The Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF for short) comes around for 11 days every September, bringing celebrities, films and all kinds of excitement to the city. It continues to grow in stature every year, and many of the films that screen during the festival go onto critical acclaim and a plethora of awards (if memory stands correct, every Best Picture Oscar winner No Country for Old Men in 2007 has screened at the festival — and many before that too).
As a young film fan, I always dreamt of going to the festival and being part of a growing group of filmgoers who attend every year. I first attended the festival in 2010, and have been going ever since. While I did not write reviews for all the films I have seen over the years, I have included links to the ones I did, and have listed out the ones I missed alongside their IMDB film page link. Without further adieu:
2010
My first year seeing films at the festival was nothing short of extraordinary. Getting to hear the Q&As, and seeing the actual stars/directors of the films was like a dream come true — only better! I worked as an intern at a film company at the time, so that helped make the first experience the kind of adventure I’d only want to continue improving on. It also meant that I got to attend and watch the prestigious Opening Night film, something I have yet to do again since.
Films Screened and Reviewed:
Black Swan — IMDB Review
I Saw The Devil — Geek Speak Magazine Review
Monsters — Geek Speak Magazine Review
Super — IMDB Review
Films Screened:
Score: A Hockey Musical
Tamara Drewe
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
2011
The next year, as my interest grew, I decided to pick up a 10-pack of tickets. And based on the hype, I decided to indulge and buy an extra (a premium ticket no less) to a certain film with a lot of buzz.
Films Screened and Reviewed (all posted on IMDB):
Albert Nobbs
Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
The Descendants
God Bless America
Goon
Like Crazy
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Shame
Films Screened:
Nuit blanche [Sleepless Night]
Page Eight
Take Shelter
2012
Wanting to challenge myself, I really went hard in 2012 and even managed to work as a member of the press, reviewing as part of the team at We Got This Covered. I have yet to surpass how many movies I saw that year, but aim to try and beat the record one day. I also learned that it’s a lot harder to write full reviews of every movie you see, when you are seeing so many…
I even wrote a guide on How to Survive TIFF, which I posted to Geek Speak Magazine. It was a bit of a crash course on what to do and what to see, and even had a bit of a journal element outlining what and who I saw that year. It was an enjoyable little side project I completed weeks after the festival was done, and I was significantly more relaxed.
Films Screened and Reviewed (all posted on We Got This Covered):
Antiviral
Cloud Atlas
Imogene [Girl Most Likely]
The Place Beyond The Pines
The Sessions
Seven Psychopaths
Silver Linings Playbook
Smashed
Spring Breakers
To The Wonder
Films Screened:
The ABCs Of Death
Aftershock
The Bay
The Brass Teapot
Come Out And Play
Frances Ha
How To Make Money Selling Drugs
The Master
Le magasin des suicides [The Suicide Shop]
Events (posted on We Got This Covered):
Jason Reitman’s Live Read of American Beauty
2013
Eased up a bit that year, still seeing a lot of films and still writing for We Got This Covered. Again, less reviews due to number of movies watched.
Films Screened and Reviewed (all posted on We Got This Covered):
Dom Hemingway
The Double
Fading Gigolo
Horns
Man tam [Blind Detective]
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Films Screened:
12 Years A Slave
Bad Words
Blue Ruin
Don Jon
Joe
Labor Day
Man of Tai Chi
Under The Skin
Events:
Jason Reitman’s Live Read of Boogie Nights
2014
What will this year bring? Not too sure yet. I have my movies picked (with a few press screenings in the works), and will be posting capsule reviews here and on Mr. Will Wong’s excellent website — check it out for all things TIFF related during the festival. So keep checking back here and on the main page for updates and new reviews!
