Spanning from the 7th to the 17th of September, Mariana, Caelan and John reflect on their experience attending the prestigious film festival

By Mariana Schuetze, Caelan Monkman, John Vo

Mariana Schuetze: I have always had this dream of watching many films in one day. A “double-feature” at the movies. But not even during “Barbenheimer,” I did that. So it’s not an exaggeration when I say covering the 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for CanCulture this year was a dream come true.

Back in June this year, I and the other two members of this term’s executive team, Caelan Monkman and John Vo, decided to apply to press at TIFF in 2023. Very hopeful and unsure of what would happen, we quickly filled out an application and submitted it. A couple of weeks later, we got it: Press Accreditation at the Toronto International Film Festival.

What does Press Accreditation give you?

Mariana Schuetze: Getting Media Accreditation at TIFF offers you a few tickets to public screenings, some networking events and countless opportunities to catch Press & Industry events. This includes P&I screenings of films, which are held on a first-come-first-serve basis. Another exciting opportunity we had access to were the red carpets! As press, we get to ask for red carpet placement and interview or photograph our favourite artists.

John Vo: When we got sent our emails proudly saying that CanCulture Magazine would be granted press access to the festival, it felt like a hazy dream. I usually err on the side of optimism, but my mind droned with the loud thoughts that we would be rejected and turned away. Would it be truly surprising since I’m sure thousands in Canada and across the world apply each year for the chance to cover TIFF? Receiving that email felt like finding the coveted holy grail. Not only because we could see tons of films but also the confirmation that rising publications like ours would be given the chance to participate in one of the most anticipated events Toronto offers.

Caelan Monkman: I remember being so excited when I opened my email and read that CanCulture had gotten press accreditation approval. The press accreditation meant that we could cover red carpets and industry events, as well as attend film screenings specifically for press and industry passholders. More than that, though, press accreditation was validation that all our work as student journalists and members of CanCulture Magazine had paid off, and we were well on our way to being professional film journalists.

What was the experience like?

M: In 10 days I got to glimpse into at least 15 people’s minds. I got to know 15 unique stories. In the 10 days of the festival this year, I watched 15 films. Running from theatre to theatre was a nerve-racking experience of its own, but the best part of it all was living through so many different experiences. At the end of the festival, I genuinely felt like at least a whole month had gone by.

As a press member with the opportunity to basically watch as many films as I wanted (or could), I was really excited to just sit down, watch a movie and exercise my critical thinking. During most films, I had a small notebook and a pen and I sneakily tried to take some notes during the screenings. They are a bit all over the place but turned out to be really useful for me to separate what happened in what film, after watching four movies in a day.

J: Toronto streets are a familiar picture: bustling people with unique dreams trying to make it to their destinations, cars blaring their horns in all their road rage and the streets lined with restaurants and boutiques. The only time the city becomes still is during the witching hour. Toronto couldn’t be any more busier, right? Wrong!

As I headed towards my last film for the 48th Toronto International Film Festival on a Saturday afternoon, I scanned the streets. I became overwhelmed by packs of people eagerly looking for the next celebrity to spot or waiting in the rush line to potentially see a movie. When people talk about sensory overload, TIFF should come to mind.

Scanning through all the moments I experienced, I smiled fondly and sighed in relief that it was over. What can I say that isn’t obvious? To start, seeing actors and directors in front of you can be weirdly anticlimactic. Like “Wow, you’re a human being just like the rest of us but with money and status.” Still, I definitely had my moments where it struck me that these famous and talented folks came up to the bustling and smelly streets of Toronto all in the name of celebrating film. The art of being in films, making films, conversing about films.

C: The first thing that comes to mind is the sheer scale of the festival. There are hundreds of films screening at the festival, each with their own casts (well, some with their own casts, thanks to the SAG-AFTRA strike), crews, production and distribution teams, etc. The festival takes place in various locations near the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto, so when you’re surrounded by so many other festival-goers milling from one venue to the next, it can definitely be a bit of a sensory overload.

Although at times overwhelming, the experience was immensely positive. You can tell that everyone at the festival — from the volunteers to the press to the fans to the celebrities — are all in attendance because of their shared passion and love for cinema. Getting to see so many films while surrounded by those sorts of people is incredible.Play

Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, there were still plenty of big stars on the TIFF red carpets! One of my favourite moments was getting to interview legendary New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, who was at the festival for his latest film, Next Goal Wins.

