The Toronto Torrent

The Toronto International Film Festival doesn't officially open for another 48 hours, but already a hurricane of film talents, industryites, press and film buffs are descending onto the Ontario metropolis with a torrent that is almost audible. Coming in from Los Angeles, New York and the four corners of the globe, including the just concluded Montreal World Film Festival, and the still continuing Venice Film Festival......all eyes are on "the gateway to North America" as the frenzy, fun and ferocity of the Toronto Film Festival gets underway.

The Festival's press office has announced that this 32nd edition will welcome nearly 3000 guests, including over 500 international film stars, directors, producers and sales agents. Press attendance, which is at an all-time high, counts for nearly 1000 people. In fact, the large number of press clamouring to be the first to see films in the Press and Industry Screenings had necessitated a "first priority" system that is still unclear. Apparently, those with a P on their badges will be given first-access priority to these screenings, and only then will others be accomodated. As press registers starting tomorrow, this will undoubtedly be the subject of much controversy, not to mention bad temper and yelling. How this pecking order is being determined is still undetermined, but it is clear that it will leave a good number of people (myself included) not altogether happy. Expect shoving matches and raised voices.

VIPs to the Festival, of course, do not have to push and shove with the hoi polloi. They are treated with great care and dignity (damn them). The Festival has released a list of the special guests that are expected to attend (some for a day, some for a week) over the next 12 days:

