TIFF 2024 - This time I brought good shoes

Navigating TIFF 2024, what to see, and what has to go

‘Saturday Night’ (Image courtesy TIFF)

Dear Squawkers,

Last year, one of the first posts I wrote for The Squawk was my battle plan for TIFF 2023. Now it is a year later, because time is an insult to us all (and, somehow, the sun’s fault, I am sure), and it is time for a new TIFF schedule. Within certain parameters, the planning is always the same: prioritize press and industry (P&I) screenings, try to block a good hour between screenings (for bathroom and queueing time), remember that by Sunday night I will be dead on my feet and won’t want to watch anything.

This year, I am in Toronto from Wednesday – Tuesday, the festival starts on Thursday, September 5 (David Gordon Green’s Nutcrackers is the opening night film). My screening schedule starts at 8:35 AM on Thursday (with Kaniehtiio Horn’s directorial debut, Seeds), and ends at 2:00 PM on the following Tuesday with Luca Guadagnino’s Queer. Hopefully. It all depends on standing in line early enough to get into stuff.

‘Queer’ (Image courtesy TIFF)

Last year, I made a dire mistake: new shoes. This year, I am only taking two (2) pairs of shoes: my comfiest, most broken-in pair of sneakers, and some cool boots in case I decide to go to a party or otherwise socialize with real people, and not just my fellow screening goblins. I am also bringing: a sturdy backpack (I love Fjallraven for that), water bottle, and sunscreen. Many lineups are organized outside the venue. The sun is our eternal enemy and must be defended against at all costs*.