#AdaTIFFmems - The time Don McKellar implied I was fat

The big countdown clock on the TIFF Festival page today is showing 40 days until the start of TIFF 2015 - also dubbed TIFF 40.

As I alluded to in my last post, I would like to share some random TIFF-related memories for the 40 days leading up to the festival, so let's kick it off with...

The Time Don McKellar thought I was fat!

This one actually isn't during TIFF, but rather at TIFF's international film festival for kids, which in 2001 was still called Sprockets.

That year I was supposed to be helping out with tech, wiring speakers, setting up equipment etc, but I had a stupid freak accident right before the festival and sprained my ankle.  Since I couldn't balance on crutches and lift speakers at the same time, they found me a desk job at Canada Square, which was signing volunteers in and out with my friend and fellow volunteer Valesca.

Filmmaker/actor Don McKellar was at the theatre for a special Sprockets event that night and he came over to talk to then volunteer manager Bob, whom he was acquainted with.  He was quite nice, and even took a poloroid of Bob, Valesca, and I, in which the perspective of the photo made it look like Valesca and I were much larger than Bob.  Don McKellar made a comment about this, but his choice of words made it sound like he was implying Valesca and I were fat.  Mr. McKellar was quite embarrassed when he realized his poor choice of words, he got a bit flustered and even tried to back pedal, explaining that he was calling Bob shrunken, not us fat.

(I may still have the alleged photo somewhere in my home, I will post it at a later time if I manage to find it)

TIFF40 and Ada17

On a more personal note, I was recently asked by the TIFF Volunteer Office to share my favourite volunteer memory as part of a video project they are working on.

Those who know me well, would probably say I'm big on memories.  I'm in love with the past, up until my late 20's I kept very detailed journals about the various social events my friends and I attended. I poured my thoughts, unfiltered and rambling, into notebooks and online journals (I'm a little bit afraid to reread some of that stuff sometimes, it's like when I stopped writing fiction, all emotions and their intensity were transferred into those diaries.  Anyway...) My obsession with 'the good times', in addition to the fact that I have been a TIFF volunteer for 16 festivals now (coming up on my 17th), means I naturally have many stories swirling around.

Oddly enough I couldn't think of a single 'favourite' story, not even an inappropriate celebrity story that I should not be sharing. I eventually thought of a couple things to say.  At one point I turned to Facebook to see if my friends that I'd met over the years at TIFF had any input, mostly that led to some inside jokes and light discussions.  I don't know how many people I know will echo this sentiment, but I always say my decision to volunteer for the Toronto Film Festival in 1999 has made all the difference in my life. I didn't know it then, but this decision would be about so much more than just a love of film; the friendships that I've made, the people I've met, and much of how I've evolved in some way ties back to TIFF.

The TIFF 40 celebrations has got everyone looking back, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  I had such a good time remembering all the zaniness we've gotten up to over the last decade and a half that I'd like to share 40 TIFF-related memories leading up to the festival.  Not ranked in any way, just 40 little tales that come to mind and make my heart happy to share.  Hopefully through these stories you'll start to understand why I make the statement above as I do.

In turn, if you have any stories about me at TIFF (preferably happy, but I'll take the good with the bad), I invite you to send them to me and I'll post them alongside my memories. I would ideally like to post one memory for each of the 40 days leading up to TIFF 2015, but we'll have to see how realistic that is.

Shall we hashtag it all #AdasTIFFmems?

On second thought, who cares if I'm in your TIFF memories or not.  If you have a good story share it! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

Insomnia. Also...

No, not the movie... just this writer.

If you are also having trouble sleeping, try giving this a read... it's what I've watched and read between March to June...