A.J. Bond, Aaron Abrams, Aaron Eckhart, Aaron Poole, Adam Brodie, Adam Budd, Adam Mason, Adam Samuels, Adam Vollick, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ahmad Razvi, Åke Sandgren, Alain Corneau, Alan Ball, Alanis Obomsawin, Alessandro Capone, Alexandra Maria Lara, Alexandre Bustillo, Alexi Tan, Alfred Molina, Alison Eastwood, Allan Moyle, Allison Janney, Amir Bar-Lev, Amitabh Bachchan, Amos Gitai, Amy Brenneman, Ana Katz, Anahí Berneri, Anand Tucker, André Benjamin, Andrei Nekrasov, Andrew Dominik, Andrew Garfield, Andrew Howard, Andrew McPhillips, Andrew Wagner, Andrey Paounov, Ang Lee, Ania Bokstein, Anita Doron, Anne Michaels, Anthony Roberts, Anthony Wong, Anton Corbijn, Antonin Svoboda, Ariel Dorfman, Aristomenis Tsirbas, Arjun Rampal, Árpád Bogdán, Arthur Dong, Asia Argento, Atom Egoyan, Audrey Cummings, Auraeus Solito, Avi Nesher, Ayelet Zurer, Baltasar Kormákur, Béla Tarr, Belén Rueda, Ben Hackworth, Bernard Émond, Bernie Goldmann, Bill Maher, Brad Furman, Brad Pitt, Brian De Palma, Brian Johnson, Brian M. Cassidy, Brillante Mendoza, Britt Randle, Bruce McDonald, Bruce Sweeney, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Caetano Veloso, Cam Christiansen, Carl Bessai, Carlos Reygadas, Carlos Saura, Carly Pope, Caroline Cave, Caroline Néron, Carrie-Anne Moss, Casey Affleck, Cassandra Nicolaou, Cate Blanchett, Catherine Breillat, Catherine Keener, Céline Sciamma, César Charlone, Chang Chen, Charles S. Dutton, Charlize Theron, Charlotte Laurier, Chaz Thorne, Chiara Mastroianni, Chloé Leriche, Chris Cooper, Chris Klein, Chris Lavis, Christian Frosch, Christine Horne, Christophe Honoré, Christopher Plummer, Claudia Morgado Escanilla, Clement Virgo, Clive Owen, Cole Hauser, Colin Farrell, Craig Gillespie, Cristian Mungiu, Csaba Bollók, Danai Gurira, Daniel Hendler, Daniel Junge, Daniel Lanois, Daniel O'Connor, Daniel Wu, Daniele Luchetti, Danuta Szatlarska, Dario Argento, Daryl Cloran, Dave Derewlany, David Auburn, David Birnbaum, David Cronenberg, David Ross, David Schisgall, David Schwimmer, Deco Dawson, Denis Côté, Denys Arcand, Dev Khanna, Diablo Cody, Diego Luna, Diora Baird, Don Cheadle, Donald Sutherland, Donnie Yen, Dorota Kedzierzawska, Doug Pray, Dylan Baker, Ed Gass-Donnelly, Ed Stoppard, Eddy Moretti, Eduardo Menz, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, Ellen Page, Ellen Spiro, Emile Hirsch, Emily Blunt, Emily Holmes, Emily Mortimer, Emmanuelle Seigner, Ennis Esmer, Enrique Fernandes, Eran Kolirin, Eric Bana, Etgar Keret, Ethan Coen, Evan Rachel Wood ,Ewan McGregor, Fanny Ardant, Fatih Akin, Florent-Emilio Siri, François Girard, François Miron, François Ozon, Frank Langella, Frank Whaley, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Frédéric Guillaume, Gabriel Byrne, Gael García Bernal, Garrett Dillahunt, Gavin Hood, Geoffrey Rush, George A. Romero, George Clooney, Gillian Armstrong, Golam Rabbany Biplob, Gonzalo López- Gallego, Grant Gee, Greg Atkins, Greg Bryk, Gregg Araki, Gus Van Sant, Guy Maddin, Guy Pearce, Haaz Sleiman, Hans Weingartner, Harmony Korine, Hayley Atwell, Hector Babenco, Helen Hunt, Hiam Abbass, Hiner Saleem, Hugh Dancy, Hur Jin-ho, Ian McEwan, Ira Sachs, Israel Cárdenas, J.K. Simmons, Jacob Thuesen, Jacob Tierney, Jacques Nolot, Jaime King, Jake Gyllenhaal, James McAvoy, James Spooner, Jamie Elman, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jan Schütte, Jan Sverák, Jane McGregor, Jason Bateman, Jason Reitman, Javier Bardem, Jay White, Jaycee Chan, Jean-Pierre Lledo, Jeff Barnaby, Jena Malone, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Ehle, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeremy Podeswa, Jesse Rosensweet, Jessica Yu, Jia Zhang-ke, Jiang Wen, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Smits, Jimmy Tsai, Jirí Vejdelek, Joaquin Phoenix, Jodie Foster Joe Wright, Joel Coen, John Crowley, John Leguizamo, John Sayles, John Zaritsky, Johnnie To, Jonathan Demme, Jonathan van Tulleken, Josh Brolin, Juan Antonio Bayona, Jude Law, Julia Kwan, Julian Schnabel, Julie Taymor, Julien Leclercq, Julien Maury, Juliette Binoche, Julio Medem, K.C. Collins, Kari Skogland, Karl Markovics, Kate Bosworth, Kathy Baker, Kelli Garner, Kelly Harms, Kelly Macdonald, Ken Loach, Kenneth Branagh, Kent Monkman, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Macdonald, Kevin