VANGUARD PROGRAMME UNLEASHES DARK, DANGEROUS AND SEDUCTIVE CINEMATIC STUNNERS

The Toronto International Film Festival® revealed today its Vanguard programme featuring new work from 14 daring filmmakers who are transcending the boundaries of creative vision where art house and genre films will spectacularly collide.

“Delving into the dark side of humanity and dangerously sexy, this year’s Vanguard lineup has something unique for everyone,” says International Programmer Colin Geddes. “We’re leading audiences into a wild world of emotional sensations, demons and strange sea creatures — delivered with Vanguard’s distinctive twist on storytelling.”

The 2015 selection includes a mysterious fantasy from French director Lucile Hadžihalilović; an eccentric comedy from Spanish cult favourite Álex de la Iglesia; an erotic 3D epic from Gaspar Noé; a twisted family tale from Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen and South Korea’s Ryoo Seung-wan busts out with action and thrills.

Films screening as part of the Vanguard programme include:

Collective Invention (Dolyeon Byeoni) 

Kwon Oh-kwang, South Korea, World Premiere 

Young and unemployed Gu is desperate to make some money and participates in a clinical trial for a pharmaceutical company’s new drug. As an unknown side effect, he slowly transforms into a fish. This bizarre situation becomes Korea’s hottest news and fish man Gu is catapulted into the spotlight and becomes a superstar, only to fall from grace just as quickly.

Demon 

Marcin Wrona, Poland/Israel, World Premiere 

Peter is a stranger in the hometown of his future wife Janet. As a wedding gift from the bride's grandfather, he receives a piece of land where the two can build a house and raise a happy family. While preparing the land for construction, Peter finds hidden bones of human bodies in the ground beneath his new property. Then very strange things begin to happen.

Der Nachtmahr 

AKIZ, Germany, North American Premiere 

When 17-year -old Tina passes out at a party, she assumes it was just the side-effect of her wild lifestyle on the decadent Berlin-party scene. Soon she becomes unsettled and nervously manic as a mysterious ugly creature starts to haunt her, in both her dreams and waking hours, and nobody believes her.

Evolution 

Lucile Hadžihalilović, France, World Premiere 

A 10-year-old boy discovers a dead body in the sea just before he is brought to the hospital for a mysterious injection. Before long, something appears to be growing inside of him
.

February 

Osgood Perkins, USA/Canada, World Premiere 

In February, beautiful and haunted Joan makes a bloody and determined pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all girls prep school, where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. As Joan gets closer, terrifying visions begin plaguing Kat while Rose watches in horror as she becomes possessed by an unseen evil force.

Lace Crater 

Harrison Atkins, USA, World Premiere 

On a weekend trip to the Hamptons with friends, Ruth (Lindsay Burdge) encounters a mysterious ghost (Peter Vack) haunting the guest house. One thing leads to another and they find themselves in the throes of an unexpected one-night stand. Soon, Ruth begins suffering from a bizarre sexually-transmitted disease that leaves doctors and friends confused and frightened. As her body and social connections begin to disintegrate, she must find a way to reconcile her condition with the world around her, or risk losing herself to a void from which she may never emerge.

Love 

Gaspar Noé, France, North American Premiere 

January 1, early morning. The telephone rings. Murphy wakes up next to his young wife and two-year-old child. He listens to his voicemail: Electra’s mother, sick with worry, wants to know whether he has heard from her daughter. Electra’s been missing for a long time. She's afraid something really bad has happened to her. Over the course of a long rainy day, Murphy finds himself alone in his apartment, reminiscing about the greatest love affair of his life: his two years with Electra. A burning passion full of promises, games, excess and mistakes. 

Men & Chicken (Mænd og Høns) 

Anders Thomas Jensen, Denmark, North American Premiere 

Men & Chicken revolves around two special-natured brothers, Elias and Gabriel (Mads Mikkelsen and David Dencik). Upon their father’s passing, they find out through their father’s will that they are adopted. Elias and Gabriel decide to seek out their natural father and set out for the island Ork, where their biological father lives. Here they discover a most paralyzing, yet liberating truth about themselves and their family.

My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) 

Álex de la Iglesia, Spain, World Premiere 

The story unfolds amidst a frenzied and lavish New Year's Eve television special, taped during a sweltering hot August in Madrid. An unemployed Jose is sent to join hundreds of extras cooped up on set, day and night, as they hysterically celebrate the fake coming of the New Year — over and over again. The star of the show, Alphonso, is a charismatic ratings-chasing diva; and Adán, a young Latino singer, is being hounded by fans that are trying to blackmail him.

