Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Black Sheep previews TIFF 2012


It's finally arrived! For cinephiles in North America, the Toronto International Film Festival is without question, the film event of the year. Some dread the crazy hours and constant running around while others panic at the sheer idea of choosing from nearly 300 feature films. Some people clamour to catch the premium screenings, that bring the stars and the people together under one roof, while others let the festival programmers choose their own adventure over the course of 10 days. Whether you're all about the movies, the stars or the numerous related events happening throughout the city, there is something at TIFF for everyone, including me.

I will begin my TIFF experience this year with Jason Reitman's live table read of my third favourite film of all time, AMERICAN BEAUTY, at Ryerson Theatre. Reitman, the director of JUNO and UP IN THE AIR has staged similar table reads in the past, featuring random actors reading parts from famous films. Past examples include Paul Rudd and Emma Stone in THE APARTMENT or Seth Rogen in THE BIG LEBOWSKI. None of the main roles have been announced yet for this particular read but thus far, Adam Driver (from HBO's GIRLS) and Canada's own Sarah Gadon (ANTIVIRAL)  have been confirmed for the roles of Ricky Fitts and Angela. Reitman himself, a former Ryerson student, reads the stage direction. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be kicking TIFF12 off with this incredible event.

Reitman, waiting to stage THE BIG LEBOWSKI
I then have 20 films booked over the next nine days. I am not accredited to cover the festival in any official capacity this year so I kept my first weekend pretty light, just in case interview opportunities arise. The first weekend usually welcomes the bigger stars so if there are interviews to be had, this is when you want to have them. At the moment, I have only booked one interview, with Brandon Cronenberg, but I'm sure a few more will come in soon. In the meantime, I was able to catch somewhere around 20 films in pre-festival press screenings, so I will have plenty of film advice to pass on to you throughout the festival.

The plan at the moment, is to publish 25 reviews between September 6 and September 16. You can expect reviews for the following films:



AMOUR (shown)
Directed by Michael Haneke

ANNA KARENINA
Directed by Joe Wright

ANTIVIRAL
Directed by Brandon Cronenberg

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
Directed by Robert Redford

DREDD 3D
Directed by Pete Travis



END OF WATCH (shown)
Directed by David Ayer

FINDING NEMO 3D
Directed by Andrew Stanton

FOXFIRE: CONFESSIONS ON A GIRL GANG
Directed by Laurent Cantet

FRANCES HA
Directed by Noah Baumbach

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Directed by Mike Newell



THE ICEMAN (shown)
Directed by Ariel Vroman

THE IMPOSSIBLE
Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
Directed by Roger Michell

LAURENCE ANYWAYS
Directed by Xavier Dolan

LOOPER (Opening night film)
Directed by Rian Johnson



ON THE ROAD (shown)
Directed by Walter Salles

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
Directed by Stephen Chbosky

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
Directed by Derek Cianfance

RUST AND BONE
Directed by Jacques Audiard

THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Directed by David O. Russell



SONG FOR MARION (Closing night selection, shown)
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams 

STORIES WE TELL
Directed by Sarah Polley

TO THE WONDER
Directed by Terrence Malick

THE WE AND THE I
Directed by Michel Gondry

WEST OF MEMPHIS
Directed by Amy Berg

There are a few choice titles missing from the list like ARGO, CLOUD ATLAS, and THE PAPERBOY. I am seeing these but I'm only catching them later in the festival so there won't be any time to review them.

On that note, there are still a couple of films I have yet to secure tickets for. If anyone out there has an extra ticket to THE MASTER on Sunday the 16th or THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES on Saturday the 8th, please get in touch with me. I would really like to see these films during the festival and am willing to negotiate a fair exchange for them.

I will be tweeting throughout the festival so be sure to follow @blacksheeprevs if you don't already. And if you happen to be attending the festival and you see that we're going to be at some of the same screenings or what not, get in touch, let me know and maybe we can catch a flick or have a drink.

 Black Sheep's TIFF12 reviews start tomorrow with LOOPER, RUST AND BONE and DREDD 3D. Have an awesome TIFF everybody!

For more information of TIFF12, visit the festival website at tiff.net.

1 comment:

MR said...

Look forward to the interviews and more coverage! :)