Speaking of sleep, that is one thing I did not get enough of leading up to this year's festival. Can't believe it all kicks off tomorrow! My laundry's all done, there's no food in my fridge that requires more than 10 mins to cook, and my vitamin C and Echinacea is sitting out ready for daily maintenance consumption. My day-to-day bag is packed with the usual and I have 21 hard tickets to start the festival with.
This past weekend was our annual urban camping trip, at least that's how I refer to my annual camp-out outside the festival box office for the first day of single tickets sales. The crowds have thinned over the years thanks to online purchase options, but as of right now, those of us with lots of volunteer vouchers to redeem still need to show up in person. In order to be first in line, you still need to get there pretty early, this year it was 20+ hours early. Easily the most hours I've ever lined up for anything! The boys and I set up camp (read: a few fold-up chairs and a cooler) around 3pm on Saturday afternoon in David Pecault Square, at 19 hours before box office opened we knew we would not be first when sales began at 10am on Sunday morning but it was about all the dedication we could muster. We had Jason joining us for the first time, and Brenda (who's done the line-up before) chose to team up with us as well.
Some of the greatest movie discussions I have each year takes place while I'm waiting in this line-up, also some of the weirdest. Seems I always walk away from these nights with random to do (or "to download") lists, this year Sachin/Jason/J/John have inspired me to download Breaking Bad, re-watch The Faculty, look into some higher quality ear plugs, and buy a region-free blu-ray player. I will, however, not be purchasing the video game in which you can beat Burt Reynolds to death with a dildo bat. (Please refer to "weirdest discussions" comment at the start of this paragraph. Yes, this topic happened.) Most importantly it gave us all a chance to finalize our film lists and even plan a night of screenings and food trucks together at the Bloor Cinema.
As the night progressed, we saw many of our usual visitors to the line, some of whom have lined up with us in years past. Also resourceful line-up veteran Marc Levy came prepared with extension cords and power bars so that we could all tap into Pecault Square's power and recharge our devices for the long night ahead. My sole antic this year was roasting marshmallows on the Eternal Flame of Hope in the Square, something I've been tempted to try on more than one occasion. Word of advice, you'll need a very long stick if you don't want to get your feet wet. It was pretty hilarious and a true camping experience though.
Normally we don't bother with sleeping in the overnight line but this year was an exceptionally long wait, so we all passed out at some point. All in all, it didn't feel that long for 19 hours. I'm not entirely convinced the 2 box office system (separate box offices for members and public) is a good idea, I thought last year's system worked a little better. After a bit of waiting (I know 40 mins of waiting is nothing to complain about, but considering I'd been there for 19 hours...) I did manage to get most of my top choices. My friends and I bade each other a groggy farewell, I staggered home, sent out the last of my tweets, and slept for 18 hours over the next day.
For those of you who have view access to my google calendar, you'll be able to see the details of the films I'd like to see (this is down from my list of 54 and out of which I can only realistically fit in 29. Regretfully I will fall short of my goal of 30 even if I make it to all my films, it was a timing issue and lack of vacation). For the rest of you, here is the list of what I hope to catch in the coming 11 days:
Aftershock
Antiviral
Bad 25
The Brass Teapot
Byzantium
Cloud Atlas
Dial M for Murder (in 3D! For once I actually looking forward to a 3D show)
Disconnect
Fin
Frances Ha
Greetings from Jeff Buckley
Here Comes The Devil
Jayne Mansfield's Car
The Last Supper
Much Ado About Nothing
90 Minutes
No One Lives
Painless
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Pusher
Quartet
Sightseers
Silver Linings Playbook
Springbreakers
The Suicide Shop
The Thieves
3
The We and the I
What Maisie Knew
What Richard Did
Writers
Let's be realistic here, there won't be too many opportunities for me to blog while TIFF is in full swing. Depending on whether you're a TIFF-er yourself or not, this is either going to be easiest 11 days of the year to see me, or hardest 11 days to get ahold of me. Also most of the year my social media home is Facebook, but during TIFF I switch over to Twitter (with most of my tweets still populating on Facebook). So follow me on Twitter to catch the up to the minute details of what my friends and I are up to.
Get as much sleep as you can, remember to eat at least a couple times a day, stay hydrated, and have a very happy TIFF!
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