So I’ve been to TIFF for the first time this year, I’ve reviewed each movie I saw and I even ranked them but let’s now go back to the beginning to talk about my experience from my first ever film festival.
I’ve been doing this whole movie reviewing thing for a while now and people who do this go to film festivals so this year seemed as good of a year as any.
Now I tried to apply for press accreditation but was rejected. I didn’t go empty handed, however, as I received some Press/Industry vouchers, allowing me to attend 5 Press/Industry screenings.
With the hotel and the transportation out of the way, it was time to get my tickets. The question now became regular or premium tickets. Other than the obvious difference in price, regular tickets were exactly that and premium tickets consisted of premieres and whatnot. I decided going for a combination of both as it would mean experiencing all that the festival has to offer.
Once I had my tickets, I just had to pick the movies I wanted to see. Scheduling them was a little tricky, staying an hour away from downtown.
Next, I had to find the venues for myself. Luckily most of them aren’t that far apart from each other. There’s plenty of public transit options with buses and subways but despite all that, it was still a little tricky for me being directionally challenged. I’ve included a map of the venues below.
For the most part, my movie viewing went well and I learned a few things as well. You’re supposed to clap to the beat of every L’Oreal Paris commercial, you do your best pirate impression when you are warned to turn your electronics off, you pretend to not hear the QSC ad, and then you clap some more.
I only saw 20 movies this year but hopefully with press accreditation, I’ll see more next year. Either way, I’ll be back and I might look at other festivals before then.
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.