News from Toronto FF

[Mark Nornes]

On Tuesday, December 16, 2003, at 05:55  PM, Colin Geddes wrote:

> Hi Markus and the rest of the list!
>
> Please keep in mind that Noah has not been with the Festival for the 
> past two years. Granted he has done a great deal in the past with the 
> Festival and the promotion of Asian cinema, but part of the credit is 
> also due to the efforts of both myself, programmer of Midnight Madness 
> (first Fest that Miike attended) and our Asian programmer Giovanna 
> Fulvi. We're glad to have Noah back in the Festival fold!
>
> Colin Geddes


My apologies!  Obviously, I don't know much about the inside of Toronto.

What I do know is that the programming team definitely has the smarts! 
The entire festival is amazing, but I'm particularly impressed at the 
shape of the Asian selection every year.

Someday, I'd like to explore the impact of the programming, especially 
at a few festivals like Toronto, on what the "outside world" knows and 
understands about "Japanese film." In previous eras, when institutions 
like Kawakita, then Hawaii FF and Hong Kong FF, were the main routes 
for info and initial exhibition, it was easy to see their 
contribution---and by extension their power. Now the situation is far 
more diffuse, but I suspect that a few festivals----particularly 
Toronto and Pusan----play an important role in what gets seen outside 
Japan.

Now, imagine a Sci Fi flick where Tokyo International Film Festival 
achieved its aspirations of real A-list prestige and power. What kind 
of impact would it have on both production and foreign distribution for 
Japanese film? I'm not sure if it's a utopic or distopic world, but 
it's interesting to think about.

Markus