The Missing Girl 

A.D. Calvo, USA, World Premiere 

The Missing Girl tells the story of Mort, the lonely and disillusioned owner of a comic book shop, and Ellen, the emotionally disruptive, aspiring graphic novelist he's hired. The story involves the search for a girl who isn’t missing and the discovery that it's never too late for late bloomers.

Veteran 

Ryoo Seung-wan, South Korea, North American Premiere 

A tough cop targets the tyrannical heir to a mega-corporation in this hard-hitting thriller from South Korean cult auteur Ryoo Seung-wan (Crying Fist, City of Violence).

Previously announced Canadian titles in the Vanguard programme include André Turpin’s Endorphine, Bruce McDonald’s Hellions, and Mark Sawers’ No Men Beyond This Point.

Hellions

Bruce McDonald, Canada, Canadian Premiere

Seven years after his much-loved zombie thriller Pontypool, Canadian maverick Bruce McDonald returns to the horror genre with this deliciously creepy tale about a pregnant teen whose home is besieged by a ghastly crew of trick-or-treaters.

No Men Beyond This Point

Mark Sawers, Canada, North American Premiere

This wry mockumentary from Vancouver director Mark Sawers envisions a world where women have become asexual and are no longer giving birth to males, and where the dwindling population of men are desperate to reclaim their place in the sun.

The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015. Purchase Festival ticket packages online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/festival, by phone from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET daily at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433, or visit the Gupta Box Office at TIFF Bell Lightbox in person from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET daily at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, until August 26 while quantities last. TIFF prefers Visa.

Navigating TIFF Part 4: Pearson Airport to Bell Lightbox for $3 via TTC

Previous posts have covered walking, driving, and bikng around the TIFF village. Today we'll cover how to get there from the airport without spending an arm and a leg.

There are tons of ways to get from Toronto's Pearson Airport to the heart of TIFF but the cheapest is via the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It takes about 90 minutes and only costs $3 Canadian . Here's a handy guide that will get you from the airport to within steps of Bell Lightbox.

1) After you leave your gate at Pearson go to terminal 3 and follow these signs:

2) Once you get outside go stand by the TTC pole:

3) Wait for the 192 Airport Rocket (For schedule click here). Before you board make sure you have $3 (Canadian) in exact change. The bus drivers will not make change. If you don't have exact change you can get TTC tokens from some of the shops in Terminal 3.

4) The bus will make 1 stop before it reaches your stop, Kipling station, which is the end of the Southbound line before the bus returns to the airport. Go inside the station and get on the train. This station is at the end of the Bloor-Danforth line so no matter what train you get on you will be heading in the right direction. The Bloor-Danforth line is the green line in the map below.

5) After 14 stops you will arrive at the Spadina station. Don't worry about counting stops, just listen to the conductor as they announce each stop as the train pulls into the station. There are also maps posted in the train so you can figure out your location pretty quicky. At the Spadina station you are going to get off the Bloor-Danforth train and follow the signs at the station to the Yonge-University-Spadina line heading towards Finch. Do not go to the platform that says Yonge-University-Spadina heading towards Downsview as those trains are going in the opposite direction of Lighbox. Yonge-University-Spadina is the yellow line above.

6) If the first stop you come to is St. George you are on the right train. If you arrive at DuPont, you went the wrong way. Don't worry, just get off the train an wait for the next train going in the other direction (trains come every 10-15 minutes). From St. George it is 6 stops before you arrive at your final destination of St. Andrew which is a short walk to the Festival Box Office.

Navigating TIFF Part 3: Biking to Venues using BIXI

We've covered walking and driving in previous posts so now we'll cover cycling between the venues. A few years ago, a bike sharing service call BIXI started up in the Toronto area. The picture below shows how a casual user can rent a BIXI bike at one of the many stations setup in the TIFF village.

The downside to BIXI is that it requires a credit card. That isn't big deal for locals, just be aware that there may be foreign transaction fees for those of you who aren't from Canada.You also have to be comfortable riding a bike in a big city where you'll be dodging cabs, pedestrians, bikes, etc. The BIXI website has all sorts of details on how to use the system and here are some maps indicating the BIXI stations nearest the TIFF Venues.

Before you rent a bike you should check the BIXI website to make sure that BIXI dock at your location isn't full.

