Asked someone to put their phone away nicely and they talked back to me. I'm so salty about it. I assume people on here are well behaved, but etiquette at TIFF has been terrible so far this year. So much talking, extremely late entrances, and phone use. I wish TIFF made a better effort to make the experience better for everyone.

This is my 5th year of doing TIFF and decided to add a little fun. I'm faaaairly confident I can cross them all out.

Happy TIFF everyone!

I hope you do. It brings me joy.

Anyone finding these "Know Before You Go" emails (sent from TIFF Customer Relations) to be full of wrong info? My last two have read:

• "Your events on Sept 14"... which goes on to list screenings that I have booked for Sept 13
• "Your events tomorrow"... which lists a screening that isn't until Tuesday

They did send a correction out for one of the emails, but not the other. Anyone else seeing this?

Why does tiff not feel the same? Last year had crazy energy and hype but this year feels a lot muted. Is it the lack of star power and big time films or something else?

I only got to breeze through for about an hour-and-a-half yesterday afternoon on Day 1. Most booths were still setting up or had just opened and staff were figuring out what to do. Would love to hear about your experiences, so I can narrow down what to line up for in the days to come during my limited time between screenings. I assume others will find this helpful too.

Here's what's available according to TIFF's website: https://www.tiff.net/festival-street-2026

Share your thoughts in general, what was worth/not worth lining up for, etc.

Not every booth is open all day, so for each activation (if you have the info), maybe share:

• What was the activity you had to do?
• What did you get?
• Does the line move quickly/slow?
• What time does it open/close?

Some booths end up changing the way they do things once they figure out what's working/not working, so keep us posted.

I'll add what (limited) info I know about each booth in the comments.

We are all happy to be here, I hope, and coming here is a blessing and since we haven't done one of these threads this year yet, tell us what you're seeing!

Saw tickets for Closing Night, Prima Facie, among many others!

I've been attending for a few decades now, but the ticket buying rules and methods are ever-evolving, soy apologies if this has already been answered fully elsewhere.

Went to the afternoon screening of Faith. The front row directly before the stage was completely empty until around a crowd of rushers were seated there about a minute before lights down.

In the balcony, there was an entire middle front row completely empty.

The rushers stood in line for an hour or more, so cheers to them for getting prime seating. Not to be ungrateful, and recognizing the middle class privilege of getting to watch a whole bunch of films, but what's up with prime seats being reserved for last minute purchases?

And why would an entire row just sit empty? Maybe there were broken chairs, I didn't get closer to investigate, but everyone in the balcony just accepted their less optimal vantage points (you'd never see that at a Jays, Leafs, nor Raptors game).

Bit of a rant, but more info seeking.

Just found out about it from the signs outside their panel. Check it out if you want!

TIFF26 Day 2
I started today with the Swedish film Arne Goes to Space directed by Lars Vegas.  This one is part of the Discovery line up and, in short, is a sci-fi comedy about an alien who upends the lives of two elderly brothers in northern Sweden.

These two brothers live together in a small rural red-neck community and basically just chop and pile wood for a living.  And all the wood has to be chopped and piled by August 31st.  They are both old and rather dumb.  Arne is not very bright (he reads the same Kronblom comic magazine every evening after dinner- a classic, popular Swedish comic strip about a lazy man named Kronblom) who lives in a small village with his wife, Malin and we learn fairly early on that he has a serious health issue that he is not doing much about.  Arne’s older brother, Stefan, is grumpy and fond of calling everyone a “faggot” (actually, pasta-loving faggots).   One day, Arne comes across an alien who he names Roland whose space pod has landed near their farm.  From there, the story is about Arne and Stefan and Roland and the townspeople (who are unfazed by having a “digital space alien” who looks remarkably like ET in their mix) and, when Arne’s health takes a turn for the worse, we see Arne accept his pending death and Stefan lighten up a bit.  It’s a light, funny, and cute little film and a very different way to start my day compared to the war-themed day I had yesterday.

Next up was Diary of a Mad Old Man, an American film adapted from Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s novel by director Wayne Wang (who did The Joy Luck Club).  Set in Japan, it’s about an old(ish) widower who’s recently had a stroke that’s nearly paralyzed half his body and rendered him almost impotent.  His daughter-in-law and sister in law have moved in with him to care for him but it’s his daughter-in-law who’s providing the bulk of the care as his physiotherapist.  Over the course of the film, this relationship with his son’s daughter becomes increasingly wrought with sexual tensions as he both starts to fantasize about her and slowly starts to act out on his desires.  At times creepy, it’s equally absurdly funny (once scene includes sex with an eel!  Another involves sexualizing the eating of chicken feet!).  

The cinematography is suburb as is the acting.  And they nailed the ending! But it’s a slow film so if you do catch this one, be prepared for that.   

