FOR BETTER OR worse, the Toronto International Film Festival has always tried to be all things to all people. Next to Sundance, it's probably North America's most important film showcase.
Its autumn timing is perfect for unveiling Oscar contenders, and the event also attracts enthusiastic audiences who'll pack a hall even for an experimental film. The upscale galas draw glamorous Hollywood stars to Canada, but its programming reputation was built on discovering unheralded talents. More films debut in Toronto than any other festival (99 of this year's 328 feature-length movies were world premieres).
As such, the industry arrives en masse. Executives, directors, producers, agents and buyers schmooze for business, while publicists court critics from across the continent who are hungry for scoops. For 10 days it's an orgy of film parties and screenings.
Attracting attention in Toronto (and Hong Kong) was Stephen Chow Sing-chi's Kung Fu Hustle. Its premiere was sold out - and the film proved a crowd-pleaser - but the director-star was nowhere to be seen. The film's publicist said Chow was stuck in sound post-production, but there were rumours that Canadian immigration wouldn't give him a visa.
The People's Choice Award (the top award given at festivals where there's no official jury) went to the Terry George- directed Hotel Rwanda, about genocide in Africa, and starring Don Cheadle and Nick Nolte.
On the whole, though, the feeling was that Toronto may have burst at the seams. The programming, once so impeccable, seemed ordinary. Perhaps it was just a bad year - although midway through, one of the festival programmers, Kay Armatage, was told her contract wouldn't be renewed. It appears the pull between art and commerce may be taking a toll.