While the huge programme is a challenge for industry, this festival offers more great new films in one place than any other.

Toronto is too big, I still firmly believe that - if we’re looking at it as a single event that the film industry can get its collective head around.

Even with the (smart) new Telluride world premiere policy, there are still so many world premieres that nobody can begin to see them all on the ground.

But there’s a positive side to Toronto’s massive size - no other festival does, or probably ever will, offer the volume of great new films in one place.

That’s a benefit not only for the rabid Canadian film-going public who flood Toronto’s cinemas, but also for serving every side of the industry.

If you’re a film lover, attending TIFF is like being a kid in a very sweet candy store. There’s something for everyone, maybe dozens of things for everyone.

That can be awards season fodder (The Theory Of Everything, The Imitation Game), commercial leaning prospects (The Judge, The Equalizer), Canadian talents (An Eye For Beauty, October Gale), genre excitements (Tusk, [REC] 4: Apocalypse), and not to forget a wealth of new films from international auteurs (Francois Ozon, Christian Petzold, Susanne Bier, Bent Hamer) as well as new talents in the Discovery section.

There is so much to be excited about, and even when I get overwhelmed about covering the volume of films from a professional standpoint, I still hope to be that kid in a candy store when the lights go down.

There’s simply no other place to see this many of the year’s best films in one city over 11 days.

 

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