Diary of a TIFF Newbie Day 1 recap: IT FOLLOWS & TOKYO TRIBE

TIFF Newbie Day 1: IT FOLLOWS and TOKYO TRIBE

Hello everyone!

For those who didn’t read my earlier post, my name is Nancy Taylor and I am a TIFF “newbie.” Yesterday was my first day at the festival and in Toronto in general. The internship company that I am with gave me a brief tour of the city, my industry badge, my Midnight Madness ticket package, a large coffee and the screening schedule.

This is the fourth major festival that I have interned for, and I have to say— TIFF has a completely unique and incredible vibe. The people here are friendly, the city is interesting and manageable and the films are, well, exceptional. I managed to squeeze in five films yesterday (Laggies, The Lesson, Kabukicho Love Hotel, It Follows and Tokyo Tribe) two industry events and even a dinner with an old friend. 

(still from: Kabukicho Love Hotel)

Right before I ventured over to the Ryerson to see Tokyo Tribe, my friend Taylor and I saw David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows—which, I’m sure you all know, is also in the Midnight Madness program later in the week. It was my second time seeing the film, and I found it equally thrilling, terrifying, inventive, beautiful and unsettling the second time! I’m sure it will be “third time’s a charm” at the premier on Sunday night.

And then I arrived at the Ryerson and experienced the magic that is Midnight Madness. What is so incredible about MM is that since it is a public event, I met people from all professional backgrounds, from all over the world, that simply share a common passion for genre films. I didn’t know much about Tokyo Tribe before the screening, just that the filmmaker won an award at MM last year.

TOKYO TRIBE MIDNIGHT MADNESS INTRO '14

(Check out one of the stars of the film rapping in English during their intro)

Tokyo Tribe, where to begin. I have no idea how to talk about this film, but I loved every second of it. Right before the screening, the man sitting next to me described it as, “if Baz Luhrmann did an adaptation of West Side Story, set in Japan, with Japanese rap artists narrating the whole time in song.” And it was exactly that, 2 hours of visceral enjoyment and unexpected awesomeness.

I’m excited for the rest of this festival will have in store for me! If anyone out there has any suggestions of films I should see outside MM, or restaurants to try, etc. you can tweet at me @nancyytaylorr.