A TIFF in review
AccessTO was once again invited to attend TIFF this past September. Once again this is a post in review. There is so much coverage that goes out live for many outlets that I decide there is no need to compete with them during the festival.
The TIFF website has quite extensive information about their policies and accessibility features of the venues that are used during the festival found here Accessibility at TIFF. This remains a wonderful resource and I’m so glad it is exists.
The information provided on each venue is quite good and gives you a quick reference with details like where to locate wheelchair accessible seating and washrooms. Unfortunately, some information like door width measurements is missing. This could be key information for some individuals, for example the door to the ‘accessible’ washroom at the Royal Alexandra Theater is very narrow and will not work for everyone.
You can also use the accessibility drop down menu on the listing of films being shown to pick a feature that you require. This will show a list of screenings where those features are available.
Most of the screenings I saw this year were at the TIFF Lightbox or Scotia Bank theaters. Once inside these locations accessibility for me in my manual wheelchair was generally quite good. This year I found that the gender markers on the washrooms on the second floor have been removed and all more welcoming to all. This shows to me that TIFF as an organization is really trying. Unfortunately this doesn’t quite translate to their volunteer training as I was miss gendered several times during my visits.
Thankfully this year the TTC elevator issues of last year were not a concern and getting back and forth between venues was a bit of a smoother experience.
I write this each year I think but the sidewalk along both sides of John Street between King and Adelaide Streets remains in terrible condition. Not only is it very narrow, but it’s broken up and uneven in a lot of areas. This makes navigating it honestly dangerous at times. This issue lies with the City of Toronto, though given the massive redevelopment happening in the area the sidewalk itself will remain a low priority until future developments are completed I believe.
TIFF is a wonderful festival that ends up being a highlight of the year for me. It’s unfortunate that there are physical barriers in the urban landscape that cause access issues around their venues. Though some of these issues are outside of the control of the TIFF organizers, I believe they should use their influence to push the city to fix these issues to improve access to their event.
So what did I personally see at TIFF this year. My intent was to see movies that might focus on the disability community or feature cast members with disabilities. Again, this is not the main focus of TIFF and there were not many to be found. However, I’ll give you my top picks to watch out as they come out to wider audiences.
1. Anora
So much has been write about this movie now. I knew from the trailer that came out before TIFF that I had to see what this movie was. It goes some places that I really wasn’t expecting and tells a funnier and more complex story that I expected. The ending is something that is going to stick with me for a while.
2. Will & Harper
I had concerns when this movie was announced. I’ve been a big fan of Will Ferrell for a long time and the idea of a famous cis man telling a trans women’s story could have turned into something bad. Thankfully what I found was a honest, emotional and often very funny story of two friends going on a road trip.
Yes questions about surgery and sexual orientation come up. But with grace and reassurance Harper accepts these questions and answers with what we have to assume is honesty. She says that because they have been friends for so long she is okay with talking about it, I can only hope that was really the case in those moments. They make light and joke around about some pretty serious topics and issues but they are both in comedy so I think that's part of how they work through things. There are also lower key moments that bring both Will & Harper each to tears. A must watch and a really important film that will educate a lot of people I think.
3. Riff Raff
I went into this with pretty much no idea what I was getting into. Not a stellar movie but a really enjoyable one with a great cast and some pretty funny moments.
- Juliet