The TIFF Hangover - 2015

Indeed what a hangover it was.  In TIFF 2014 I pathetically caught the TIFF cold right at the start of the festival and was ship shape by the end, watching everyone else fall prey. This year I held out until the very end, then as soon as I got home from watching the People's Choice film, my nose instantly started running. Grr...

I caught 29 films during TIFF 2015, the festival's 40th anniversary, plus some stuff beforehand.  I should also note that I have seen an earlier version of Into The Forrest in one of those research screenings, but I'm told there have been some significant changes made since so I cannot accurate judge the film based on my memory of it.

The films I saw this year included:

Pre-fest:

Ninth Floor - my TFS review
Brooklyn

My Short Cuts program consumption wasn't so straightforward this year, TIFF combined Canadian and International shorts and Toronto Film Scene was only committed to covering the Canadian shorts programming.  What this means is that I probably watched just over a third of the Canadian Shorts spread out through all the SC programs.  In short, follow this link for my capsule reviews and director interviews.

During the festival:

Hitchcock/Truffaut
Te Prometo Anarquia (I Promise Anarchy)
Demolition
Lolo
Girls Lost
Maggie's Plan
Anomalisa
The Danish Girl
Heat
Women He's Undressed
The Man Who Knew Infinity
The Dressmaker
Being Charlie
Zoom
Victoria
Baskin
The Steps
The Family Fang
Northern Soul
Ville-Marie
Stonewall
Keeper
I Smile Back
Legend
The Paradise Suite
Mr Right
Vertigo
Der Nachtmahr
Room

Everyone seems to be weighing in with their top 5, for me it was more like 3 standouts, and then 5 other films I would still highly recommend:

Standouts:

1) Northern Soul
2) The Danish Girl
3) Zoom

Also highly recommended:

• Women He's Undressed 
• Demolition
• Lolo
• The Dressmaker
• Mr. Right

Beyond that the remainder of the programming that I personally saw was of high standards this year. I would recommend 21 out of the 31 features I saw, and even then, some of the un-recommended 10 are in reality ok...

Zoom is three tales woven together in a story about a story about a story, presented in the mix of live action and animation.  It's got lots of wiry, dark humour, and of course, sex dolls. A Canadian/Brazillian co-production that I caught at the end of a 5-film day that managed to keep me awake and laughing throughout.

The Danish Girl will surely be an oscar contender for something. I personally hope it's best actress (best supporting actress?) for Alicia Vikander, she was definitely the standout even opposite a powerhouse like Eddie Redmayne in a skillfully crafted film.  This is my new favourite Tom Hooper film, granted I don't normally consider myself a fan, I cannot deny the merits of The King's Speech and even Les Mis had its highlights.

That said, I will admit it's far from perfect.  I've heard a couple people remark on the story unfolding at breakneck speed, leaving the audience detached from the characters never having properly taken the time to understand who their are and their inner workings. I agree it's a lot of story to cover, but this takes me back to a discussion I had at this year's TIFF overnight line with my friends Jae and Sachin about the importance of story vs character in the making of a film...

Jae admires a director's ability to recognize when a character has become larger than just the story he's in, and to follow that character down a path even if it deviates from the original intended plot.  It's important to be able to shift focus and take your audience on that exploration. (Jae, apologies if I'm way off your original point, but this is what I took away in my sleep deprivation) Whereas I'm more focused on the story, I'm willing to overlook a few character deviations, ie. silly out-of-character actions, if it means the story hits all the major plot points and gets to where it needs to be.

Anyway, this is how I felt about The Danish Girl.  I can live with the amount of story they pack into the film's running time (though it could've easily been another half an hour longer and it would have been just fine), I can take a leap of faith in both Lily and Gerda's evolving relationship and how they come to terms with it.  If anything, my hesitation towards The Danish Girl is that it chronicles the life of a transgendered individual from a privileged class, Lily obviously had the wealth and means to undergo treatments, surgery, and seek sanctuary from those who would scrutinize her behaviour.  What of those who did not come from wealth and fortune? 

This is a slight deviation from my discussion of my standout films, but my thoughts in the previous paragraph make me think about Stonewall, which focuses on a similar minority (albeit decades later), that is getting ALL the criticism.  Ok fine, having seen Stonewall as well, it rightly deserves a good portion of the backlash it's getting.  Not being overly familiar with neither The Stonewall Riots, nor the life of Lily Elbe, I can't say for certain... but I'm guessing The Danish Girl more closely chronicles the life of Lily vs Stonewall which is a fictitious story played out against the background of the events in New York City.

I've read a couple articles lashing out against the film Stonewall.  Should the golden boy quarterback from middle America have been portrayed as the hero of rebellion?... heck no, but it's one of those things that many may have dismissed or written off it wasn't presented in conjunction with a number of characters whom they claim are based on real people who participated in the events... that gives the illusion that our fictional hero is real too. Some of Emmerich's remarks about using that character to give mainstream audiences someone they could relate to is unsettling as well.  A strong story with good characters shouldn't need a draw, it should stand by itself and compel those who previously had no connection to the subject.  Or is that only my definition of good filmmaking?

