Toronto Screen Shots

For a film fest in just its second year, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival (October 19-25) is run like a well-oiled machine. Adam Lopez, Twitch’s Todd Brown, and the rest of the staff are well-organized and professional, not to mention generous. They’re ready to bring another collection of cutting-edge horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films to town. After all the hype and celebrity-watching of TIFF, it’s refreshing to look forward to a festival on a more human scale (and with more zombies!). Though I’m not a huge horror fan, After Dark brings enough weird stuff here that I’m sure I’ll find a lot to like. They’ve just announced their first seven features, and I’m particularly thrilled to see that Audience of One will be making its Canadian premiere. I missed it at SXSW this spring and have been practically begging director Mike Jacobs to bring it Toronto.

It’s the story of Pentecostal pastor Richard Gazowsky, who believes that God is calling him to make an epic sci-fi film based on the biblical story of Joseph. Despite the fact that he didn’t see a movie at all until he was 40 years of age, he decides that he must be the director. Anything and everything that can go wrong, does, and Jacobs’ camera is there to capture the whole train wreck on film. I’m hoping to get an interview with the director when he’s here.

If that’s not up your alley, check out the fest’s excellent web site for more premiere announcements. Single tickets go on sale September 26th, and if you’ve been paying for tickets to “that other film festival,” you’ll be delighted at the prices. An even better value is the $99 VIP Pass (but hurry, there are only 100 available).