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numbered = films
not numbered = TV
" " = started books/plays
n = 2015 release
f = my first time viewing 
(#) = number of episodes watched


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2/27-3/1
House of cards (8)

3/2
House of cards (2)

3/3
House of cards (1)

3/4
House of cards (1)

3/5
House of cards (1)
49. Obvious Child - f
Big Bang theory (1)

3/6
The walking dead (1)
Banshee (1)

3/8
Banshee (1)
50. Hector and the search for happiness- f

3/9
The Amazing Race (3)
Bates Motel (1)

3/10
The walking dead (1)

3/11
The Following (2)

3/12
Seven up (30min documentary)

3/13
Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown (2)
7 plus seven (52 min doc)
Banshee (1)
The Amazing Race (1)

3/14
51. Pretend We're Kissing - f n

3/16
52. Divergent - f

3/17
Bates Motel (1)

3/18
53. Shooting the Musical - f n

3/19
54. Insurgent- f n
The Following (1)
The walking dead (1)

3/20
The Big Bang theory (3)

3/21
Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown (1)
55. 21 Up - f

3/22
The Walking dead (1)

3/23
Bates Motel (1)
The Big Bang Theory (1)

3//24
The Following (1)

3/25
56. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - f n
The following (1)

3/26-27
Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown (2)

3/31
57. Spy - f n
Big Bang theory (1)
"The DUFF"

4/1
Big Bang theory (1)
Bates Motel (1)

4/2-6
Anthony Bourdain's parts unknown (1)
The Amazing Race (1)
Game of Thrones (1)

4/7
Bates motel (1)
The following (1)

4/8
Game of Thrones (2)

4/9
Seth's Dominion (doc not feature length)

4/10
Game of Thrones (1)
58. Last of the Elephant Men -f

4/11-5/1
Game of thrones (8)
59. The circus dynasty - f n
60. Thank you for playing- f n
"The queen's fool" by Phillippa Gregory

5/2
61. The arms drop - f n
62. 3 still standing- f n
63. Speed sisters - f n
Bates Motel (3)

5/3
64. The cult of JT Leroy - f n
65. Original copy - f n
Anthony bourdain's parts unknown (1)
Game of thrones (1)

5/4
Bates Motel (1)

5/5-5/6
Game of Thrones (1)
Amazing Race (2)

5/7-5/9
Amazing Race (3)
66. The Avengers: The Age of Ultron - f n
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown (1)
"9 lines of metro" (travelogue comic by Neil Slorance)
The following (1)

5/10
67. The age of Adaline - f n
"Seven days in Berlin" (travelogue comic by Neil Slorance)
The following (1)

5/11
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown (1)
Game of Thrones (1)

5/11
Bates Motel (1)

5/12
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown (1)

5/13-16
68. Banksy Does New York- f n
69. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of belief- f n

5/17
70. Clouds of Sils Maria - f n
Game of thrones (1)

5/18
The Following (1)
The Amazing Race(1)
The mind of a chef (1)

5/20
71. 50 shades of grey - f

5/21
72. Seeking a friend for the end of the world - f

5/22-24
"Optic nerve 14" Adrian tomine
"Seconds" Brian Lee o'malley
Game of Thrones (1)
73. John wick - f

5/26
74. Pitch perfect
75. Pitch perfect 2 - f n
The mind of a chef (1)

5/27
The mind of a chef (1)

5/28
The mind of a chef (1)

5/29-30
76. Late Quartet - f

5/31
77. 54 (Director's Cut)
Game of Thrones (1)

6/1
The Following (1)

6/2
The Following (1)
The Mind of a chef (1)

6/3
The Following (2)

6/4

The Following (1)

6/5
78. Jodorowsky's Dune - f

6/7

Game of Thrones (1)

6/9

79. Boyhood

6/10

80. Dazed and confused 

6/12

81. Before Sunrise

82. Before Sunset

6/13

The Mind of a Chef (1)

83. Me and Earl and the dying girl - f n

6/14

Game of thrones (1)

6/15

84. From Macau to Vegas - f

6/18

85. Before Midnight 

6/19

86. What's your number? - f

6/21

87. Searching for Sugarman - f

6/23

88. Chicken with Plums - f

6/24

89. Brokeback Mountain

6/26

90. Mortdecai- f (worse movie I've seen this year)

6/27

Under the dome (2)

6/28

91. Madame Bovary - f n

6/30

True detective (1)

92. The DUFF - f