And it is within those same parameters that Northern Soul (you see what I did there? ;) ) was my standout film of TIFF 2015.  Also a fictitious story, this time set in Northern English against the backdrop of the underground soul music scene, Northern Soul feels genuine and intimate.  It hits a few cliche notes and doesn't delve into the tough topics, the accents are challenging to say the least, but the infectious spirit of the movie never makes you consider tuning out even for a second.

Perhaps I have a bit of a soft spot for underground music movements, but it was a movement I knew nothing about until I saw the film, despite always having favoured faster tempo soul music.  Northern Soul also struck me a precursor for other scenes such as New Wave, Indie Rock, and Rave (real rave, not Zac Efron DJ bullshit)  Makes me want to re-watch 24 Hour Party People, and last year's Eden. Seeing director Elaine Constantine take the stage afterwards for the Q&A confirmed that was made by someone who was familiar with the films characters and setting. (I have a video of that Q&A that I will try to upload to my YouTube)

Another thing to note about what makes a successful film within this niche is that the good ones always place the greatest emphasis on friendship instead of politics, romance, or something else.  In tightknit communities such as these, connections are made from the music and the friendships, choosing to base it on anything else I think will make it harder to win over audiences.

Speaking of friendships (I'm just full of segues!) I cannot to a TIFF hangover post without mentioning all the random run-ins and movies I unexpectedly saw with friends over TIFF 40.  I tried my best to get photos with all my old friends as I ran into them (some more closely resemble shadows of my good friends as they were taken in darkened theatres)

I'm grateful to my readers for indulging me during the month of August and all my random festival memories.  I actually have a story from this year that I think will go down in the #AdaTIFFmems history books, we'll know for sure in the years to come...

It was only day 1 or 2 but as volunteers we already had access to some special screenings, including one to Julie Delphy's film Lolo (great film btw).  My generous friend Paul got a ticket to that show that he couldn't use, so he messaged me after he got home from his volunteer shift to see if I wanted it.  I already had a ticket but knew a couple others who were interested.  The challenge quickly became how to get the ticket from Paul as it was closing in on 1am and Paul was off to work and me to a film first thing in the morning.  We came up with the great idea for Paul to stash the ticket in his mailbox so that I, or anyone else, could grab it at any point before the film.

I didn't have any luck waking the first person, but just earlier had gotten a message from my TIFF-partner-in-crime (one of a few partners in crime I guess) Jerry F. that he was at Midnight Madness so I knew he was around. I was ready to climb in bed at this point, so my message to him said something along the lines of "If ur interested in a ticket to 11am screening of Lolo tomorrow, go to ### Jarvis St, and look for a ticket in the mailbox inside a supermarket flyer"

I love how Jerry doesn't question why there's a movie ticket stuffed inside a random mailbox in the middle of the night, his response after getting out of the theatre was simply "ok, heading there now" lol.  I was asleep or half asleep for the remainder of the events, but from what he tells me, he went and grabbed a bikeshare and went up to Paul's.  First he couldn't find the townhouses, then he couldn't find Paul's mailbox.  He didn't see a ticket in the mailbox but saw some supermarket flyers sitting nearby so he leafed through all of those too (haha) before sending me several text messages that woke me up enough to go message Paul.

Paul confirmed that he put the ticket in the mailbox after a short while, during which time Jerry had biked back to his car in another part of downtown. So Jerry drove up to Paul's again and finally got the elusive ticket.  He shared the entire story of his middle of the night scavenger hunt with me the next day at the Elgin where I nearly died from laughter.  Just another one of those things that happen during TIFF...

I'll leave you with some of my favourite photos from TIFF 2015:

The one where I'm two feet away from Geoffrey Rush!

My longtime friends Judith & Sue

My beloved #teamElign and #teamWG (Winter Garden) in our annual group photo

Christopher & I - friends for 26 years!

Random good looking people that I count amongst my friends (Irene, Christopher, Vincent, James, Davor) 

The Danish Girl Q&A with acclaimed director Tom Hooper

Jerry #1 (aka the 'TIFF husband' aka guy who went on the middle of the night ticket hunt) & I

The worse-lit photo in existence of Jerry #2 (aka my 'favourite stalker' - he's ok with this nickname for the record lol) and I

[pause for story:  I shared my google calendar with my schedule of films with Jerry and he accidentally merged it with his own film schedule, leaving him very confused...and very knowledgeable about my whereabouts lol]

Getting in the shot with two of my favourite ladies whom I work with the Orientation Sessions - Shaista & Lina

  Group shot from Vertigo screening and probably my favourite photo of  TIFF15... row selfie taken with the long-arm of Veronica (from closest to furthest... Veronica, Judith, me, Jerry, Sachin, Jae, Melanie, Melanie's friend (lol), Hope (hiding), and David) 

#AdaTIFFmems - Heeere's Jonny!

