FestWatch
North of the Border Edition

George Clooney (right) and a goat in The Men Who Stare at Goats, a TIFF '09 selection. 

It’s the biggest and most influential film festival in North America. Each September tens of thousands of celebrities, industry insiders, critics, and movie lovers from around the world congregate there to sample innovative submissions from countries ranging from Africa to Yemen. The lines are long, the parties are loud, the limousines are plentiful – and the movies, more often than not, are fascinating. 

It’s the 34^th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and it runs for 10 days starting Thursday, September 10. What’s hot at TIFF this year? 

• A series of free films and film-related events at Yonge-Dundas Square, including music-related past TIFF entries (Stop Making Sense, Shut Up and Sing) plus short films and live activities. Also, the People’s Choice Award winner – whatever it turns out to be – will be screened for free on Closing Night at the Elgin Theatre on Yonge Street.
• Directors Joe Dante, Neil Jordan, Ted Kotcheff and others will participate in Dialogues: Talking With Pictures, a series of live presentations held throughout the festival.
• The popular Doc Roundtables, at which aspiring filmmakers can talk directly with successful documentary producers about their craft, is being expanded this year to include the Doc Conference, a full day of panels devoted to the specific challenges and opportunities for documentary financing, distribution and ethics.
• The Toronto 175 initiative, designed to observe the city’s 175^th anniversary, will go on during the festival and beyond with activities and commemorative celebrations.
• Future Projections, a series of art installations conceived and implemented by TIFF-friendly creative types including Don McKellar and Isabella Rossellini, will be held at art galleries throughout the city.  

Am I forgetting something? Oh, that’s right – the movies. Three hundred and thirty-six feature-length and short films (out of a pool of more than 3,000 submitted works) to be screened over 10 days. The films come from 64 countries this year, and nearly three-quarters of the features will be seen at TIFF for the first time on this continent. 

A brief list of movies worth looking for at TIFF – and eventually, at theaters near you – include:

• Gala Presentations: The true red-carpet events of the fest. Look for such titles as The Young Victoria, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Dorian Gray, The Damned United and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, featuring one final performance from the late Heath Ledger.
• Midnight Madness: Horror, thrillers, martial arts, gore and more. Titles this year include Jennifer’s Body, [REC]2 (a sequel to the brilliant horror film remade last year as Quarantine), the Lego-like comedy A Town Called Panic, and George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead.
• Masters: Live conversations with Michael Caine, Chris Rock, Peter Berg, Barry Levinson and Frederick Wiseman – all tied to upcoming releases, naturally.
• Real to Reel: Movies about controversial film editing (Cleanflix), Daniel Ellsburgh and the Pentagon Papers (The Most Dangerous Man in America), composer Glenn Gould (Genius Within) and the most popular lesbian country music band in New Zealand (The Topp Twins) are some of the highlights in this TIFF documentary collection. 
• High-profile releases including The Boys are Back with Clive Owen, Bright Star from director Jane Campion, Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, Matt Damon in The Informant!, Ricky Gervais’ The Invention of Lying, Oscar hopeful The Road, A Serious Man from the Coen Brothers, Up in the Air from Jason Reitman (Juno) and Whip It, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut.

If you’ve never been to TIFF, you’re missing out. Visit the Toronto International Film Festival website for ticket and travel details.