With my lovely staff pass hanging around my neck, complete with a headshot of me from my latest birthday, I was able to rush an unlimited amount of “Press & Industry” screenings, as well as get up to 10 advanced hard tickets to public screenings. Woot woot! Since all of my shifts were from the late afternoon to around 11:30pm and my freelancing schedule was pretty clear, I was able to squeeze in around two films a day. I did try one day with three-films-before-shift (9am, 12pm, 2pm) but getting up at 8am after going to bed at 1am doesn’t suit me like it did when I was in my 20′s. :) Neither does all the standing and walking and running and standing and sitting and…

So let’s see, I saw around 17 films in total, with the most notable standouts being:

• The Trip, an almost-entirely ad-libbed road trip comedy with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, complete with duelling Michael Caine impersonations. :)
• The Illusionist. Not to be confused with the 2006 movie starring Ed Norton and Jessica Biel, this lovely animated film features almost no distinguishable dialogue but rather a lilting score and memorable characters. Coming from the makers of The Triplets of Belleville, I expected nothing but delight.
• Jack Goes Boating, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut, as he also stars with the always endearing Amy Ryan in a quiet, sweet story of two lonely souls finding comfort in each other.
• Everything Must Go, starring Will Ferrell. If you liked Stranger Than Fiction, you’ll really like this. As much as I love Will’s goofball antics, he’s almost better when he tones it down. He’s a great “everyman”.
• Bunraku with Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, and Japanese star, Gackt. A highly stylized Samurai-Western, almost like a life-sized pop-up book. Fun, fun, fun!
• Henry’s Crime, an unexpectedly humourous take on a robbery caper, starring Keanu Reeves, James Caan and Vera Famiga.
• and of course, the People’s Choice Award winner, The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. Refreshingly full of quick witty banter (love it!), great casting and scriptwriting. An easy Oscar candidate.

I’m a bit surprised and disappointed that I didn’t get to catch a lot of foreign films this year. I know I saw more of them as a TIFF volunteer because sometimes you’d be asked to be an inside usher for some random film during your shift, making your odds of it having subtitles that much higher. But those odds also go for being asked to usher an awful, slow-moving artsy fartsy film. Or a surprisingly beautiful one.

This year was also quite different for me since I was no longer able to work at the Varsity Theatres, where I first volunteered, captained and eventually worked the festivals. They have now reduced the Varsity theatres to only two TIFF screens, therefore With the opening of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, a new year-round home for everything TIFF-related, many of the venues and even featured hotels were relocated to bring more focus to the lower downtown area. Sucks to be the chichi Yorkville retailers, haha. I think the new neighbourhood change is way, way better. Now, there are basically 4 or 5 modern venues all within walking distance of each other, with lots of restaurants and other city features filling the gaps. I’m sure visitors to the fest, both public patrons and press alike, appreciate the change in scenery. I, for one, loved that I could walk to my shifts at the busy AMC, near the ever-bustling Yonge & Dundas Square. It also made it much easier to catch the crazy Midnight Madness screenings at the massive theatre at Ryerson University, just around the corner. Martial arts masters and zombies unite!

It was quite a change this past season from any of my previous five years with TIFF. I was a bit apprehensive about the new environment and position on Day 1, but it grew on me, with the help of super-efficient yet laid-back staff of coworkers and enough public screenings to keep you on your toes. As always, my 11 days at TIFF 2010 introduced me to a new bunch of friends, a multitude of great flicks and reminded me of how invaluable good insoles are in making the most tiring 8-hr shift end in a run to Midnight Madness. :)

Can’t wait ’til next year!

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Please note: There is no mention of “Arial” or “Comic Sans”. ;)

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Way to go, Canada! You continue to make me even prouder to be Canadian. :)

- Winnie the Pooh

Of the films I watched, I would have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by “Perrier’s Bounty” and “The Last Days of Emma Blank“. In fact, I like the latter film so much that I felt compelled to get my ticket stub autographed by actress Annet Malherbe, who was present for a Q&A, alongside the film’s producer. The biggest surprise for me, however, was a sweet little film from Mexico, “Alamar” (To the Sea), about a little boy and his father sharing a few days together, fishing and snorkelling, before the boy is to fly off to Italy with his mother. Listed as a drama, it was shot more like a documentary, but without narration or intrusiveness. Away from city life, it’s clear that their relationship is so honest and simple. It’s a beautifully shot film that I recommend to anyone that could use a reminder as to why we should make time to get away sometimes.

Having said that, returning to my retail job tomorrow morning won’t be the same again after these last two weeks.