I have been waiting and waiting (and procrastinating... and not having my photos handy) to write this installment!  And now I'm just late with it!

So over the last 40 (41) days I've been sifting through old blogs, journals, photos, etc., sharing with friends and strangers alike some of my fondest TIFF-related memories, including zany things we've done, great films I've seen, and wonderful people I've met.

I have mentioned the gentleman featured in today's blog here and there, but I think it's time to put him in the spotlight...

In the mid-00's a young guy started volunteering at the Elgin. I knew him as Jonathan at first, Jon for a brief period of time, but of course the name in which he established his legacy is Jonny...

He was a volunteer on my team, a real superstar that we could trust to do a great job where ever we placed him.  Always willing to take one for the team, together we've shouted at line-ups until we lost our voices, fended off the hoardes pushing towards the red carpet, and diffused many a crisis in between.

It wasn't all volunteer business, Jonny and I actually became friends.  He was a friendly face year after year, coming in at recruitment sessions and into the Elgin volunteer lounge all smiles.  He'd tell me about a new exciting marketing job he'd just got, or introduce me to a new volunteer he'd convinced to join the Elgin team (that being my buddy Jack - the guy behind Jonny in the photo above, I believe they went to college together).  We'd get up to no good at Midnight Madness screenings (Jonny's king of the Rockstar energy drinks!) and party together at TIFF events.

After some years as a regular volunteer, Jonny finally made the leap to captaining and never looked back!

Captain Group Photo from 2011.  Truly one of my favourite Elgin/WG captain teams.

As a volunteer captain, he was a continued pleasure to work with.  I could always trust him to have my back, and I knew for certain the volunteers were having a good time under his command.  During this time Jonny also met and began dating one of the FOHAs of the theatre.

Flash foward to the next festival and Jonny tells me he's now officially staff at the Elgin!  I'm always a little conflicted when my beloved co-captains make the leap.  I'm happy for them, and love the idea of having staff in the venue that truly understand the volunteer experience.  But at the same time I feel I'm losing them to "the other side", and know that we won't be spending as much time together going forward.

I couldn't begrudge Jonny though... I'd been working with ticket line/inside rep Mathias for 13? 14?? festivals (we started at the Elgin the same year) and he'd become truly one of the greatest people to work with, I didn't think the inside volunteers could ever have such a great person to work with again... until I saw Jonny in action during TIFF14 as the new inside rep.  It honestly made me want to be a regular inside volunteer, just so I could work on a team with Jonny again.

This year Jonny's returning as the daytime head rep of the Elgin and I couldn't be happier for him, he's going to rock it like he does everything else.  Oh, and little lady he met at the Elgin, did I mention they got engaged???

Everything's coming up Jonny!  Here's to you my friend :)

Candy, Jonny, and I at a TIFF Party (Elgin party?)

MM line-up antics abound.

This one is definitely an Elgin party... I love how Jonny's hair changes from year to year.

More Elgin party antics (to the left of Jonny would be our night time Head Rep, the vivacious David Tomlinson)

[I ran into Jonny and his fiancee a couple weeks ago and I told her if she ever needed embarrassing photos of Jonny for a wedding slide show to give me a call, even Jonny recalled that I seem to have an unusually large number of uber close-up sweaty, drunken party shots of him.  He doesn't look very sweaty in the above, which means those must be saved on another harddrive... maybe I'll bust em out for TIFF50!]

And with that, I'm off to TIFF!  Happy festival everyone!!!

#AdaTIFFmems - Sometimes the best movies are the old ones

Holy smokes I can't believe TIFF 15 is here!  I'm still catching on #AdaTIFFmems, so I best not waste time!...

Most of the time TIFF is about seeing the latest and the greatest. Catching stuff you may never see again, and things that may never get a theatrical release. But once in a while it goes the other way too.

Ashes of Time was originally released in 1994, the only period film ever made by Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai, who is better known for his retro nostalgia and dramatic philosophical tales of romance and unrequited love.

I count Ashes of Time among my favourite films, but because of the timing of its original release (a period when very little Chinese cinema was made available theatrically in Toronto, especially for a 15 year old to access) I had only ever seen it on murky VHS tapes and their DVD counterparts (literally a VHS copy dubbed into a DVD disc - that cost me $50 on Amazon!!!).

The reason for such poor quality releases was because no one had a decent copy of the film, not the studio, not the director, no one. But at the dawn of the digital video age, restorations became a trend and soon Ashes of Time was among those on the list for a revamp. And so they began searching old movie houses world-wide for all the missing bits of footage, and began a lengthy restoration of the materials they did have.

The most exciting moment came when it was announced Wong Kar Wai would be presenting a restored version - called Ashes of Time Redux - of his period epic featuring new music by Yo Yo Ma at TIFF 2008!

Wong Kar Wai came to Toronto that year, my friend Darrin was volunteering at the airport when he came in, alas Darrin (whose greatest advice for TIFF-going always includes "represent the Asians!")  was not the one who got to escort the famed director. This was during the early years of SMS and a time when Blackberry was king, but I remember Darrin messaging me while I was at the Elgin with updates about the whereabouts of one of my favourite directors.

