(Toronto) Five hours before the first screening of Saturday Night At the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday night, moviegoers were already lining up along the red carpet, waiting for the celebrities to arrive.
TIFF regular Darian Sawh was among those at the front of the line Tuesday afternoon, with groups of people sitting on the sidewalk and holding signs as they waited for the stars of Jason Reitman’s work on the show. Saturday Night Liveincluding Willem Dafoe and Dylan O’Brien.
“It feels like the first time TIFF has been in full swing, probably since 2019, when I went to the premiere of Joker “, Sawh said of the dark drama that made headlines that year, thanks in part to stars Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro.
Indeed, many film fans, visitors and filmmakers agree that there is a renewed spark in the air after four consecutive festivals tempered by various obstacles – first by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated public health, travel and gathering restrictions, and then by an actors’ strike that largely stripped the red carpets of celebrities.
On the festival’s opening day, crowds of filmgoers and passersby gathered on a pedestrian strip on King Street to sing along to songs by the Tragically Hip, and continued to visit downtown throughout the first weekend to catch a glimpse of the red carpet, receive gifts from festival sponsors and find food trucks.
Protesters invite themselves
PHOTO CARLOS OSORIO, REUTERS
On Tuesday, dozens of protesters gathered at the Scotiabank Theatre to demand that TIFF pull a documentary about Russian soldiers from its programming, saying the film amounted to propaganda.
Lines were everywhere – for amateur zone wristbands, industry-only screenings and the infamous Scotiabank Theatre escalator.
Not everyone was in the mood to celebrate. Several protests took place at this year’s festival, including one on opening night by a group opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza that disrupted a screening on Thursday. On Saturday, animal rights activists turned out for the screening in front of the press and the film industry. Piece by Piecea biographical animated film about Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton’s men’s artistic director.
A protester also took the stage as Williams took part in a question-and-answer session after the film’s premiere on Tuesday, calling on the fashion house to stop using leather and fur.
Also on Tuesday, dozens of protesters gathered at the Scotiabank Theatre to demand that TIFF pull a documentary about Russian soldiers from its schedule, saying the film amounted to propaganda.
For Mr. Sawh, the energy of TIFF is what makes the festival special.
“It’s nice to see the celebrities and have a moment to thank them and hopefully get a photo and an autograph,” he said.
“But it’s also a community experience, because you’re with a ton of people who share a love of cinema and everything cinema-related.”
More people and energy
PHOTO VALERIE MACON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Actor John David Washington signs autographs at the film’s premiere The Piano Lesson.
He attended the film premiere The Fableman Steven Spielberg’s TIFF in 2022, when pandemic restrictions were lifted and moviegoers were cautiously exiting theaters.
The festival had wooed audiences with a red carpet featuring Spielberg and stars Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen, but Sawh said the mood was still subdued.
It’s not just festival-goers who have noticed the difference this year.
Before a screening ofAnora Last week, the line outside the Scotiabank Theatre snaked around the block as attendees from around the world buzzed around the film that won the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival. The room filled up quickly, and some were turned away.
“The festivals are definitely more alive than they have been since I’ve been on the circuit in 2021 with Red Rocket. Just more people and energy. I can feel it here at TIFF,” its director Sean Baker said in an interview Monday.
WhenAnora was screened to the public at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on Sunday, he was not in the crowd with the audience. Instead, he sat behind the screen and enjoyed the atmosphere.
“The audience last night was more engaged than any audience. They laughed when we wanted them to laugh. They were quiet when we wanted them to be quiet,” he said. “It was a very engaged audience. You can’t ask for more than that.”
Years of hardship
The 49e TIFF’s upcoming edition follows a series of setbacks, starting with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the festival to adopt a hybrid approach in 2020.
Screenings were limited, including at two drive-ins and one outdoor cinema, with most films available online. And only 60 films were shown at the festival, about a quarter of the 2019 lineup.
The following year, the festival offered some films online, moving away from the hybrid model. People attending in-person screenings were required to wear masks. The crowds were smaller and the cheers were quieter.
Pandemic restrictions were lifted in 2023, but Hollywood strikes have cast a shadow over the festivities, as only a handful of films have received waivers allowing their writers and actors to promote their projects at festivals, and those that have done so have scaled back their appearances.
Matt Neglia, a New York journalist who runs the online publication Next Best Picturesaid his first two TIFF experiences in 2022 and 2023 seemed pretty tame to him.
This, he says, is the first time he has experienced TIFF in all its glory.
“There’s electricity in the air. There’s an excitement, a palpable energy that everyone is clinging to,” he said.
He tries to keep up with that energy, changing his schedule based on what he hears about different films.
“It’s constantly evolving and changing and that also adds a layer of excitement,” he added.