom → festival
This year brought even more hearty participation.
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year → bring → participation
While fans might have missed the clapping generated by past ads for cosmetics brand L’Oréal and TIFF lounge Varda, they seemed to “argh” even louder than usual at the annual piracy notice.
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they → miss → notice
There was also more participation in the “We love you, Christie!” shout-out, when the projection company’s logo flashed on the screen, and rousing applause for a volunteer ad featuring SNL star Veronika Slowikowska.
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logo → be → Slowikowska
Many Canadians are bursting with patriotism amid an escalating trade war with the United States.
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Canadians → burst → States
So when Prime Minister Mark Carney walked the red carpet ahead of the TIFF Tribute Awards, he received the warmest reception from members of the public gathered outside the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, louder even than the cheers for award-recipient Seth Rogen, one of Canada’s most successful comedians.
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he → walk → comedians
Meanwhile, former prime minister Justin Trudeau used the festival as a launching pad for his new entertainment production company, Hope and Hard Work, which he’ll run alongside his longtime chief of staff Katie Telford.
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he → use → staff
They announced several projects in development, including a rivals-to-lovers rom-com “set in the high-stakes world of politics and media.
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They → announce → politics
Film lovers lined up around the block every day to browse the Cinema Cellar, a curated movie shop run in partnership with Criterion.
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lovers → line → Criterion
Last year, the home entertainment company ran a version of its famous Criterion Closet out of a truck during TIFF.
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company → run → TIFF
Visitors had just three minutes to tour the space and select DVDs to purchase.
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Visitors → have → DVDs
Before TIFF even began, fans were complaining about high ticket prices.
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fans → begin → prices
Those who bought seats during member sales reported seeing premium screenings, which often include a Q-and-A with the cast or director, listed for upwards of $128.
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which → buy → 128
On resale websites, some tickets were several times more expensive, despite legislation capping the price of seats at face value.
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tickets → cap → value
-TD
Toronto traffic
Toronto residents know how frustrating navigating traffic can be.
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navigating → know → traffic
But celebrities got a taste of it, too.
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celebrities → get → it
Video posted to social media showed Rogen asking security in front of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel if the car he was in could cut through stanchions to pull up to the door rather than take “25 minutes” to drive around.
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he → post → minutes
Meanwhile, Cole Sprouse, who was in town promoting the crime caper “Vintage Violence,” told a BlogTO reporter he used public transit while in Toronto and endorsed the mode of transportation.
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he → promote → transportation
When director Danny Boyle premiered his new tabloid journalism flick “Ink,” some audience members weren’t pleased he used artificial intelligence to animate old photographs used in a montage and add mice to another scene.
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he → premier → scene
They jeered at the filmmaker when he argued in an after-screening Q-and-A that he had tried to be responsible with his use of the technology.
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he → jeer → technology
“AI slop” stickers also cropped up on a billboard outside Princess of Wales Theatre advertising the movie.
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stickers → crop → movie
From incessantly checking their phones and smartwatches to crinkling snack packaging, TIFF goers had plenty of complaints about behaviour in cinemas.
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goers → check → cinemas
In theatre lines and on social media, they swapped stories about seatmates scrolling Instagram mid-film, persistently commenting on the onscreen action and even kicking the seat in front of them and coughing.
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seatmates → swap → them
With TIFF no longer hosting film-specific press conferences and many studios reducing the number of junkets they host, there were fewer opportunities for fans to hear from the biggest stars.
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fans → host → stars
“The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” star John Turturro even stayed in character, playfully nicking phones from media on the red carpet, while “The Debut” director Jesse Eisenberg hosted his own Q-and-A when a TIFF moderator showed up late to the second screening of his film.
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moderator → live → film
However, others like Rebel Wilson, Orlando Bloom and Luke Evans whizzed by most reporters.
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others → whiz → reporters
-TD
TO BE DETERMINED
The Market
TIFF’s first official market gave filmmakers a chance to shop projects, find distributors or secure funding — formalizing the deal-making that has long been done at the fest.
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that → determine → fest
Given how lengthy the sales and financing process can be, it’s hard to assess whether TIFF’s market was a success or not.
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market → give → ?
TIFF spokesperson Nicole Chrysostom-Murray said in a Friday email that the festival doesn’t yet have a count of all the deals it spurred.
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it → say → deals
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