We would also catch a later screening of Ashes of Time together that festival. One of my favourite screenings of TIFF 2008 and still one of the best movies I've ever seen.  (In fact, one of my early posts in this blog mentions Ashes of Time Redux)

Last year at TIFF14, I had the opportunity to catch another restored Taiwanese classic:  Dragon Inn (1967).  I grew up a huge fan of the 1992 Hong Kong remake with the same title, and I'd always wanted to see the original.  I had family searching in Hong Kong/Mainland China for it but have never been able to find a copy.  We later found a copy on youtube but it was murky and hard to watch.  Then the festival came to the rescue by screening a restored version last year as part of the Cinematheque program.

Yes, I was in a theatre full of elderly Asians lol, but it was so great to finally get to see the original Dragon Inn, and in a theatre to boot!

This year I'm looking forward to catching screenings of Heat and of course Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule, but I would also recommend Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers.

#AdaTIFFmems - That time...3 days ago

I owe you guys a few #AdaTIFFmems...at least one of them will be a cop-out, and this one most certainly will be!

As if there weren't already enough overnight line stories, I can offer you nothing but more today.

This past weekend was another fun demonstration of teamwork at its best. I'm still not loving lining up on King Street however separating out the volunteers usually means that we are amongst friends. We're happy to look out for each other's things take turns stepping away from line, even keeping each other nourished. 

We joked that the TIFF diet began that day, surely it had nothing to do with the brownies courtesy of Adam, the ice cream I bought, Poutine, nor the burgers.

The return of Sachin & Jae (missed you guys) to the line meant stimulating conversation topics such as 'bad movies that you happen to like and have to defend often', Marvel vs DC (Eddy where were you??), how to make a crêpe cake (that's a new one, we must be getting old), and my favorite: 'Encino Man vs Star Trek 2'.  These are important things.

Another tradition relived: I was dozing off some time after 3am and awoke momentarily to find Jay sitting in front of me, as if waiting for me to open my eyes, so he could tell me about the relevance of numerology in his life (something I turned him onto in high school and then quickly abandoned my own interest... oddly this has become a bit of a standard conversation for us).

When I was younger I posted about staying up all night in line.  Nowadays... let's face it, I'm trying to get in three hours of sleep (even though it wound up only being two.)

Not everyone is psycho like us spending the greater part of the day in the lineup on the street, many show up in the wee hours of the morning. So when I woke at 6am, many friendly faces had passed by and later commented they saw me as they went by, but didn't say hello as I was sleeping. This is why so many of my TIFF friends are my closest friends, they have seen me at my worst a.k.a. slumped over drooling with hair stuck to my face.

I also woke to find coffee waiting for me (thanks Rosie), and I had the foresight to pick up Nutella croissants the previous night so I'd have some breakfast to share.

I learned that during my sleep, someone had arrived with a large box of McDonald's burgers. Tremendously kind gesture? Yes. Unheard of from the wonderful volunteers and other patrons of TIFF? No (that is how awesome we can be to friends and strangers alike!)

Then it was time to get our tickets, a particularly tense hour as we counted down the minutes to the box office opening, the scary moment of truth to see if our picks would be available, and of course, the inevitable site crash/issues that the box office encounters almost every year due to the high demands on the site (I get that there are technological limitations, and that TIFF is a non-profit, etc etc... but it'll always be nerve wracking)

After that... the crash. It's Sunday morning by that point but part of your brain still thinks it's Saturday, you want to sleep, but not too much, lest you not sleep at all Sunday night and the vicious cycle continues.  I was in a hazy state, in and out of consciousness until Monday.  By then I was pretty confused about what day it was, but at least I was a functioning human being again.

Many of us who line up are not just getting tickets for ourselves, we'll help a close friend or two out. So Monday is usually the day when I get my huge stack of tickets sorted out. Despite the line-up being over, the teamwork doesn't end there.

Now that we have our first round of tickets, it's time to figure out how to use the vouchers we didn't exchange, or even whether to exchange the tickets we do have!  Around this time the texts start to fly... "are you going to the box office?"  "Did you hear The Lobster is back on sale?" (No, despite the hype, The Lobster still hasn't made it onto my list)  "I know someone who's going to the box office now, would you like me to ask them to grab a ticket?" etc etc.

This type of box office coordination will extend through the festival amongst my friends, as well as the "I can hold a spot for you in the rush line" offers.  Knowing that my network of savvy TIFF-goers abound and that I will soon get a chance to hang out with all of them (even if our idea of "hanging out" is a little different from the fest of the world) is what keeps me hyped and coming back to TIFF year after year.

One more sleep!  #TIFFmaseve!

#AdaTIFFmems - Brad Pitt & Melissa's boob

Despite having slept in 2-3 hour periods over the last day, I'm dimly aware another day has passed on the calendar and thus another #AdaTIFFmem

This story isn't mine but it's a funny one and one we still tell at the Elgin from time to time.

