Alexia Bautista » volunteer

Another TIFF in the Books

Lex — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:18:28 +0000

So another successful film festival has come and gone. In the end, I worked 60 hrs over 9 shifts, watched 12 films and saw just a handful of celebrities. This festival year had a different vibe than my previous years at the fest, as both a staff member and an attendee. Mostly, this is due to not being part of the irreplaceable mass of volunteers. I’ll admit that I still get warm and fuzzy during the little “Thanks to our volunteers” trailer they played at the start of each movie. Especially when the theatre audience claps (and woots!).

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.

TIFF ’08: Day 6

Lex — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:04:19 +0000

I am very happy to be able to say that, so far, I have had the good fortune to have seen two really good festival flicks: Dean Spanley and Gigantic. I won’t even try to write reviews of them because frankly, I’m no good at that sort of thing, beyond saying “I just really liked it.” A big highlight though was getting to meet and get autographs from Gigantic’s first-time director Matt Aselton, and actor Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood). Just so you know, I am going on record as saying that I think Paul Dano is an highly understated, underrated actor, whom I hope will be acting for many, many years to come, along with his co-star, another personal favourite of mine, the lovely Zooey Deschanel.

I still have a couple more movies to catch this week and even more to try and “rush”, not to mention a couple more volunteer shifts. By the end of it all, I’m going to have to soak my sore feet and look into getting my worn-down sneakers replaced.

TIFF ’08: Day 3

Lex — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:03:23 +0000

Again, no celeb sighting for today. But then again, I wasn’t scheduled to volunteer today. Instead, I took the day off as an opportunity to finally go through the film listings online and figure out which ones I was going to watch using the first 6 of the 18 vouchers I’ll be getting this year. After over 2 hours of scouring both the public listings and the “Press & Industry” listings, cross-referencing and laying it all out in my iCal, I took my list over the new box office setup at Dundas Square. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it totally skipped my mind that there would be lineups galore. Good thing I really didn’t have much planned today anyway. Also, the list I had in my pocket, as well as the mental notes in my head, were basically the pared down version of everything that seemed interesting to me. I don’t think I’ll be trading up for tickets after today. I always find that “rushing” movies is the better bet. As a movie-goer that’ll be going solo most of the time, it’s much more fun that way, too. :)

TIFF ’08: Day 3

Lex — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:03:23 +0000

TIFF ’08: Day 2

Lex — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:02:15 +0000

No celeb sightings for today, but tonight’s shift definitely felt more familiar. Afternoon shifts are always much more hectic, but that also helps to make time go by faster. Although my feet are absolutely killing me, the plus side is that the longer shift got me four more vouchers, bringing my tally up to six. By the time the fest is done, I will have accumulated a total of 18 vouchers! Dang! I better start figuring out which flicks I want to see. My first year, I think I saw around 10 films, but I was also unemployed and had time to spare. Thus, the idea of volunteering in the first place. But last year, I was working full-time, and although I got over a dozen vouchers, I ended up either giving a bunch of them away or just keeping them in my wallet until they expired. This year, freelancing from home has the added benefit of using some of my free time to actually see some movies this time around.

Wait a sec… what happened during my second year? Hmmm….

TIFF ’08: Day 1

Lex — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:56:36 +0000

This is now my 4th year as a Volunteer at the Toronto International Film Festival (my 2nd-and-a-half as a “Volunteer Captain”) and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly it creeps up every September. I mean, I don’t even know how it has already been four years since I first signed up. Admittedly, from the time I picked up my swag bag and t-shirt up to the subway ride to my first shift of this season, I had nervous butterflies in my stomach, like I was expected to give a huge speech or something. I don’t remember being nervous about captaining before, but I’m betting it’s because I didn’t get my lazy ass to any of this year’s orientation sessions.

Anyway, once I put on the headset and made sure the volunteers in my shift were all signed in, me and my much-more-seasoned co-captain, Calista, started the evening shift. Can I just say that I felt so out of practice? There’s a certain rhythm to how to organize and delegate the volunteers efficiently and I’m pretty sure I forgot all the tricks. Thankfully, there weren’t that many screenings to deal with. Not to mention the awesome Calista. *phew*

Today’s celeb sighting: Robert Joy (probably most recognized as “Dr. Sid Hammerback”, the coroner from CSI:NY)

As a captain, I don’t see as many celebs as I did during my first year as a volunteer, but I thought it might be interesting to keep a tally of who I run into this year. :) For the curious, some of the celebs I’ve seen in the past include: film critic Roger Ebert, documentary film maker Michael Moore, actor Scott Speedman, director Spike Lee, actress/comedienne Margaret Cho, actor Alan Cumming, entertainment reporter Jerry Penacoli, actress/writer/Much Music alum Sook-Yin Lee, TV host/Much Music alum George Stroumboulopoulos.