Every time I attend a festival of this size and complexity, I get frustrated and worry about everything I am missing. It is of course impossible to see everything, or come close to dealing with everything that needs to be handled. We all do the best we can.
I have found that sometimes the best way to cope is to simply give up running from cinema to cinema, and do everything possible to book space in the video screening room. The problem there of course is that not all the good films are submitted to this facility, so that is often a disappointment.
Yesterday, I saw Azhargarsamy’s Horse, the Tamil film that is playing at TIFF, and I was disappointed. It is very old fashioned filmmaking, and the selection of this film in the program surprised me. The South Indian industry is huge, vibrant, ever growing, and I quite simply do not understand why this film, out of hundreds, was suggested. The actors were fine, but the story development, shooting style, the post production quality, and certainly the direction all felt very old fashioned and dated to me.
Today, Monday, September 11 will once again be hectic. I will attend the International Film Financing Forum lunch at noon. I helped the organizers select and invite some excellent Indian participants for this three day program. Specifically, Bobby Bedi from New Delhi has been invited as one of the Executives, and producer/writer Jahnu Barua from Mumbai (and Orissa) is in Toronto with his wonderful script, Homing Pigeon. Jahnu wants to shoot a portion of this project in Ontario, so I am doing everything possible to help him find a producer friend in Toronto in order to expedite this project.
Then, back to the Bell Light Box for the Mavericks program. Today at 2:00 pm is the Deepa Mehta, Salman Rushdie discussion, moderated by Cameron Bailey; an event not to be missed for sure. After that, I will see Mushrooms, the film by Vimujkthi Jayasundara. I believe I met him last year in Kolkata, saw him again in Cannes, and here he is in Toronto with his film set in my beloved Kolkata. Then, ticket pickup at the special industry pick up place, a meeting with two producers from Sri Lanka, and a gala screening at Roy Thompson Hall tonight. I will see The Lady directed by Luc Besson. The film is his homage to the marvelous Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.
I have admired her for many years, so I am particularly looking forward to this film.
Oh yes, sometime today, I have a meeting with the Off Plus Camera Festival of Indie Cinema of Krakow, Poland, a lovely event I have been involved with for three years. I am helping find jury members for the festival during TIFF, and have had some fascinating meetings with prospective directors who are intrigued by Poland.
Every day there are receptions to attend, and gatherings, and sometimes they are useful, sometimes they are simply exhausting exercises to go through. I think networking is a state of mind; when you are up for it, the gatherings can be superb. When you do not really feel like it, it would be better to engage in one on one quiet suggestions. And speaking of which, during the European Film Promotion reception, I met an old friend from the Dubai Film Festival who had some excellent suggestions for SAFF.
More to come.