One of the most star studded nights we've had at the theatre was the premiere of The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford.  My ever-inappropriate friend Jae dubbed it "The Ass of JJ" during movie schedule planning and it stuck with a few of us, I had to make a conscious effort to use the film's full title while onsite at the theatre.

The movie starred some guy named Brad Pitt, whose friends from some film called Ocean's Eleven (a number of which were in town with their own movies) all came to show their support...

This was one of the first times Yonge Street was fully barricaded, with everything secured, a number of us were called into the lobby to help with crowd control.  So we were truly security detail for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.  Oh yeah, did I mention she came too?

We often open the house before the talent arrives, it helps clear up pedestrian gridlock on Yonge Street and that way the line doesn't stop as fans all try to get a glimpse of the celebs on the red carpet.  But when the stars are too famous, it doesn't really matter where you put the patrons, they're gonna find a way to get close to the action.  

People who had gone into the theatre already were finding excuses to make their way back out into the lobby, many of us had to repeated ask them to stay behind the stanchions and/or move along. Despite our best efforts, we were dealing with significantly narrowed walkways.

Captain Mel and Candy were also onsite that day (on shift but I was the captain), I had the crowd on one side of the lobby, they were on the other.  Celebs that wound up coming right by us included Don Cheadle and Matt Damon in a touching reunion moment where the two men came up to each other for a hug (3 feet from me!), Angelina Jolie who was all smiles while signing an autograph near us, telling the girl she was enjoying being in Toronto, along with Helen Hunt and Eric Bana.

Celebs that were also in the building that day, but I didn't see, included Casey Affleck, Clive Owen, Josh Brolin, and Rose McGowan.  I don't quite recall, but George Clooney may or may not have also snuck in through the back on this day as well. The only person I really spoke with was Maria Menounos.

Brad Pitt made his entrance, signing autographs and shaking hands.  As he was coming down the carpet, his elbow accidentally grazed red carpet volunteer (and my friend) Melissa's chest.  Which sparked many jokes and purposeful misinterpretations that "Brad Pitt touched Melissa's boob!"  Even Melissa herself swore that she would never wash that boob again.

#AdaTIFFmems - when TIFF world and real life collides

Sometimes it's as if there's real life (ie. 9 to 5 job, friends who don't put films before food and sleep) and then TIFF life (the black hole that we seemingly fall into for 3 weeks around Aug/Sep according to anyone who doesn't attend the festival)

Even though I have met many friends through TIFF, we largely do normal stuff when it's not festival time... complain about our jobs, go for dinners, drinks, groceries, etc.  But when we switch into TIFF mode, the things we talk about, the films we discuss, become like a foreign language to others.

Then there are even more friends that I only see in and around TIFF venues or during festival times.  So encapsulated in that world are they... that it completely throws you when they suddenly appear 'in real life'!

8 years ago I worked in a miserable insurance job.  I was plodding away at some boring report on day, when HR came around to introduce their new hire and I looked up to find Ruth, a volunteer from recruitment sessions and the Elgin standing before me.  We definitely had a "what the heck are you doing here??" moment, it's like the other could not possibly exist outside the TIFF universe.

Flash forward to this year... I'm not working at a completely different company in a completely different job, when one day I get an email from Rebecca.  Not entirely shocking since she probably has my personal email, plus we are connected on Facebook after several years of seeing each other in the overnight line, and during TIFF Kids... Oh wait, except she's emailing my work??  How is that happening?  Turns out she had just started a contract at my company and so suddenly I had a new potential lunch buddy and someone to line up for Rogers swag/staff giveaways with.

Both chance meetings in the workplace were amazing don't get me wrong, but there is something so jarring about seeing TIFF-exclusive people outside the TIFF realm.

(I apologize for the hastily written blog... and I will supplement a photo of Rebecca and I from a couple festivals ago soon.  But I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone, that I'm writing this while at the overnight line, and my attention is often elsewhere as I try to cobble this tale together before midnight... my sincerely apologies to the lovely Ruth and Rebecca that I couldn't do our stories more justice)

#AdaTIFFmems - Sasha

Ok, I can't let this 40 day trip down festival memory lane go by with an entry on Sasha.

Most of my friends probably know Sasha through me (or maybe Mel...), but I actually met her during my early years with TIFF.

Sasha volunteered for a variety of things, but I remember her best from the Sprockets (now TIFF Kids) recruitment sessions.  Perhaps it was because the group of helpers was smaller, or there were fewer people signing up and more opportunities to talk, but the bulk of the conversations I had with Sasha, her sister Sonya, and our mutual friend Valesca (same girl who was with me for the Don McKellar incident lol) were during these early springtime sessions.

Sasha was a huge documentary fan, another early memory I have of her is running into her and Valesca in Yorkville during Hot Docs time, and Sasha was trying to convince me to come along to see Murderball with them.  I declined that day, but of course after seeing the doc later on, wished that I had gone to the screening as Sasha suggested.

