TIFF 50
Toronto International Film Festival had its 50th anniversary this month.
I did not buy any of the tickets because they were too expensive – usually above $100 for one – except for a free one for access to a fan zone. I did not end up using that one because it was for some Japanese movie whose cast and crew I did not recognize. I ended up spotting Vince Vaughn from the sidewalk instead.
Then on Saturday the 13th, my boyfriend Max asked if I wanted to join him and his friends at Varda, the bar at TIFF Lightbox. These friends of his had flown in from US and Italy specifically to attend TIFF screenings. One of them watched over 20 films. 😮
Max got me a TIFF50 cocktail which included handcrafted TIFF50 chocolates. Both the drink and the chocolates were delicious. Max managed to snag a table at the exact moment that our drinks arrived. So lucky!
We chatted for some time before the friends left to watch another film. Max and I decided to chill at the bar for a little bit because we were not in a hurry to go anywhere.
I’m glad we did because while we were there, I overheard a TIFF volunteer offering some tickets to some ladies at the table next to us. When they declined, I asked him, “Tickets for what?”
“Peak Everything,” he replied.
“How much?” Max asked him.
“It’s free,” he responded. “If you can make it at 8pm.”
“We’ll take it!” I declared. He happily handed us a couple of tickets.
We were excited about getting free tickets to something, but even more so when we found out that they would have cost $118 each plus tax OMG.
We decided to grab dinner before going since we had some time. I suggested A&W across the street but Max said we should try one of the non fast food restaurants instead and ended up at Tulum because it did not look busy.
We got a patio table and it was really pretty! It’s a Mexican restaurant; I got excited when I saw chicken mole in the menu because my Mexican friend Karen had told me that was one of her favorite dishes. I ordered that while Max got nachos and tacos.
We ended up loving the food, even the free starter chips with salsa. It was too bad we couldn’t stay longer to enjoy the vibes and instead scarf the whole meal up quickly so we could make it to the venue on time.
We walked across the street and down the block to the Roy Thomson Hall. I had never been in there even though I pass by it a lot. I wasn’t expecting it to be that grand. We were pleased to find that our seats were on the front row and center of our balcony.
Before the movie rolled, Cameron Bailey, the TIFF CEO himself, came out and gave a speech. It turns out we were at the closing night gala presentation.
Max’s friend later told him that Roy Thomson Hall is the red carpet venue and he had never seen the CEO despite having gone to over 20 TIFF shows.
Then the movie’s director Anne Emond also came out and gave a speech and so did the actors. 🤯
I did not expect all of this from a free ticket, honestly!
The film is Canadian, so I didn’t recognize most of them except for the leading lady Piper Perabo, who is an American actress who was in Coyote Ugly, a movie which was popular when I was a teen.
After the director’s speech, the movie began. It’s a bilingual rom com which was pretty decent. It had some dark themes about climate catastrophe and depression interspersed with humor. I’m glad this was the movie we got to watch at our first ever TIFF event instead of some weird indie film like F My Son.
After the credits rolled, the cast and crew came out for a Q&A hosted by the TIFF CEO.
This really was a fabulous experience for me! Maybe next year I can actually spring for a ticket for an event with actors I actually want to see. We shall see!
Related: Hollywood Celebrity Encounters @ TIFF 2024
