"TIFF was once a global powerhouse and automatic stop for the year's major films. Not so much anymore; lots to unpack here, but among items to discuss is their ticketing website, which functions with the speed and functionality of a late '80s queue in gerontocratic Romania; a festival that (in partnership with Ticketmaster!) allows scalpers to buy up every single seat as fast as possible and resell them for hundreds of (devalued Canadian) dollars exudes both desperation and "you get what you deserve" karma."
"This year, there's been a bonus side drama about a documentary, Barry Avrich's The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, whose subject considers himself a "left-leaning" Zionist, however that works. It was first pulled from the lineup ostensibly because clearance wasn't properly done on the clips, then restored, along with multiple apologetic statements from TIFF; that the film was made by a former board member was presumably one of those things TIFF hoped would be overlooked."
Narratives of decline and obsolescence tied to unforced errors by wealthy, unaccountable actors are shaping the season. TIFF, once a global powerhouse for major films, now suffers slow, antiquated ticketing and a Ticketmaster partnership that enables scalpers to buy and resell seats at high prices. A controversy around Barry Avrich's documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue involved a brief pull for clearance issues and a later restoration with apologetic statements. The film, made by a former board member, has no press screenings and only one public showing scheduled when much of the press will have left, suggesting relationships and optics are being prioritised over transparency.
Read at Filmmaker Magazine
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