Even after I stopped seeing Sasha around TIFF (I say this, but in actual fact, even after she wasn't really volunteering, she would still join us for screenings and mysteriously appear at our parties lol) we continued to keep in touch (thanks social media!)

In the late 00's I organized a weekly pick-up ultimate frisbee group and one Monday Sasha walked onto the field! She continued to come out to frisbee and would join us at various social events - trust me when I say back then there were a LOT of social events.

There are many things I admire about Sasha, some things that I always admired and some things that I came to understand and admire as I got a little older.

Being independent, financially secure, and confident afforded Sasha many freedoms, something that I continually looked up to her for.  Sasha would appear at events with us as she pleased, never making excuses why she could or could not be somewhere.  She loved to shop and travel (a girl after my own heart), one time booking a last minute trip halfway around the world...

I was heading to Hong Kong to see some family and she surprised me by telling me she was also going to be there around the same time.  I regret that we were not able to meet up during that trip, I remember phoning her at her hotel in Hong Kong, where she told me about purchasing gold sneakers and having a traditional Chinese dress custom-made.

Another favourite memory was the long chain of text messages we changed trying to figure out the best way for her to pack her Jimmy Choo shoes on a trip to Italy.

When I was in my 20's I often felt like if I left a party too early I would miss out on something, Sasha never felt this way.  If she wanted to she leave, she left.  She had better things to do with her time.  This, and not feeling obliged to provide lengthy apologies and excuses for missing a dinner/get-together/etc. are two things I've only learned in recent years and so my respect for Sasha only grows with the years.

Sasha was the same age as I am now when she passed away from cancer, her family, loved ones, and friends miss her dearly and keep her alive through our fondest memories.  She is in my thoughts within and outside of TIFF, though without the festival I would have never gotten to know her and so this is yet another huge reason I'm indebted to the festival.

After her passing, a group of us decided to celebrate Sasha's memory and her love of film by having a chair in the TIFF Bell Lightbox building dedicated to her.  So during TIFF 15 if you find yourself catching a movie in Cinema 1, Row H, seat 13, check the back of it for a memorial plaque in memory of my dear friend.

Captain Chris and Sasha, I believe at the Food & Wine show

Sasha and Darrin

Sasha and I (judging from my hair colour, this is probably around 2006)

Run-in during TIFF with Sasha, Valesca, and I

At a TIFF party with Sasha (2008?)

The pick-up Ultimate Frisbee collective (Sasha in in the front on the left, lot of other TIFF faces embedded in this photo)

#AdaTIFFmems - Whedon-verse day

Celeb moments come big and small at TIFF, but that "big" vs "small" can also be subjective depending on the person and which star they're coming in close proximity to.

I've mentioned some of the A-listers I've come in contact with, and I'm not going to lie, standing six feet away from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is awfully exciting. But a celebrity that isn't on the front page of every tabloid can certainly make your day/week/festival too.

In 2012 Joss Whedon brought his stylish vision of Much Ado About Nothing to the festival and the Whedon-verse cast with him.  I consider myself a Joss Whedon fan though I cannot claim to have seen everything he's made.

One of the screenings of the film was at the Elgin on an afternoon that I happened to be captaining.  So like an exemplary volunteer, I stood back and calmly watched as Mr. Whedon came along the sidewalk from the north side and signed autographs before meeting up with the rest of his cast of regulars on the red carpet.

When the opportunity arose later, I also ducked into the theatre to catch a bit of the fantastic Q&A (hey, it's a Shakespeare play, it's not like there will be many spoilers).  It was like a classed up version of a con panel!

The real fan girl opportunities came a few days later when my friend Mara and I went to attend a repeat screening at the Isabel Bader theatre.

Now with 2nd and 3rd screenings, filmmakers and cast are not guaranteed, we had no idea who was going to show. Still, I was excited to see the movie and I don't think I could've chosen a better companion to see a Joss Whedon movie with (and if you knew how many Whedon fans I'm friends with...) Mara is such a huge fan that she named her dog after Joss.

We were near the front of the ticketholders line when Whedon once again just came walking up along the sidewalk...

Mara got a chance to talk to him while I snapped dozens of badly framed photos.

The film once again included an intro from Whedon.

and a Q&A with the full cast (minus Nathan Fillion this time)

Tom Lenk and Alexis Denisof

After which some of the cast wandered outside the Bader to sign more autographs, take picks, and chat with the fans!

Got Alexis Denisof's autograph...

...and a photo with Tom Lenk

Better than any Fan Expo autograph/photo package, and one of my most memorable days at TIFF!

#AdaTIFFmems - Homeless People with iPads

With 7 days to go until the start of TIFF 15, most of us are in the advanced stages of festival prep. One of those things... getting the gear together for the overnight line.

We're in the same spot this year (outside TIFF Bell Lightbox), which is decidedly less fun that David Pecault Square, and while thinking over how last year's experience was, I remembered a little story courtesy of my friend Brenda (and line up partner) from last year.

I don't know if I'd stepped away or fallen asleep in my chair when this happened last year, and I apologize if I get the finer details wrong, this is roughly what I recall Brenda telling me...

