What to see at TIFF and how to find celebrities

Movie goers attend an open air screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Lights, camera, action.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) may have looked a little different over the past two years as organizers turned to drive-in theatres and virtual screenings to keep it running during a global pandemic but starting Thursday the full, in-person event is set to return to the city. It brings with it more than 60 world premiers and a serious injection of star power.

Whether you are a first timer or a seasoned TIFF veteran who was unable to travel to Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, here is what you need to know about navigating the 10-day festival.

THE VENUES

There will be more than a half dozen venues where films will be screened, most of which are clustered in the city’s Entertainment District. The 2,500 capacity Roy Thomson Hall will host some of the biggest gala screenings, including opening night selection ‘The Swimmers.”

Speaking with CP24.com last week, film critic Richard Crouse said that while there are plenty of unique, one-of-a-kind venues to choose from at TIFF, few allow film fans to soak up the “glitz and glam” of the festival quite like Roy Thomson.

Included among the list of films set for gala screenings at Roy Thomson Hall this year is the Drake and LeBron James executive produced documentary Black Ice, which takes a closer look at anti-Black racism in hockey. The film ‘Butcher's Crossing’ featuring Nicolas Cage in the leading role will also stage its world premier at Roy Thomson, as will the psychological thriller ‘Alice, Darling’ starring Anna Kendrick.

“It always reminds me of what I would imagine it was like in the 1950’s when you went to New York and they had those beautiful big theatres like the Paramount in Times Square that seated two or three thousand people. It was a real event to go and that is what Roy Thomson feels like to me,” Crouse said of the venue. “It is really something special to see a film in that milieu and at that kind of grand scale.”

Actor Ansel Elgort arrives on the red carpet for the gala premiere of the film "Goldfinch" in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

In addition to Roy Thomson Hall, TIFF will be showing a number of films at the iconic Cinesphere at Ontario Place, including a special screening of ‘Nope’ followed by a Q and A with acclaimed director Jordan Peele on Sept. 12. The Scotiabank Theatre, meanwhile, will be the workhorse of the festival, with 11 different screening rooms. New this year, TIFF will also be holding a number of screenings at the 115-year-old Royal Alexandria Theatre, adding to a cluster of venues along King Street where the Princes of Wales Theatre and TIFF Bell Lightbox are also located.

“I walk by that theatre many, many times over the course of a week and I have always dreamed about coming in there as a part of the festival,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said of the Royal Alexandria during an interview with CP24.com. “It is a historic venue and to outfit it with the latest cinema technology and to present movies in there for the first time in a long time is pretty exciting.”

THE FILMS

More than 200 films are slated to be screened during the 10-day festival, including 63 which will stage their world premier’s at TIFF. Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fablemans’ is already getting a lot of buzz. It will be the first film that the acclaimed director has ever brought to the festival and perhaps his most personal - it’s essentially a retelling of his own childhood.

Some of the other buzz-worthy films premiering at TIFF include Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ‘The Woman King’ and Sally El Hosaini’s ‘The Swimmers.’

A new “Weird” Al Yankovic biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe has also been a hot ticket. It will be screened four times during TIFF, with its premier kicking off TIFF’s popular Midnight Madness program.

Speaking with CP24.com, Crouse said that he is personally excited about a Canadian film called ‘I Like Movies,” which is loosely based on its director’s life-long love affair with film which began while working at a Burlington Blockbuster in the early 2000s. He also has the David Bowie documentary ‘Moonage Daydream’ circled on his list, calling it “an immersive experience that overwhelms you with sound and vision.”

“He was an enigmatic artist and this is an enigmatic film that just wants you to get lost in it and not think of it as a behind the scenes style documentary,” he said.

BUILDING AN ITINERARY

This year’s edition of TIFF will include everything from artistically ambitious films, to Hollywood blockbusters, indie flicks and everything in between.

There are also a number of talks planned with Hollywood heavyweights, including one featuring Taylor Swift that will focus on some of the visual aspects of her music.

It is a diverse list and it can make the process of building out an itinerary daunting.

Bailey, who was the longtime artistic director of the festival before taking over as CEO in 2021, told CP24.com that anyone taking part in TIFF should “make a plan” but be prepared to pivot.