The downside

M: As you would imagine, the biggest downside at a film festival like TIFF is not having enough time to watch everything you want to. In talking to my fellow friends and journalists covering the festival, I came across so many interesting and new stories to watch, but I just didn’t have the time, opportunity or energy to watch them.

Also, when choosing what films to watch from the hundreds of options being offered at the festival, I was drawn to stories similar to mine. At least for this first-time experience, I don’t believe I went too far out of my comfort zone with my choices, and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed everything I watched. However, my goal for next year is to certainly watch some pieces I normally wouldn’t at the theatre.

J: After the first day and the adrenaline wore off, the exhaustion finally started to kick in. Ten days of attending events and films never sounded like an easy feat to start but pairing that with balancing school work and eating regular meals was more challenging than defeating the Roman empire. I like to joke that they should change placing TIFF in September so that student journalists won’t pull their hair out but I suppose if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

C: The festival is an all-day affair for 11 straight days. That means that it’s easy to tell yourself you should be doing more — seeing more films, attending more red carpets, writing more articles — even when, in reality, that may not actually be feasible. As students, we were all balancing schoolwork and personal responsibilities on top of our festival coverage, something that most of the festival’s journalists didn’t have to do. Ultimately, I just had to remind myself that I’m human and that as much as I would like to see every film that’s screening, I also needed to make time for my personal wellbeing and school responsibilities.

Our favourite films

J: We obviously can’t talk about actors and writers in films without addressing the elephant in the room. All I can say is that CanCulture will always believe in paying artists fair wages. If you did not already have that mindset, this festival cemented that belief. All the films curated for the schedule were made with the love and passion that comes from humans. The lived journeys and intricate thought processes translated onto the big screen are something no robot or studio executive could replicate. This was prevalent, especially during the Q&As post-film where the cast and directors of the film would come out and describe in grand detail why they continue to do what they love. Cinema, from international films to documentaries to wacky comedies, should come from the hands and minds of artists who are paid fairly for their work. Out of all the lovely films at TIFF available to see, my top three would definitely be The Boy and the Heron, Concrete Utopia and Dicks: The Musical.

M: The majority of the films I watched told women or queer people’s stories, and were mostly directed by women or non-binary people. This specific way of looking at life certainly shaped my experience at the festival. In the end, though it’s hard to choose, my favourite film I watched was Toll (or Pedágio, in its original language, Brazilian Portuguese), directed by Brazilian director Carolina Marcowickz. CanCulture had the incredible opportunity to interview the director and the star of the film, Meave Jenkins.

C: There were a lot of excellent films that I got the chance to see at the festival. While hard to choose, my favourite film was Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, which also happened to be the winner of TIFF’s People’s Choice Award. It was funny, heartfelt and conveyed an important and necessary message without feeling preachy or pretentious. Other films I really enjoyed include Ariane Louis-Seize’s horror-comedy Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, Viggo Mortensen’s Western drama The Dead Don’t Hurt, and Weston Razooli’s charming and mystical adventure film Riddle of Fire. And of course, I would be remiss not to mention the newly remastered iconic concert film Stop Making Sense, which, although I had seen it before, was incredibly fun to see on the big screen and had me and the rest of the TIFF audience dancing along in our seats to every single song.

Checkout our Film section for some exciting reviews.

Overall: our takeaways

M: I think the biggest takeaway from this experience, for me, is that I want to do this. I want to be surrounded by film in any way I can, be that as an entertainment journalist or someone who works in film. Movie magic is real and TIFF was full of it. “For the love of film!”

J: In our pursuit of attending one of the world’s biggest and most renowned film festivals internationally, I obtained something grander than I ever imagined. Being at TIFF could have been so daunting if I had done it alone, but with my fellow masthead members and the other students who attended with different outlets, I felt secure knowing I could lean on them for support. We got to bond over films, dissect them to the nth degree and applaud in packed theatres. This is a longwinded form of saying “Maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way” but less corny.

C: TIFF was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I’m incredibly grateful I got to be a part of it. The films I saw were excellent, and although by the end of the festival, I was a bit ‘film-ed out’ and in need of a good long nap, I left feeling like I’d experienced something truly special. It was also validating to be surrounded by, and working alongside, other industry professionals. Looking down the red carpet and realizing you were standing a few metres away from CTV and Letterboxd — not to mention literal celebrities — definitely created some “pinch me” moments.