Passers-by have always thought the idea of people lining up overnight for movie tickets is nuts, no matter where we are we've been asked year after year "what are you lining up for?... Movie tickets?? Like, to buy movie tickets???"

The number of disbelievers grew as single ticket day got moved to a weekend day, as there is more night time traffic on Fri/Sat.  Then the spot right along the King St. sidewalk brought us in closer proximity with late-night clubers, etc. than ever before...

Now, I don't know what we really look like to other people, but crazy is a fair assessment.  We're lined up on the street with camping chairs and overnight bags, our snacks and personal electronic devices spread out like it's our living room.  We're also in the most comfortable clothing possible because we ain't gonna spend 20 hours in dress shoes and a ball gown, so I guess there is a chance we may resemble freshly-showered hobos...

Anyway, last year at some point in the evening Brenda overheard a couple's conversation as they were walking by...

A guy remarked loudly "How do all these homeless people afford iPads?"

His girlfriend calls him something to the effect of 'idiot' and says "They're not homeless! They're waiting to buy tickets."

So ya, ladies and gentlemen, I think that says it all what we look like to drunk strangers as they're stumbling by... 

Proud moment... :P

#AdaTIFFmems - Captains of the Elgin

I offhandedly refer to "captains" or "captaining" a lot.  This is amongst that TIFF lingo that you either know or you don't.

There are volunteers, then there are volunteers who sorta get those volunteers organized on shift... those are the captains.  So when we're on the job and guiding our group of volunteers, we call that "captaining".

I've been captaining at the Elgin for about 14 festivals (this will be my 15th... I actually did a capt shift in my 2nd year volunteering, but took one festival off when I worked in the photography department for the festival).  I've never been one to work throughout the festival, you'll usually see me at the Elgin during the first half of the festival only, but to my knowledge I am the longest returning captain at the venue.

Those of us who come back year after year to Elgin/Winter Garden are pretty close, we've had a good returning rate over the years, but of course, some years have more returning captains than others.  Sometimes I wonder if I might come off as less friendly to new captains, or captains who are just coming in to do a couple of shifts (to save the day when we're short!).  This is compounded some years by our clique jokes (usually meant to razz the Ryerson captains more than exclude anyone), or Candy (in the old days) coming in uttering "I don't recognize any of these people!" (which I still think is funny because half the time she's pointing at people who have been there for years and she just has a bad memory!)

Let's just quell those thoughts right now.  If I have less interaction with you, it's because I don't think you'll understand my idiosyncrasies.  We get so used to the way things run around the theatre we're just on automatic.  A new/guest captain might wonder why I'm shoving an envelope full of elastics at you in the lobby an hour before your show goes in, those of us who've been there for years know that despite your show not going in yet, a lotta small fires are going to erupt soon and this will be the last chance you have to get supplies from the room before ticket count.

We actually wish more like-minded returning captains would join (or re-join!) our ranks, having the theatre run like a well-oiled machine is marvelous. Being able to predict each others needs and actions a total bonus.  Plus in those stressful moments when we forget a please or thank you... the regulars understand.  So please, don't ever think we're exclusive.

That said (yikes... that was a LOT said!), the captains of the Elgin/Winter Garden are a close-knit bunch.  We like to hang out at orientations, training, onsite, offsite, in line, at parties, on facebook... pretty much where ever we happen to cross paths.

I set off to find a few photos of us and wound up maxing the memory on my iphone because I downloaded too many pics (sheesh)... this isn't even all of it, nonetheless, be prepared to scroll for a while...

2005 Captains - Nick, Afsha, Tammy, Candy, Michelle (at a party in the Elgin freigh elevator for those who remember...)

The original Mean Girls of the Elgin?

(Left) I believe Nick was the first Captain to join the dark side and become a FOHA.

(Right) Tammy and I in 2006

Back then only the Elgin was used, but we never left the building whether we were on shift or not (Right to left: Mel, me, Mike, and Candy)

We're pretty snappy dressers once you get us out of those t-shirts (Left to right: Boy Chris, Rosa, me, Candy, Diane, Mel)

 

(Left) Marguerite and I on "hat day" at the Elgin, (Right) Captain Tanya on hat day - note: Tanya left us for RTH but returns for one day only during TIFF 15!

A tale of two Chris' - around the building they were known as 'Captain Girl Chris' and 'Captain Boy Chris'

We're always at the TIFF Staff & Volunteer Party posing for pictures together (Captain Neal in the yellow!)

This might be the year they had the Captain's party at The Pilot...? (Davor on the right also became TIFF staff after a few years of capataining, you'll spot the traitor at Scotia for TIFF 15)

I'm missing at least a couple notable captains... for all the time Veronica and I spend together outside of TIFF (I'm not exaggerating, we've taken roadtrips together with our moms) we don't have that many photos of just the two of us.

The other of course is Jonny, but I will rectify that situation before #AdaTIFFmems is done. Promise.

I'll leave you with the most recent Elgin captains photo, which was taken last night!