On the maps below the venue is marked with this indicator:

The BIXI docks look like this:

We'll start with the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema located at: 506 Bloor Street West

Isabel Bader Theater: 93 Charles Street West

Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario: 317 Dundas Street West

The Princess of Wales Theater: 300 King Street West

Roy Thompson Hall: 60 Simcoe Street

Ryerson Theater: 43 Gerrard Street East

Scotiabank Theater: 259 Richmond Street West

TIFF Bell Lightbox: 350 King Street West

Elgin & Winter Garden Theater: 189 Yonge Street

Navigating TIFF Part 2: Driving Distances and Minimum Cab Fares between TIFF Venues

Though my preferred method of travel around the TIFF village is on foot, sometimes you just have to breakdown and take a cab: like if you want to catch JODOROWSKY'S DUNE on Tuesday the 10th at 8:00 pm at the Bloor but you don't get out of TOM AT THE FARM at the Ryerson until 7:50 pm. Looking at my foot travel time matrix you know that is a 40 minute walk so your best bet is to hail a cab.

The TIFF venues are always near busy intersections so getting a cab when a screening lets out isn't that hard. Just find a cab, stick out your hand, and off you go. The fares in this spreadsheet are based on www.taxifarefinder.com which I've used in the past and have found to be fairly accurate. I'm posting the medium traffic fare without a tip. The fares listed below that are in the $4 - 8 range are accurate +/- ~$1. The fares in the$11 - 15 range are accurate +/- ~$3 to $5.

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 8:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK 2

TOM AT THE FARM Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 10th, 6:15 PM RYERSON
Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:00 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Navigating TIFF Part 1: Distance & Foot Travel Time Between Venues

Navigating TIFF's village can be a daunting task for the uniniatied. So, over the next few days, I'll be doing a series of posts on getting around using various modes of transport. My personal favorite way to get around is on foot and a few years ago I used my professional skills as a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (it's a real title folks just ask Jack Donaghy!) to create the matrix below. 

For those worried about the location of the Bloor, if you use Bell Lightbox as a reference point it's almost the same distance as the Bader if you walk. In fact, the Bloor is closer to the Lightbox than Bader if you drive!

ActionFest Award Winner I DECLARE WAR

For the last 3 years, action movie fans from around the world have converged on Asheville, North Carolina to celebrate action films at ActionFest. ActionFest celebrates the "artistry of explosions, the glory of gun-battles and the brilliant ballet of martial arts on film."

This year, I Declare War, unfinished in workprint form, competed against action heavyweights like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Oscar Nominee Tom Berenger and walked away with the title of Best Picture!

I saw over a dozen films at this year's ActionFest and can vouch for the fact that I Declare War deserved the award. But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

I DECLARE WAR Screening Times:
Sun., Sept. 9th, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 4
Tue., Sept. 11th, 2:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 10
Fri., Sept. 14th, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK 4

Off Sale? Don't Panic!

I’m sure a lot of you have started to notice screenings are showing up as “OFF SALE” at the online box office (accessible here), “RUSH ONLY” on the boards at the Festival Box Office at 225 King Street West Concourse Level (entrance at Duncan Street), or generally unavailable by phone at (416) 599-FILM or 1-888-599-8433. Click here for a list of films currently Off Sale (Click on the button that says "Are You Just Browsing Today?" to see the list).

Don’t panic, there are still ways for you to get tickets. Here are a some options:

1) Don’t give up! Keep checking the various box offices listed above. 

Many of the seats for films listed as off sale were ticketed during the advance order process last week. Any of those ticketholders could change their mind between now and the screening and exchange their ticket for a voucher. I’ve had the most luck checking the systems at around 7:00 am (when the box offices open), but check all throughout the day as seats can become available any time.

2) If it is the day of the screening and you still can’t get a ticket at any of the box offices, your last resort is the rush line. 

Rush seats become available when people decide not to exchange tickets like I described above and simply just don’t show up. Remember, the festival's goal is to make sure that every seat in a theater is sold. The earlier you get in line the better. If the film is *HUGE* you want to get there at least 3 hours before the film starts. 

For midnight screenings the line will be crazy long, but it probably has a lot of people rushing a 9:00pm or 9:30pm screening. Once those people leave, you should be close to the front of the line. Make sure you are in the rush line (not the ticket holders line) and confirm which line you are in with a volunteer. The Ryerson seats over 1200 people so the odds are good if you are at the front of the line you've got a shot at a seat but there is no guarantee that seats will be available.

3) Your last option is to catch a repeat screening. 

The atmosphere is more relaxed than the midnight screenings and there is always a chance that some of the talent is still in town to do a Q&A.

Navigating The Festival Village

Showing 300+ films to thousands of people in 10 days takes a lot of theaters covering a bunch of real estate. Thankfully the blog is here to help you figure out the various ways to navigate around it.

On foot: Most of the theaters are within a 20-30 minute walk of one another. This post has a matrix showing foot travel time and distance between each venue.

