Anyone accustomed to big time concerts or sporting events these days knows that by the time the general on-sale date hits, members and holders of a certain proud sponsor’s credit card have already had their dibs. Be advised, though, that the general on-sale date for ticket packs for the 40th Toronto International Film Festival is this Wednesday, July 29. I wouldn't delay too long if you’re serious about getting access to in-demand screenings, but it will take some serious bank to do so.
Aside from the red carpets, there are still venues to fill and some primo star-spotting to be had. We don’t have a complete slate of film or stars in attendance — perhaps more info coming out of Tuesday’s press conference — but here’s an early guide as to where to direct your dollars.
Piers Handling is TIFF’s director and CEO. (Image: TIFF)
Savvy veterans will know that each day new tickets drop at 7 a.m. for screenings that aren't sold out and rush lines are always an option. Still, if you’re not planning to take up residence in and around The Lightbox for those ten days in September, flex packages might make sense.
First and foremost you should note that TIFF limits you to four tickets per account per screening. Meaning that you can’t go booking a whole row for your extended family on one sole tab, alas.
The other obvious thing you will note right away is that this ain’t a working folk festival any more.
The price separation between regular screenings and premium screenings is stark. Unlike a concert or sporting event, you’re not getting good seats with premium tickets, that's the only admittance into most of the buzz-worthy premieres or awards contender galas.
Once you see the price tag for those packages, the wind might well come out of your sails — thus the mounting backlash to this festival with each passing year — but if you’re really dying to see the movies that will be talked about all awards season long before just about anyone outside of the industry and hobnob, ogle and take selfies with the elite, then listen up. Samplers range from a six-packs of "premiums" for $395 to a fairly noxious sounding “buzz list” pack running 5 for $1500 which really puts you in with the it-crowd. If this is your favourite thing to do all year, you can even throw on a $205 ticket to the closing night screening and accompanying party as a cherry on top.
More widely feasible packages would be the 5 for $110 evening and weekend pack which would be a good way to get into less glitzy but quite possibly better films — let us not forget that recent opening night froufrou galas at TIFF have been a bit meh — and indeed second or third screenings of films that had earlier premiers at the festival.
This might also work with the 6 for $75 "back half" package that allows you into all non-premium screenings during the last five days of the festival but leaves you with less freedom to choose. A catch-up pack if you will.
Buyers looking to just hit as many regular screenings as possible will want the 20 for $250 daytime value pack, or if you’re on a more strict schedule, the 10 for $200 flex pack which has the added bonus of access to evening regular screenings.
There are packs tailored to specific interests, like say the Wavelengths series which runs at 7 for $100, but my own experience is that those experimental films can be under-attended and there will likely be tickets available on the day.
Fans outside a screening at TIFF 2014. (Image: TIFF)
Midnight Madness has become a bit of a “people’s” bastion in recent years and I expect the 10 for $185 will get a lot of takers. There are some terrific genre flicks that come through that program – like the 2013 Midnight Madness Audience Award winner Why Don’t You Play In Hell? say — but find ten of them in a given year? Unlikely. You might just enjoy the vibe of it though in which case, perhaps it is worth it.
The truth is that at this point you’re blind buying until announcements start unfurling as to who’s coming and what’s making its world premiere. They probably won’t disappoint — this is now the second-largest film festival in the world and it's an anniversary year — but one never really knows. There was after all the big fracas over last year’s "world premiers only for the first four days of the festival" policy which caused some heavy hitters to pass in favour of other festivals.
Here’s what we do know:
This year’s City To City will be London, England. This programme is suppose to capture an “of-the-moment” hot spot in world cinema.
There will be a new programme steered at celebrating the most daring directors in film today called Platform. There’s a three-person jury in charge of selecting the winner of a $25,000 prize made up of Jia Zhang-ke, Claire Denis and Agnieszka Holland.
Primetime is another new programme and an acknowledgement that, in terms of mainstream storytelling, television is where it’s at right now.
The rest of the programmes are all back including contemporary world cinema, discovery, galas, masters, in conversation, short cuts, docs and more.
A few more quick key dates: August 25 is when the official programme and schedule are available at the Lightbox, September 6 is when “à la carte” individual ticket purchasing opens up — which is still a perfectly reasonable way to go about it — and, of course, the 40th running of the Festival of Festivals goes September 10 – 20.
We’ll be keeping up with the specifics as to who’s coming and what’s playing as the festival draws near.