Zegers, Keira Knightley, Kierston Wareing, Klaartje Quirijns, Koen Mortier, Kristin Booth, Larry Charles, Larry Kent, Lars Brygmann, Laura Amelia Guzmán, Laura Linney, Laura Regan, Laurie Lynd, Lav Diaz, Lawrence Johnston, Lee Chang-dong, Lee Isaac Chung, Lee Kang-sheng, Lee Myung-se, Leelee Sobieski, Lenny Abrahamson, Leonard Farlinger, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Liam Neeson, Ling Li, Linus Roache, Lisa Lerman, Lisa Ray, Liu Ye, Live Schreiber, Logan Lerman, Lone Scherfig, Lou Reed, Lucía Puenzo, Luke Kirby, Lulu Li, Luz Cipriota, Maciek Szczerbowski, Maggie Grace, Manoel de Oliveira, Manuela Vellés, Marc Labrèche, Marcia Gay Harden, Maria Bello, Maria Guillard, María Valverde, Marica Gay Harden, Marie-Josée Croze, Marina Litvinenko, Mariza, Marjane Satrapi, Mark Heller, Mark Ruffalo, Martin Freeman, Martin Gero, Martin Henderson, Mateo Guez, Mathieu L. Denis, Matthew Broderick, Matthew Swanson, Max Dean, Max von Sydow, Melanie Shatzky, Melisa Wallack, Mena Suvari, Michael Caine, Michael Douglas, Michael Eklund, Michael Moore, Michael Pitt, Michal Shtamler, Michel Brault, Michelange Quay, Michelle Rodriguez, Michl Blanc, Mike Cahill, Milcho Manchevski, Mira Nair, Mira Sorvino, Mohamad Ghazy, Monica Bellucci, Muhsin Hendricks, Murray Lerner, Nadine Labaki, Naghi Nemati, Nancy Kwan, Nandita Das, Nanouk Leopold, Naomi Watts, Neil Jordan, Neil Ortenberg, Nicholas Pye, Nick Broomfield, Nina Davenport, Nina Dobrev, Noah Baumbach, Noah Bernett, Noam Jenkins, Nobuhiro Yamashita, Ole Bornedal, Olivia Thirlby, Omar, Metwally, Otto Tausig, The Paskowitz Family, Pang Ho-cheung, Paolo Barzman, Paprika Steen, Parvez Sharma, Patricia Clarkson, Patricia Riggen, Paul Crowder, Paul Haggis, Paul Schneider, Peter Askin, Peter Carstairs, Peter Duncan, Peter Gantzler, Peter Greenaway, Peter Lynch, Peter Macdissi, Peter Raymont, Peter Sarsgaard, Petter Næss, Phil Donahue, Philip Bosco, Philippe Calderon, Philippe Faucon, Philippe Kohly, Pierre Rissient, Pourya Azarbayjani, Preity Zinta, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rachel McAdams, Rachelle Lefevre, Rade Sherbedgia, Rafa Cortés, Rafaël Ouellet, Raha Shirazi, Rahul Bose, Ramin Bahrani, Ramses Madina, Ran Tal, Ray Liotta, Raz Degan, Rebecca De Mornay, Reese Witherspoon, Renny Harlin, Richard Attenborough, Richard Jenkins, Richard Roxburgh, Ricardo Trêpa, Richie Mehta, Rituparno Ghosh, Robbie Kay, Robert Cuffley, Robert Kennedy, Robert Thalheim, Robin Swicord, Rodrigo Plá, Roger Spottiswoode, Rolf de Heer, Romola Garai, Ronit Elkabetz, Rosamund Pike, Rosie Perez, Rossif Sutherland, Roy Dupuis, Rupinder Nagra, Ryan Gosling, Sabiha Sumar, Sachithanandam Sathananthan, Salif Traoré, Sam Riley, Samir Rehem, Samuel Guillaume, Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Kogut, Santosh Sivan, Sarah Galea-Davis, Sarah Gavron, Saverio Costanzo, Scott Hicks, Scott Speedman, Sean Anicic, Sean Garrity, Sean Penn, Sébastien Pilote, Sergei Bodrov, Shamim Sarif, Shauna McDonald, Sheila Pye, Shekhar Kapur, Sherry White, Shinji Aoyama, Shira Geffen, Shivajee Chandrabhushan, Siatta Scott Johnson, Sidney Lumet, Sigourney Weaver, Silvio Soldini, Simon Ennis, Simon Pegg, Somkiat Vithuranich, Sonja Bennett, Sori, Srdan Golubovic, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Stéphane Lafleur, Stephen Dillane, Stuart Gordon, Stuart Hughes, Stuart Townsend, Summer Bishil, Suroosh Alvi, Susan Sarandon, Sylvie Léonard, Sydney Pollack, Tamara Jenkins, Tang Wei, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Taryn Manning, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Teona Strugar Mitevska, Terrence Howard, Terry George, Thandie Newton, Thomas McCarthy, Tilda Swinton, Timothy Olyphant, Todd Haynes, Todd McCarthy, Tom Cavanagh, Tom Collins, Tom Wilkinson, Tommy Lee Jones, Tony Ayres, Tony Gilroy, Tony Leung, Trevor Cawood, Tricia Helfer, Troy Nixey, Tyrese Gibson, Uma Thurman, Vadim Perelman, Ventura Pons, Viggo Mortensen, Vik Sahay, Vincent Cassel, Vincent Paronnaud, Vincenzo Marra, Viviane Audet, Wai Ka Fai, Wayne Wang, Weijun Chen, Wen Jiang, Werner Herzog, Wes Bentley, William Hurt, Wilson Yip, Woody Allen, Woody Harrelson, Xavier Gens, Xavier Lafitte, and Yasmine Al Masri.

Wait.....I didn't see my name on that list. Oh, ok....here it is:

Sandy Mandelberger, Toronto FF Dailies Editor on fest21.com