TIFF23 Opens…?

“Hey…uh, you…guys?”

Whereas last year at this time I was working hard at creating posts relevant to my love of story and narrative, this year there hardly seems any point. The strikes in Hollywood, an ongoing series of personal health questions, and a spiritual malaise have cast a shadow across my quality of life.

The city today, appropriately, lacks the verve it usually has at this time of year. The visual is, typically, barricades, posters, crowds and bustle anywhere near a theater. Today, Toronto seems at a low. Could be I’m projecting.

Fuck it. Lets set loose some feral cats, wild dogs, abandoned pet pigs. Stir some shit up and see. Dump non-film celebrities onto a red carpet. Your dad’s office has it’s share of rockstars, yeah? Your favourite barista? Let’s see those interviews. Early Nuit Blanche x Halloween dry-run? Make your own art and put it on a wall. Close the streets and hand out candy. It’s absurd; we deserve it.

Alternatively, a free and discount-ticket ‘People’s Festival?’ Or a set of ‘All-Nude’ screenings? We could Let’s take advantage of the proliferation of magic mushroom dispensaries here in Toronto and stage a massive hallucinatory experience. When we run out of psilocybin, Toronto has a readily available supply of peyote… Fuck yes. Vomit, shit, and derangement–what more apt substitute for a cultural event? What more appropriate demonstration in answer to the recalcitrance of the platforms, studio heads and decision makers responsible for these strikes?

À la the scene in ‘Greed,’ let’s bring in some impersonators. That’s got to be fun. At the very least, let’s task a crowd of auteur Tiktokers and see what they come up with.