I have arrived, and Toronto is just as beautiful as ever. Taking Darren Hughes’ helpful advice, I hopped on a bus from the airport last night and made it to my rental apartment around 11 p.m. Woke up early this morning and headed to the ticket office to pick up my tickets and hopefully make some exchanges.

The pre-fest buildup has been unfortunately frustrating this time around. For the second year in a row, the out-of-towner package that TIFF sends–which includes the program book and ticket order form–was held up in customs. And for the second year in a row, TIFF was caught completely off-guard. It was impossible to reach anyone at the festival office, so I had no idea when my program book would arrive or how I would order my tickets. This was particularly problematic because I had left a family vacation at the lake three hours away just to come home and fill out my schedule, and my plan was to head back to the lakeshore early the next morning.

I finally received an email from Toronto late Wednesday night, assuring me that I could email my order in if I had to. But fortunately, the package arrived early enough the next morning that I just went the traditional route. Still, filling out the schedule was a lot less fun without the elegant program book to guide me.

And then over the weekend, I had to sweat out a long wait to see which of my tickets I received. TIFF uses a lottery system in handing out advance tickets. All the order forms are placed into a series of boxes, and then one box is chosen at random to be the starting point. If you’re near the front of the line, you’re guaranteed to get all your choices. If you’re near the back of the line, you might get shut out of a few. For the fifth year out of five, I was toward the back. But unlike previous years, where I only missed out on two or three movies, this year I didn’t get six of my choices, including one movie I’m supposed to review for Time Out Chicago. I have some fallback options, and some friends with press credentials have been nice enough to offer a hand, so I may still luck into some of those screenings. Then there’s always the rush line, which I could find myself in a couple times this week.

Anyway, enough of my bitchin’. It’s the nadir of churlishness to complain over a few obstacles when I’m staring at 35-40 great tickets over the course of ten days. “So, what am I seeing?” you ask.

Thursday, Sept. 6
Well, tonight kicks off with a documentary double feature about democracy. The first is Dinner with the President, which is an intimate interview with Pakistani president Gen. Musharraf. Given the current situation in Pakistan, this should be fascinating. The second doc is Please Vote for Me, which follows an election in a third-grade class in China. Documentaries and children are a winning combination for me, so I’m excited about that.

Friday, Sept. 7
This could be a special day of movies for yours truly. Of the four movies I’m scheduled to see, three are by directors who were behind some of my favorite movies of the decade. Yes, the decade! Roy Andersson made Songs from the Second Floor, which is easily in my top five of the last ten years. Naomi Kawase directed Shara, which is one of the best things I’ve ever seen at Toronto and would be in my top ten of the decade. And Bela Tarr’s last film was Werckmeister Harmonies, which is undoubtedly my favorite film of the last ten years. At this year’s festival, they respectively have You, the Living, The Mourning Forest, and The Man from London. And sandwiched in between those three is Hou Hsaio-hsien’s latest, Voyage of the Red Balloon, with Juliette Binoche. It would be hard to schedule four movies that I’d be more excited about. I’m sure that they won’t all be great, so I’m trying to lower expectations, but tomorrow’s lineup is reason #1 why I come to Toronto. If I’m not walking on clouds when everything is done, I may try to rush the Joy Division bio-pic Control, which has received strong notices.

Saturday, Sept. 8
The hits just keep on coming. Jia Zhang-ke was at last year’s festival with Still Life and Dong. If I were to take those as a pair (which they’re obviously designed to be), they would be my second favorite film of the decade. So his new documentary about Chinese fashion industry workers, Useless, is a must-see. The morning begins with The Banishment, a film that’s made by the Russian director who did The Return. After that is Korean legend Im Kwon-taek’s Beyond the Years. The evening is an Asian double bill, Ploy from Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Happiness from Korean director Hur Jin-ho. Hur was responsible for April Snow, a favorite of mine from TIFF ’05.

Sunday, Sept. 9
After two five-film days (no problem at the beginning of the fest), I’ll probably slow down on Sunday. Though this is where my ticketing issues arise. My first film isn’t until noon, so I’ll try to catch up with some blogging. Then it’s Secret Sunshine, a Korean film that won raves at Cannes. That’s followed by In Memory of Myself, a movie about an Italian monk in a crisis of faith. And then I’m hoping to track down tickets for both Buddha Collapsed out of Shame (the latest film from the Iranian Makhmalbaf clan) and the Israeli debut feature Jellyfish. If I strike out on those, then I’ll see Silent Light, by the divisive Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas.

