Sunday, September 16----------The Toronto International Film Festival marathon (365 films in 10 days......pant, pant) is over and whichever way the pundits will lean, it is clear that this is an adventurous, rigorous and exciting event for film buffs and film lovers. While the overall analysis was that the sales/acquisition activity was a little underwhelming, the fact is that the story is not completely written on that aspect of the Festival. Perhaps, considering the chances taken by so many of the films on tap here, it will take courageous distributors a few weeks to gauge their interest and suss out critical response to many film titles. It can be said with a certain amount of authority that buying a "hot" title in the heat of a festival may not be the best strategy anyway. If caution reigns abit more, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

While the celebrities who alight into town (and it is an impressive list) seem to capture the lion's share of media attention, those in the know realize that the Festival is about much more than Brad Pitt, George Clooney or Angelina Jolie. In fact, the marathon yields some truly memorable and impressive offerings from film masters in their prime, film auteurs in mid-career revery and the occasional blazing star of a debut effort from an unknown director. Toronto encompasses all of these, in an atmosphere of exploration and discovery that is the filmic equivalent of climbing Mount Everest or sailing one's schooner across a vast ocean.

Kudos to the organizers, the programmers and the press staff (a hard job, they have). While stress is inevitable in a situation that tries to accomodate so many different and sometimes demanding people, the Festival does deal with everyone in a mostly democratic fashion. Excitement is certainly building as the Festival's parent organization breaks ground on its new headquarters, the Bell Lightbox project. Not only will it consolidate the Festival offices and screenings in one location, but it will also centralize the event in an entirely new part of town.....the Way West of Queen Street. While the chi-chi of Yorkville and the grunge of Yonge Street have captured our hearts over the years, change, in this instance, is a good thing. And how exciting for the city of Toronto to be able to enrich a whole new neighborhood around such a prestigious cultural event. Exciting times are coming. This unabashed fan can't wait......

Sandy Mandelberger, Toronto FF Dailies Editor