TIFF 2009 – Day 4

TIFF Fridays are fun, but there’s something about that first Saturday that seems to shift the fun into a higher gear. Perhaps this year, it was due to large quantities of the walking dead. More on them in a bit…

Saturday afternoon gave me my first taste of the Dundas Square free screenings. I was curious how they’d work, since I usually associate outdoor movie screenings with night time…not the blaring midday sun. TIFF has done two good things to help make midday movies possible. First is the saddle-shaped tent that gives would-be movie goers some much needed shade. The second is the fact that the movie isn’t projected, it’s in fact presented on a gigantic LCD. Great colour, great clarity, no dark theatre required!

The downside is that the midday presentation time encourages drop-in’s, rather than people making a point to be there. The drop in’s are less into the movie, tend to rustle in and out, and can be distracting. Restless natives or no restless natives, it was still a lot of fun to sit in the warm sun under blue skies and watch Jimmy Cliffe in THE HARDER THEY COME.

When Jimmy was done, Dundas Square got turned into stroller central for two hours of kids activities (which was my cue to leave). At 3:30, I returned to get a good spot for author Sapphire’s reading from her novel Push. Side note – ever tried to read and mentally block out children’s music? If you can do it, you have better concentration than I.

After an introduction by director Lee daniels (pictured above), Sapphire gave us a truly moving reading. Her novel is quite raw, and she really gives the character of Precious a fierce and frightened voice. You could hear a pin drop in Dundas Square as she spoke, which amazed me given the antsiness I’d already put up with during THE HARDER THEY COME.

As Sapphire answered one last question of an impromptu Q&A, and took her final bow, I was left with two thoughts; I’d quite like to read her book, and I’m now genuinely curious to see the film PRECIOUS.

Then for something completely different – namely zombies. Every October, Toronto is the home of a massive Zombie Walk, where hundreds of devoted get themselves all gussied up, and plod their way through the streets dressed as the recently departed.

With director George A. Romero in town to attend the premiere of SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, organizers of the Zombie Walk staged a special walk just for him. In related news, you haven’t truly laughed, until you’ve watched zombies scare the crap out of unsuspecting hipsters leaving Urban Outfitters. Suffice to say, the master was pleased…

That about sums up day three for me. Sunday will bring more fun and games, including…brace yourself…my first actual screening of the festival! But before I close the book on day three, please take a peek after the jump for another image of sapphire, and lots more zombie fun.