9-18-2005
The red carpets have been rolled up, the velvet ropes are back in
storage and the Yorkville area of Toronto is decidedly paparazzi-free
today. Me? I spent the day re-entering the real world, sorting
accumulated mail and wondering how it is that I managed to accidentally
bring home so many of those voting ballots.
But wait. What’s THIS?!? I turned on press conference coverage this
morning and who did I see sitting next to Justin Timberlake at the
session for Edison?!?
PIPER PERABO!
What the…?! She has a small supporting role in Edison, but shows
up for that and NOT for Imagine Me & You where she’s the
STAR?!
*sigh*
Such is the lure of a high-profile project I guess and, I would assume,
free travel from the fest for its closing-night extravaganza.
Anyhoo…
The film festival handed out its official awards last night, and the
winners are as follows:
Audience Award: The UK/South Africa drama Tsotsi
Discovery Award for Best First Feature: The Australian film
Look Both Ways
The FIPRESCI Prize: Sa-kwa, from South Korea
Best Canadian First Feature: A tie between Familia
and The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico
Best Canadian Feature: The sexually confused-teen movie
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Personally, TIFF 2005 will always remain the year of Imagine Me &
You. Most of the rest of the films I saw were good, but nothing
could compare to Imagine’s magic and wonder in my eyes. I was
right – seeing it so early in the festival kind of took some of the
shine of the rest of the week. Thankfully, I didn’t see too many duds,
and even enjoyed some unexpectedly affecting films like Sorry,
Haters and Runaway.
But, as I mentioned yesterday, the festival as a whole was somehow less
impressive overall than it has been in past years. I didn’t really find
any new talent to rave about, and even wound up being underwhelmed by
an actress I loved and lauded in the past (Maggie, I’m looking at you).
The smell of cedar will always remind me of the freshly mulched gardens
around the Ryerson Theatre and cute line wranglers with clipboards.
I’ll think fondly of discovering a new set of secret washrooms (!)
there, and cringe when I recall the coughing woman perpetually over my
right shoulder in the dark. I’ll reminisce about wandering the empty
streets of the club district to get to crack-of-dawn screenings at the
Paramount, awaiting dimly lit anarchy during screening malfunctions and
learning the perils of caffeinated Frappucinos (consume at your own
risk if you’re planning on standing in line for any extended amount of
time).
TIFF 2005 came to a quiet, unassuming, Ebert-free end. It was good, but
not great, this year. Here’s hoping 2006 will return the fall
spectacular to its rightful spectacularity.
Fingers crossed!
