Up until last year, I’d never received any kind of invite to a party for the Toronto International Film Festival.
This year, I’ve already received four-and they keep coming.
They’ve all come through my social networking profiles like Facebook and Linkedin-and often from acquaintances I’ve only met in passing or not even in person.
The magic of social media has worked once again. This time, it has truly brought TIFF to the masses, with the festival, its partners, and assorted hangers-on all fighting for the public’s attention and attendance at their TIFF celebrations.
It’s interesting, though, to look at what kind of invites I’ve been receiving.
They’re all for swanky parties at the city’s most exclusive clubs, and they often promise top-end vodkas and wines, DJs shipped in from L.A. and “celebrities confirmed in attendance!” (Whether that means Rihanna or somebody with two lines in Disaster Movie remains to be seen.)
What they’re rarely for, however, are celebrations of the movies themselves. There’s been an explosion of TIFF-related parties, but none in honour of the directors and artists on screen.
I suppose it’s a sad commentary of our times-Torontonians are more excited about a possible Angelina-Jennifer catfight than the debut of the best of Canadian and international film. After all, the social media is the ultimate democratic tool and people are just giving each other what they want, and apparently the people want more chances to breathe the same air as the famous and not-so-famous.
I wonder, though, what the powers that be at TIFF think about the public’s fascination with cheesy parties overriding their interest in the films. The TIFF mandate says that “We’re committed to discovering new voices in international and Canadian cinema, in addition to hosting the world’s most celebrated filmmakers and talent. Drawing inspiration from the rich diversity of the city of Toronto, our programmers search the world for the highest achievements in film art, for new ideas in cinema and for movies that will surprise, delight and enlighten our audiences.”
Not exactly the stuff that nights at Maro are made of.
Maybe TIFF is just pleased that the public’s eye is on the festival in any shape or form-no such thing as bad publicity, right?-but the social media has exposed the ugly side of the human psyche. If our taste in TIFF celebrations is any indication, deep down, we’re pretty shallow.
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