“Decide what films you want to see and get a sense of what's the movie that's going to affect you the most, that you're most into but then always leave room for surprises,” he said. “You know, you're going to run into somebody who says ‘I just saw this amazing movie, it changed my life. You have to see it’ and then maybe you do want to see that one instead.”

A volunteer takes a photo in front of a festival sign on day 1 of the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Crouse, meanwhile, urged TIFF-goers to “broaden their horizons” as much as possible. He said that while there is a certain allure of going to the big showings with the big stars, sometimes it is the movies that may not get widespread theatrical runs that end up being the most memorable.

“Those movies that they (the big stars) are there promoting are very likely to open in theatres within a week or a month or two of playing at the festival. What I would do is have a look at films that you are not likely to have a chance to see anywhere else on the big screen,” he said. “That is where the gems are, that is where the real beauty of having a film festival like this is.” 

THE STARS

The star power at TIFF over the last two years was significantly curtailed, as many Hollywood heavyweights skipped the festival due to COVID-19 restrictions which complicated cross-border travel.

But any thought that TIFF’s pull might have been reduced during the global pandemic was put to rest last week when organizers released a list of hundreds of stars travelling to Toronto for the festival, including Oprah Winfrey, Harry Styles, Jennifer Lawrence, Viola Davis, Zac Efron, Daniel Craig, Daniel Radcliffe and Jordan Peele.

Entertainment blogger Mr. Will Wong has been covering the festival for years.

He told CP24.com that the “magnitude of the films and the stars coming” to the city for TIFF this week is “big by any standard,” let alone after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.

“I would say this year TIFF is back in full force but even pre-pandemic this would be considered a big TIFF,” he said.

WHERE TO GET A GLIMPSE OF HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY

Wong said that one of the interesting things about the festival being fully back after scaled down versions in 2020 and 2021 is that many of the popular destinations for celebrities have changed.

“There was a number of restaurants (that were popular among celebrities) that just didn’t make it through the pandemic so there will be new hot spots,” he said. “It will be the same strip (King Street West), just different storefronts and different names on the restaurants.”

People line up for tickets inside the TIFF Bell Lightbox during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Friday, September 5, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Wong said that he anticipates that the Bisha Hotel on John Street will be a popular spot for celebrities, as will the recently opened Ace Hotel near Adelaide Street and Spadina Avenue.

As for restaurants, he said that Patria and Marbl on King Street West will both be preferred locations for cast dinners after premiers with stars practically “guaranteed” to dine there.

Ditto for Sofia Restaurant & Bar in Yorkville, which hosted Jennifer Lopez during the 2019 festival.

“Everything is downtown in the Entertainment District now but that doesn’t mean Yorkville is out of the question,” he said. “I am almost certain stuff will be going on up there.”

Wong said that when it comes to star-gazing at TIFF, a lot of it just comes down to “luck.”

You have to be in the right place at the right time, whether that is outside a popular restaurant or just a neighbourhood coffee shot.

However, film fans who want to see their favourite actor or actress up close can always show up early and try to get a wrist band for entrance into one of the designated fan zones set up alongside red carpets, Wong said.

“If you get there early enough, I would recommend two or three hours before the movie starts, there is no reason why you won’t be able to see who you want to see,” he said.

TICKETS

Tickets for many of the most-anticipated screenings at TIFF were snatched up quickly after going on sale to the general public on Monday.

But film goers can still gain access to some sold-out screenings by lining up in the rush line outside of the venue prior to the showing.

TIFF will also be staging a number of free screenings of classic movies in David Peacaut Square and during the first four days of the festival, King Street will be closed between Peter Street and University Avenue from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a street party dubbed “Festival Street.”

WATCHING AT HOME

TIFF will have a small number of its official selections available to be streamed online for a fee.

But its virtual program has been significantly scaled back from the previous two festivals.

Bailey said that is largely intentional, with the virtual screenings only intended to provide a “taste” of the full in-person festival for people located elsewhere in Canada.

“We definitely want people back in movie theatres. It remains, I think, the best way to experience film. It is not the only way and we all watch lots of stuff at home as well. But we wanted to focus on the in-person experience and the collective experience of watching a movie together and just feeling that emotion amplified because you are feeling it in a room with hundreds of other people,” he told CP24.com. “Whether it is a drama, a suspense movie, a comedy, everything is just heightened and bigger when you are in a theatre. So we wanted to bring that back.”