Tonight I attended both screenings in the upstairs theatre at the Globe. First up was the Anything But Ordinary shorts package. This is a great example of what is so special about seeing the shorts packages at CIFF. A lot of credit has to go to Jenn Cecconi and her team. Not only do they find some of the best new shorts from around the world, the packages are put together great too. Anything But Ordinary is an inspired collection. Despite the wide range of tones, the films come together to capture the many aspects of growing up. If this is the high level of quality we can expect from this year's shorts packages, I strongly suggest everyone makes an effort to attend a couple. I will leave full rundowns of the packages to the bloggers covering the shorts series. Quick picks for the next three days: The Animator (Saturday), NFB Retrospective (Sunday), and Best Intentions (Monday).
There were two films from the Headliner series playing tonight: Accidents Happen, and Gigantic. I have been telling people of my fondness for Accidents Happen consistently over the past two months. I have not heard from anyone at tonight's screening but hope many people had the chance to see this great film. I attended Gigantic and it exceeded my gigantic expectations. The entire cast is perfectly chosen. Paul Dano, John Goodman, and Zooey Deschanel are the obvious draws but it was the supporting cast of Zach "Granddad" Galifianakis, Ian Roberts, Robert Stanton, and Ed Asner that sealed the deal for me. Quirky and full of laughs without being over-the-top. Encores Saturday October 3rd at 3:00.
I have also been hearing from several people that went to the It Might Get Loud screening. A great kick-off to the Music on Film series. If you missed out on this screening or want to see it properly in focus, catch it at the Uptown in October. If you are looking for more Music on Film, tomorrow's screening of Rock Prophecies, presented by VW, is a great place to start. Tomorrow also features a special presentation of NPP: Gros Morne with live musical performance.