#AdaTIFFmems - The time I showed Ralph Fiennes how much I loved his film by falling asleep

I don't know if this qualifies as a favourite memory so much as it's something I remember.  Something awkward (and therefore amusing) I might add.

In a recent festival Ralph Fiennes was at the Elgin to premier his film, he was scheduled to introduce the film and then sit with the audience to watch it.

The inside rep reserved Mr. Fiennes and his co-star some aisle seats and upon learning that I would also being going to see the movie after my volunteer shift ended, asked me if I would like the two seats in front of Mr. Fiennes as I could be trusted not to go psycho-fan and start harrassing the stars (I don't guarantee I could do this for every star, but Ralph Fiennes, yeah, I could refrain from gawking.)

Intros and seating went smoothly, and the rep led Mr. Fiennes and Felicity Jones to their seats.  I remember Mr. Fiennes being confused by the chorus of "AAAARRRRRR!!!s" during the anti-piracy ad, and then the film got going...

...and I started nodding off :O

I don't want to knock his directorial efforts, I'm sure the film is very good under the right circumstances, but it was a slower-moving period drama and I was feeling some mid-festival fatigue. I'd start to nod and then remember "Crap! Ralph Fiennes is right behind me! He's going to see me sleeping during his movie!"

I tried my best to slump lower in my seat so he couldn't tell I was unconscious for half the movie... #filmfestivalproblems

#AdaTIFFmems - The Yellow Sprinkles

When it comes to TIFF, there's a lot of "traditions" and "rituals" evolved from things that just seem to happen every festival.  But it's not just at the festival every year in September, these extend to other areas of TIFF as well.

Every spring, TIFF has a film festival for children, appropriately called "TIFF Kids". It's a smaller crew of volunteers required for TIFF Kids, still plenty busy but a different kind of experience.  Though we're in our t-shirts and on the job, we still like to get in touch with our childish side when the opportunity arises. (I have MANY photos with Cookie Monster to prove this)

One major difference between TIFF and TIFF Kids is the cupcakes and pizza.  It's just not TIFF Kids until you get cupcakes and pizza.  These are leftovers from events in the building which they always bring to the volunteers.  The amounts will vary depending on how much food is left from the events, but one of the things we often find remnants of a cupcake decorating station placed in our lounge area.

One year there were a couple dozen cupcakes dropped off, un-decorated, and like a dozen bags of sprinkles, candies, gummies etc. to pile on top of the frosting. Man, that shift was a series of sugar rushes and crashes...

At the end of the shift the cupcakes were gone, as were all of the candies that you could easily eat without a cupcake (ie. smarties, gummy bears).  When my friend and fellow captain Darlene and I were cleaning up, all that was left was a massive bag of yellow sprinkles.

Not wanting to let them go to waste, we decided to divide the bag and make something with the sprinkles each.

I returned the next weekend with some lemon cupcakes of my own, topped with yellow sprinkles.  Darlene... nothing.

She didn't forget, she just couldn't do it that weekend.  Four months later in August when I walked into the captain training, she had a yellow sprinkle cupcake for me :)

[Elgin sometimes-captain Rosa took a picture of me with that cupcake... which matched with the yellow purse and phone I had that day, I'm just not sure where the photo is]

#AdaTIFFmems - Elgin Crew outtings

Looks like I'm past that midnight deadline again.  In my defense, I've been sitting here searching for photos since just after 11:30pm...

So earlier this week about half of us volunteer captains were at a training session over at TIFF Bell Lightbox, an informative affair, but also a great chance to see familiar faces and do some catching up.

The waiting the training usually works is we are put into groups, often by the type of venue we work at.  So all of the people working at the same venue are typically put in the same group.  Our Elgin/Winter Garden collective wasn't particularly domineering but we were happy to be seated together.

On the opposite end sat a rowdy bunch ;) ... better know as team Ryerson.  I have volunteered alongside many a Ryerson captain at TIFF Kids and other events, they're a lovely bunch, but when we get into our venue groups the trash talk begins.

I will commend the Ryerson crew, they are a very close-knit bunch.  They keep in touch outside of the festival and get together regularly.  But before I start sounding like a complete wannabe, the Elgin crew is not too shabby when it comes to staying in touch either.

We've had two get togethers outside of TIFF (a few more maybe if you count those nights during the festival when the captains decided to hit up the Imperial), a dinner near Christmas-time in 2008, and a quasi-impromptu brunch a couple years later.

December 2008 at the Pickle Barrel

The brunch at Hot House 2-3 years later was probably in the springtime (?) a bit more cobbled together.  I was not the principle photographer, I remember Veronica (whom I only really got to know after this brunch, where she was invited by Davor) had a camera that day.  I was only able to find a few random photos.

Darrin and Jack (not sure if we've just said something to scandalize Jack or if that's just his itis kicking in after buffet).

Veronica and Davor in the left side of the photo... I can't say I really remember Veronica from the Elgin at that point, but her and I are now good friends, and last year we captained together at the Elgin.