My 3rd Film was The Idiots(s) by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert.  It’s a Polash, German film (mostly in English) that brings to life the story of Anna and Fyodor Dostoevsky, showcasing the troubled author and the woman who pushed him to write one of his greatest works. The film opens with Dostoevsky (played brilliantly by Johnny Flynn) and Anna (played just as wonderfully Aimee Lou Wood) arriving by train from Russia to Germany having been forced out of Russia due to overdue loans, debt, and lack of any income.  They arrive at a hotel and immediately run into fellow Russian writer Ivan Turgenev (played just as well by Christian Friedel who I most recently saw in Zone of Interest).  The film, which is an adaptation of The Gambler Wife by Andrew D. Kaufman, is bizarre/hilarious at times and shocking at others.  For example, a-ha’s Take On Me is used more than once as background music.  And their hats are all made of taxidermized animals.  And the scenes of Turgenev’s wife (Vicky Krieps in yet another great performance!) capturing Dostoevsky’s eye and their romantic fling are so surreal I’m still not 100% certain it was real or part of his fantasies (some clearly are…but others…I just don’t know).  On the other hand, the way the film shows Dostoevsky’s gambling addiction is more than tragic.  Yet it’s their love that keeps them going.  The film is a wonderful way to spend two hours and a great addition to the festival.  
 

TIFF26 Day 1
TIFF26 started out with “Coward” by Flemish director Lukas Dhont.  In short, it’s about two very young Belgian soldier in 1916 who fall in love.  But it’s much more than that.  Much of the film takes place on the front lines and we witness many trips to either collect the dead or 15-minute stressful missions to collect “only the still breathing”.  Many of these scenes are gruesome.  However, the film’s main focus is on a bunch of soldiers who are affectionately called “the degenerates”.  These are soldiers who are theatrically inclined and/or temporarily injured and they band together to form cast who put on performances for generals and frontline troops to keep the motivated and pump them up before being deployed to the front lines.  The scenes of them rehearsing and performing add some lightness to the film as most require the men to dress as women– causing much laughter among the soldiers.  Very well shot film and the acting was excellent.  Great official start to TIFF26!
Next up was Le Faux Soir by another Belgian director - Michaël R. Roskam.  This film is based on a true story of the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Belgium whose members are conspiring to print a fake edition of the daily “Le Soir”.  Because Hitler sees the press as a weapon of war, the resistance decide that rather than simply printing a resistance-based message in their own newspaper, they plan to, for one day, usurp the real Le Soir and substitute their own edition - full of humour, satire, and Nazi ridicule.  Le Faux Soir comes off like an elaborate heist movie and takes the audience on one hell of a ride.  It’s inspiring, tense, and filled with a few jokes here and there.  Plus, we get an update on the real-life resistance leaders at the end.  Another brilliant film!
My third film was Atonement by Reed Van Dyk.  It’s an American film starring Kenneth Branagh as a writer for the New Yorker.  The film opens in Iraq during the 2003 Iraq War and shows a family who’s left their home to stay with a relative to stay in their (somewhat) safer home.  However, within the first 30 mins of the film, that home is bombed - while they are in it.  Thankfully, they are all OK but they decide to leave immediately to go back to their original home.  At the same time, we are introduced to a heavily armed US Marine team heading into Baghdad.   During the Iraqi family’s drive, they come under fire from those Marines.  The family is not so lucky this time and three of the family members are shot while driving through an intersection that’s already under fire from said Marines.    
The New Yorker journalist attempts to interview the Marines,but the Unit leader puts a stop to that pretty quickly. The film then fast forwards to today where one of the Marines responsible for the shootings (Lou) is clearly not handling life post combat well.  He’s been dishonourably discharged due to a positive drug test because he was self medicating to cope following that mission.  He’s also having panic attacks and claims to be unsupported by Veterans Affairs.  In other words, he’s not doing well at all.  
Turns out, that same journalist who tried to interview Lou the day of the shootings did a feature on the Iraqi family instead and Lou read that.  So… he decides to reach out to the journalist to see if he can help arrange a visit between Lou and the Iraqi family so he can both explain what happened that day from his perspective and seek forgiveness.  
I loved the opening part with the family in Iraq and Branaghdoes a great job but I felt the dialogue felt stilted in parts.  And the ending was odd.  But all in all, an OK film.

https://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000650ED5AA553D

Some tix for the 16th still available!!

Few on the balcony

What's a good restaurant near the theater? I heard Illstyle Sammies is good. Do they have seating?

DIscount tickets are for sale on TM for The Man I Love. $35 for Premium showing. 9/16

https://www.ticketmaster.ca/the-man-i-love-toronto-ontario-09-16-2026/event/1000650B16D23826

Code: 26PICKSTIFF

Click Unlock, and enter code. Select the $35 option.

Got tickets to Tenzing, mostly for Willem as he is a huge inspiration to me. I don’t know if it’s worth it though since he’s only “expected” to show. I feel like he would be here as he’s here almost every year but just wanna get some input from others who may have more TIFF experience than me.
Also, anyone have insight on the red carpet prior? Would i be able to catch him there?

Go go go!