After having merely a taste last year, TIFF21 saw me returning to the in-person Film festival experience for the first time since 2019. Despite continued concerns about COVID-19 and the Delta variant and few reported cases at festival screenings, I was ultimately satisfied with the safety measures put into place, which required proof of vaccination to be shown at every venue. While this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was missing some of the glitz and glamour of previous years, I still had an enjoyable experience and here’s hoping for a full return to normal in 2022. Now, without further ado, here is my full festival wrap-up.

Top Ten Favourite Films of TIFF21

1. Dashcam (Midnight Madness)
2. Titane (Midnight Madness)
3. Last Night in Soho (Gala Presentations)
4. Dug Dug (Discovery)
5. Flee (TIFF Docs)
6. Mlungu Wam (Good Madam) (Platform)
7. As in Heaven (Discovery)
8. Silent Land (Platform)
9. A Banquet (Discovery)
10. Oscar Peterson Black & White (TIFF Docs)

Top Three Midnight Madness Films

1. Dashcam
2. Titane
3. Zalava

Top Three Canadian Films

1. Oscar Peterson Black & White (TIFF Docs)
2. The Middle Man (Special Presentations)
3. Kicking Blood (Contemporary World Cinema)

#VanguardLives Top Three Non-Midnight Madness Genre Films

1. Last Night in Soho (Gala Presentations)
2. Mlungu Wam (Good Madam) (Platform)
3. A Banquet (Discovery)

Top Three TIFF Docs

1. Flee
2. Oscar Peterson Black & White
3. Becoming Cousteau

Honourable Mentions

• You Are Not My Mother (Midnight Madness)
• Saloum (Midnight Madness)
• Earwig (Platform)

Films I Wish I Saw

• Belfast (Gala Presentations)
• The Power of the Dog (Special Presntations)
• Night Raiders (Gala Presentations)
• Petite Maman (Special Presentations)

Least Favourite Film

• Wolf (Special Presentations)

Number of Films Seen

• 25 Feature Films
• 1 Repertory Screening

Programme Tally

• Midnight Madness – 6
• Contemporary World Cinema – 4
• Discovery – 4
• TIFF Docs – 4
• Platform – 3
• Special Presentations – 2
• Gala Presentations – 1
• Wavelengths – 1
• Special Events – 1

Theatre Tally

• TIFF Bell Lightbox – 9
• Digitial TIFF Bell Lightbox – 6
• Scotiabank Theatre – 3
• Princess of Wales Theatre – 3
• Roy Thompson Hall – 1
• Pre-Festival/Screeners – 4

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