Good morning. Just as the Toronto International Film Festival has something for everyone, the 11-day event requires the wide-ranging work of many different hands. More on the heroic effort below, plus news updates from the Middle East and Portugal. But first:
Today’s headlinesAn internal government document obtained by The Globe lists 32 potential national projects A woman has been killed and the suspect, her brother, is dead after multiple stabbings in Hollow Water First Nation, a small community in ManitobaTom Pitfield, a top adviser to Mark Carney and a Liberal Party strategist, has ties to Big Tobacco, sources sayOpen this photo in gallery:
Volunteers take down signs after the last red carpet of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.Chris Donovan/The Canadian Press
ArtsBehind the international film festival scenes
This week, the bulk of TIFF’s headlines will belong to the antics of the many celebrities in town, perhaps even some of the directors, too. But there is a whole festival ecosystem of unsung heroes, without whom Canada’s glitziest and most influential cultural event would simply not exist. As the 50th edition of TIFF gets under way this weekend, here’s a quick guide to those working to make sure Toronto continues to keep itself in the global film industry’s good graces for another half-century or so.
🎟️ The Programmers: It might sound like fun to make a (largely seasonal) living watching movies, but the real work comes during the festival crunch, when programmers are required to hopscotch across the downtown core with little pause to do the yeoman’s work of introducing films, corralling Q&A sessions (especially ones in which audience members deliver questions that are more like comments), making sure that visiting filmmakers feel welcome, and even coming face to face with local filmmakers or producers whom they rejected.
🤹 The Publicists: Behind every single screening, every single event, every single minute of every single TIFF day, is a small army of publicists who keep their heads when everyone else is losing theirs. As every journalist covering the festival knows – and don’t worry, I’m not going to put members of the media in this “unsung hero” list, because god (a.k.a. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey) knows we can’t stop talking about ourselves as it is – behind every news story or review or column is a publicist staying up until dawn to get to that fabled promised land of Inbox Zero (or zero-ish).
👕 The Volunteers: In Cannes, every public-facing film festival representative is decked out in a chic formal ensemble. In Toronto, you get a T-shirt. But what TIFF’s legion of volunteers lack in couture they make up for in their unfailing commitment to make the festival as smooth and organized a process as possible. They’re friendly, they’re eager, they’re patient, and they’re blessed with more stamina than the current Maple Leafs roster – and all for a few free movie tickets (and that complimentary tee).
🍔 The A&W Staff: Listen, I can imagine working in the kitchen of the John and King location of the fast-food restaurant must be chaos at the best of times. But during TIFF, when it seems as if half the city suddenly develops a Teen Burger craving, the place is pure madness. Godspeed, Burger Family.
Bonus🎬 Barry’s watch list
Thanks to my trip to Cannes this spring and a sizable amount of pre-screenings held by Canadian distributors over the last two weeks of August, I’m walking into this year’s TIFF having already seen 20 films (including a number still under review embargo). Out of the nearly 300 titles, here are five world-premiere movies that neither I nor anyone else has yet to lay eyes on that I’m most looking forward to:
The Christophers: Technically Steven Soderbergh’s third film of the year (following Black Bag and Presence, the latter of which played TIFF last year but was released wide this January), this chamber piece boasts two intriguing stars (Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel) and a story revolving around art theft.
Christy: Sydney Sweeney is looking for awards gold, or at least a distraction from her American Eagle advertising-campaign discourse, by playing real-life boxer Christy Martin in this seemingly gritty biopic from director David Michod (Animal Kingdom).
Rental Family: Last time Brendan Fraser was in town, his performance in The Whale – and its reception by Toronto audiences – helped the actor land an Oscar. If there’s a safe bet for People’s Choice Award this year, I’ll plunk 10,000 yen on this Japan-set drama.
Easy’s Waltz: As both a fan of True Detective Season 1 and a cynic of TD Season 2, I’m equally intrigued and nervous about series creator Nic Pizzolatto’s new Las Vegas-set drama, in which his TDS2 collaborator Vince Vaughn plays a lounge singer on the decline.
The Fence: Claire Denis has long been a favourite of TIFF – even if the festival’s decision to program her squishy sci-fi head-trip High Life as a gala in 2018 remains a hilarious misstep – and so there’s solid reason to pay attention to her new thriller about a construction fixer (Matt Dillon) in over his head in Cameroon.
The Shot‘I want to die here. It doesn’t matter if we move out or stay.’Open this photo in gallery:
Palestinians look at the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in central Gaza Strip, Sept. 4.Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press
Israel says it controls 40 per cent of Gaza City as bombardments push more Palestinians out of their homes. However, thousands of residents have defied orders to leave, remaining behind in the ruins in the path of Israel’s latest advance.
The WrapWhat else we’re following
At home: The report on the Lapu Lapu festival tragedy recommends Vancouver develop measures to mitigate vehicle attacks.
Abroad: Jimmy Lai’s lawyers have launched an urgent appeal to experts at the United Nations, warning that his life is at risk in detention.
At home and abroad: Two Canadians are believed to be among the 16 killed in the Lisbon funicular crash.
Global: Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani dies at 91. Here’s a look back at his most iconic red-carpet moments.
Rally: Michael Sabia, Canada’s top bureaucrat, meets with U.S. officials to pursue smaller deals on tariffs, says the federal minister in charge of Canada-U.S. trade.
Serve: Everything you need to know about Félix Auger-Aliassime as he heads to the U.S. Open semi-finals.
