Films At A Film Festival?

Having prior experience with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), I left for Toronto already armed with party invitations (through my writing & publicity work). I was determined to meet everyone I could. I only had 4.5 days to do it, so sleep would only make a minor guest appearance.

Pre-Departure

Tomorrow I make my pilgrimage from Vancouver to Toronto for the festival. I'm waiting for my suitcase to pack itself, but it's stubborn. It won't budge.

I've put together my schedule: Parties, receptions, gift lounges, more parties—a few meetings in between—and more parties. Wait, isn't it a film festival? Where are the films?

The galas were sold out instantly (the ones I wanted to attend, anyway) and many films are too. But let's face it, it's all about the schmoozing anyway—at least for us industry types.

Day 1

11 a.m.-1 p.m.: I kick off my first day with a meeting, but not the business kind. It's with a brilliant friend I see once a year when he happens to be where I am by pure coincidence. This time we reunite at TIFF, where we first met. We talk about life and my film script he insists I should just go ahead and shoot. He shows me a bit from a film he produced that just got into another major festival. His last film got a slew of awards and critical acclaim, so it's only reasonable to expect the same of this one. I won't reveal its name though, to protect the guilty.

1-2 p.m.: My friend is kind enough to have his driver take me to my next meeting on the way to his. I would have been very late otherwise, as I have no clue how to get around yet.

3:30-4:00 p.m.: I've been invited to a gift lounge for a Hollywood magazine.