Adult Beginners
Before We Go
Cub
Foxcatcher
Guest, The
Humbling, The
Hungry Hearts
Imitation Game, The
Kill Me Three Times
Men, Women & Children
Revenge of the Green Dragons
Theory of Everything, The
Welcome To Me
Whiplash
Cut Bank
Drop, The
2015
Anomalisa
Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)
Colonia
Desierto
Family Fang, The
February
Girl In The Photographs, The
Green Room
Hardcore
I Smile Back
Kill Your Friends
Love
Man Down
Men & Chicken
Mr. Right
Our Brand Is Crisis
Program, The
Room
Sky
Spotlight
Where To Invade Next
Witch, The
Yakuza Apocalypse
Youth
Jason Reitman’s Live Read of The Princess Bride
Hyena Road
Lobster, The
2016
Before the Flood
Belko Experiment, The
Below Her Mouth
Birth of a Nation, The
Bleed for This
Blue Jay
Carrie Pilby
Christine
City of Tiny Lights
Colossal
Dog Eat Dog
Edge of Seventeen, The
Headshot
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
La La Land
Lion
Loving
Message from the King
Nocturnal Animals
Prevenge
Raw
(Re)Assignment
Trespass Against Us
Wakefield
Hidden Figures Live!
Free Fire
I, Daniel Blake
Manchester By The Sea
2017
Affamés, Les
Bodied
Brawl in Cell Block 99
Call Me By Your Name
Caniba
Cocaine Prison
Current War, The
Darkest Hour
Disaster Artist, The
Don’t Talk to Irene
Downsizing
Gaga: Five Foot Two
Hostiles
I Love You, Daddy
In the Fade
Kings
Kodachrome
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton
Lady Bird
Manhunt
Marrowbone
Mary Goes Round
Molly’s Game
mother!
Mom & Dad
Mudbound
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
Ritual, The
Shape of Water, The
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Unicorn Store
Killing of a Sacred Deer, The
Stronger
Suburbicon
Worthy Companion, A/Allure
2018
Fahrenheit 11/9
Halloween
Hate U Give, The
Hold the Dark
Lie, The
Mid90s
Monsters and Men
Old Man & The Gun, The
Widows
Jason Reitman’s Live Read of The Breakfast Club
Ash is Purest White
Beautiful Boy
Ben is Back
Border
Boy Erased
Burning
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Climax
Destroyer
Donnybrook
Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia, The
First Man
Freaks
Front Runner, The
Gloria Bell
Green Book
Her Smell
High Life
Hotel Mumbai
If Beale Street Could Talk
Jessica Forever
Kindergarten Teacher, The
Life and Death of John F. Donovan, The
Life Itself
Man Who Feels No Pain, The
Papi Chulo
Predator, The
Private War, A
Public, The
ROMA
Sisters Brothers, The
Standoff at Sparrow Creek, The
Star is Born, A
White Boy Rick
Wildlife
Assassination Nation
Kingsway
Let Me Fall
Nekrotronic
Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin
2019
Color Out of Space
Honey Boy
How To Build A Girl
Laundromat, The
Report, The
Abominable
And We Go Green
Bad Education
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, A
Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies
Calm with Horses
Capote Tapes, The
Castle in the Ground
Chicuarotes
Collective
Deerskin
Disco
Dolemite Is My Name
Endings, Beginnings
Ford v Ferrari
Greed
Gundala
Guns Akimbo
Harriet
Hidden Life, A
Honey Boy
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Knives Out
Last Porno Show, The
Lighthouse, The
Lucy in the Sky
Marriage Story
Moneychanger, The
Motherless Brooklyn
My Life as a Comedian
Our Friend
Parasite
Personal History of David Copperfield, The
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Platform, The
Rest of Us, The
Sound of Metal
Synchronic
Tammy’s Always Dying
Twentieth Century, The
Uncut Gems
Vast of Night, The
Vigil, The
Waves
Hustlers
Pain and Glory
Red Penguins
This Is Not A Movie
Whistlers, The
2020
76 Days
Beans
Concrete Cowboy
Enemies of the State
Get the Hell Out
Good Joe Bell
I Care A Lot
MLK/FBI
New Order
Nomadland
One Night in Miami…
Pieces of a Woman
Shadow in the Cloud
Shiva Baby
Spring Blossom
Summer of 85
Truffle Hunters, The
Violation
Water Man, The
Wolfwalkers
Father, The
Way I See It, The