Monday, Sept. 10
The apparently hot ticket at this year’s festival is the Palme d’or winner at Cannes, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. If I wake up early enough, I think I’ll try to rush its 10am screening on Mon., Sept. 10. If not, I don’t have anything until mid-afternoon, which is a nice break to have midway through the fest. Sad Vacation is a drama from the Japanese director who made Eureka, so that has great potential. Just Like Home is a quirky Danish comedy from the woman who made Italian for Beginners. I got shut out of Atonement, another hot ticket, and I’m not even going to bother rushing as it’ll hit Chicago at Christmas. My second choice was the last Wavelengths program, but I might try to pick up a ticket to M, another Korean drama. I also have a ticket to the midnight film Stuck, but that’ll depend on how awake I am, though I do always like to see one midnight film during TIFF.

Tuesday, Sept. 11
I actually snagged a ticket to the Tues. 9am screening of Buddha Collapsed out of Shame, so I’ll wake up for that if I don’t get a ticket to the Sunday screening. And I’ll see either Silent Light or Jellyfish, depending on which one I saw on Sunday. The only other two tickets I have for this day are Israeli heartwarmer The Band’s Visit and Gus van Sant’s decidedly less heartwarming Paranoid Park. But I am desperately hoping I can snag a ticket for Dr. Plonk. Check out that still and tell me that wouldn’t make a great mid-fest snack.

Wednesday, Sept. 12
Wednesday’s the slowest day of the fest, which doesn’t provoke any complaints from me. Werner Herzog’s latest documentary Encounters at the End of the World is about people who live in Antarctica. Then there’s the Peruvian dramedy The Pope’s Toilet. And the day wraps up with another film from Iran (I’m a sucker for those), Unfinished Stories.

Thursday, Sept. 13
Five films, all at the Scotiabank Theater. I love seeing movies there, as it’s a huge multiplex with great stadium seating, huge screens, and a clear sound system. I don’t have to worry about getting in line early, as almost every seat is worthwhile. And while the food court is pricey and dominated by fast food, it’s certainly convenient. All that to say, if I have to camp out somewhere, I’d prefer it be there. The day’s first movie is a radiant Chinese film The Sun Also Rises. I’m going to take a chance on the Mexican kids drama Cochochi. Help Me Eros is directed by Lee Kang-sheng, the star of almost every Tsai Ming-liang film, so I’m curious what he does behind the camera. Wolfsbergen has received strong reviews. And A Gentle Breeze Blows in the Village was directed by the man who did Linda, Linda, Linda. How could I pass up that opportunity?

Friday, Sept. 14
We’re in the homestretch. I have a choice in the morning between Takeshi Kitano’s latest po-mo offering, Glory to the Filmmaker!, or a Bulgarian documentary The Mosquito Problem. That’ll be a game-time decision. I have a ticket to M. But if I can see that earlier in the week, then I’ll get a ticket for the Rwandan drama Munyurangabo. Iska’s Journey could be harrowing, powerful, or both. And speaking of harrowing and powerful, I’m going to re-visit Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, with Max von Sydow discussing it afterwards.

Saturday, Sept. 15
The last day doesn’t have the firepower of the first couple days, but there are a few films here that could be perfect capstones to the fest. Alexander Sokurov’s Alexandra got great reviews at Cannes, while the Japanese superhero comedy Dainipponjin sounds like a delightful contrast to some of the heavy dramas I’ll be watching. I believe On the Wings of Dreams is the first film from Bangladesh that I’ll have seen. And the festival closes for moi with Guy Maddin’s ode to his hometown, My Winnipeg.

I suspect some things could change between now and next Saturday, but this should give you an idea of what I’ll be seeing. Again, I hope to start blogging in earnest by Sunday. And I always appreciate your comments. Even though I’m in Toronto, it’s nice to be connected to friends and acquaintances around the world.

Note: I’ve tried to link to the TIFF page for each of the movies I mention, but the TIFF site has been down for much of the day (Thursday), so you may not be able to click on many of the links. One of these days TIFF will have a website that can keep up with the traffic. Just not this year.