TTC: Instead of driving downtown consider parking at a TTC lot outside downtown and taking the subway.Click here for a list of TTC stations that offer parking. Parking at these stations is ~$5 a day and free on weekends. Taking the TTC anywhere is only $3 so find the metro stop closest to your venue.

Streetcars also service downtown. The main north south streetcar is on Spadina and it will come in handy considering there is construction on Spadina which plays havoc with vehicle traffic.

TTC subways and streetcars shutdown at 2:00 am. Remember that when making your plans for Midnight Madness.

BIXI: BIXI bike rental stations are all over the festival village. If you need to get from the Ryerson to Lightbox quickly you can scan your credit card at the automatic bike rack, ride the bike to the rental station closest to Lightbox, park the bike and be done with the entire transaction. Click here for their website which includes more detailed map, pricing, and rental instructions.

Cabs: Cabs have a minimum fare of $4.25 to start, with an additional $0.25 for every additional 0.143 km (about two blocks) or for every 29 seconds waiting/non-moving time. They’re all over the festival village and easy to hail (just stick out your hand!)

Drive: Make sure to avoid the construction on Spadina. There are several parking decks downtown with most charging ~$5 per hour. Click here for the Toronto Parking Authority website which shows locations and prices of lots in the area.

Newbie's Comprehensive Guide to The Festival

There are plenty of festival guides out there. I've done my best to post the tips I've learned over the last eleven years but if you want something more comprehensive check out this multipart guide by Larry Richman. Larry is a 7 year Toronto International Film Festival veteran and has attended dozens of other festivals over the years. Follow him on twitter @Larry411

Festival Ticket Deals For Anyone Under 25

Did you know that regular tickets for anyone 25 and under are only $15.04 and premium tickets are just $25? Check out this email blast from the festival and start planning your night out now!

Pearson Airport to Downtown TO for $3!

There are tons of ways to get from Toronto's Pearson Airport to Downtown Toronto, the heart of TIFF, but the cheapest is via the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It takes about 90 minutes and only costs $3 Canadian . Here's a handy guide that will get you from the airport to within steps of Bell Lightbox.

1) After you leave your gate at Pearson go to terminal 3 and follow these signs:

2) Once you get outside go stand by the TTC pole:

3) Wait for the 192 Airport Rocket (For schedule click here). Before you board make sure you have $3 (Canadian) in exact change. The bus drivers will not make change. If you don't have exact change you can get TTC tokens from some of the shops in Terminal 3.

4) The bus will make 1 stop before it reaches your stop, Kipling station, which is the end of the Southbound line before the bus returns to the airport. Go inside the station and get on the train. This station is at the end of the Bloor-Danforth line so no matter what train you get on you will be heading in the right direction. The Bloor-Danforth line is the green line in the map below.

5) After 14 stops you will arrive at the Spadina station. Don't worry about counting stops, just listen to the conductor as they announce each stop as the train pulls into the station. There are also maps posted in the train so you can figure out your location pretty quicky. At the Spadina station you are going to get off the Bloor-Danforth train and follow the signs at the station to the Yonge-University-Spadina line heading towards Finch. Do not go to the platform that says Yonge-University-Spadina heading towards Downsview as those trains are going in the opposite direction of Lighbox. Yonge-University-Spadina is the yellow line above.

6) If the first stop you come to is St. George you are on the right train. If you arrive at DuPont, you went the wrong way. Don't worry, just get off the train an wait for the next train going in the other direction (trains come every 10-15 minutes). From St. George it is 6 stops before you arrive at your final destination of St. Andrew which is a short walk to the Festival Box Office.

Variety: Geddes in Vanguard of Horror

Entertainment industry trade magazine Variety has a glowing article about both the Midnight Madness and Vanguard programs. It also has some kind words for programmer Colin Geddes:

When Geddes was charged with sharpening the parallel Vanguard section, fans became top priority. The program of a dozen-plus pics targets a slightly older demo seeking extreme arthouse storytelling and a decent night's sleep. The renovated Bloor cinema will screen one to two titles per night. "Giving Vanguard audiences a destination, like they have for Midnight, in itself changes the nature of the program," he says.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Win A PAINLESS Prize Pack

The filmmakers behind the Vanguard selection Painless spent part of the weekend at The Festival of Fear and assembled a pretty cool prize pack to give away to one lucky fan. Click here to enter the contest and don't forget to like Painless on Facebook and follow them on twitter @PainlessFilm

PAINLESS Screening Times:
Sat., Sept. 8th, 6:00 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Sun., Sept. 9th, 9:00 PM CINEPLEX YONGE & DUNDAS 6
Sat., Sept. 15th, 2:45 PM SCOTIABANK 3