the Toronto International Film Festival. Image: Joyce Grant
The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) ended last Sunday.
For 10 days, movies from more than 60 countries were shown around the city.
Thirty-eight of them were premieres, or films that were shown in Toronto for the first time. And all the big players–famous actors, directors and producers–came out to see them, and to be seen.
A film festival is an event about movies: watching movies, making movies and acting in movies. And of course, it’s about the business of movies. Many big movie deals are made during TIFF. Storytellers meet writers. Writers meet producers. Producers meet directors. Directors meet actors. And later–often years later–a movie is made.
There are international film festivals in other countries, too. The most famous is in Cannes, France. TIFF is now considered the second biggest and most important film festival in the world. More than half a million people come to TIFF each year.
During TIFF, Toronto goes crazy over all the stars. This year, celebrities Selena Gomez and Zac Efron were here, along with Tom Hanks and Rachel McAdams. Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Jake Gyllenhaal and Elle Fanning also came to the city.
And, like at the Academy Awards, everybody was very interested in what the stars were wearing. Glitzy, elegant or just plain cool, the stars paraded along the red carpet and showed off their designer clothes.
Now that it’s over, Toronto has a little less glitz and glamour about it… but just wait until next year!
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
The title, “Cut! It’s a wrap!” includes a phrase that’s often used by movie directors to mean, “Stop filming! This picture is finished!” What do you think happens on a movie set after a director says, “It’s a wrap!” Brainstorm the process a movie might have to go through before it can be shown at your local movie theatre.
Reading Prompt:
In the third paragraph, the article states, “And all the big players–famous actors, directors and producers–came out to see them, and to be seen.” What do you think this sentence means?
The sentence is actually a play on words. It reworks the phrase, “To see and be seen”. What do you think this phrase means? Why do you think the journalist included this play on words?
Primary
Use stated and implied information and ideas in texts to make simple inferences and reasonable predictions about them (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Junior
Use stated and implied ideas in texts to make inferences and construct meaning (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Intermediate
Develop and explain interpretations of increasingly complex or difficult texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts to support their interpretations (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Grammar Feature: Acronym
An acronym is a short form for a phrase or several words. The key acronym in this article is TIFF, which stands for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Can you think of any acronyms that you use in your school or that you write when texting or emailing? Why do you think people like to use acronyms when they write or speak?
