By Sean Kelly
After a very busy opening weekend as a TIFF volunteer that included being stationed at a George Clooney screening — and being way around the corner when Clooney was on the red carpet — I finally got to see some films. Specifically, I saw one film and a presentation.
Survival of the Dead
Directed by George A. Romero
Canada / USA
Part of the Midnight Madness Programme
So, the very first film I ended up seeing at this year’s Toronto Film Festival was a repeat screening of the latest zombie picture from George A. Romero. I’d never seen any of Romero’s Dead films, so this was going to be an interesting experience. Romero now lives and films in the Toronto area and the film is considered a Canadian production.
I thought that Survival of the Dead was decent in a campy “grindhouse” sort of way. It was obvious that the film was meant not to be taken too seriously, with some of the violence bordering on comedic (a scene with a fire extinguisher comes to mind). There was definitely plenty of the gore Romero is known for in his zombie films. In fact, I expect that the film will probably have to be trimmed a little before its normal theatrical release.
The film is a loose follow-up to Romero’s previous film Diary of the Dead, in that it re-introduces a bit player from that film and makes him the central character in this film. The cast is made up of many actors I recognized from Canadian films and TV, though I can’t really pinpoint their names at the moment. However, I can say that George Stroumboulopoulos makes a brief cameo in the film.
Candace Breitz
I can definitely say that I was entertained with the film and it was a good way to start my festival.
The Origins of Factum
by Candice Breitz
Part of the Future Projections Programme
This was something different. The Origins of Factum was not a film screening, but a presentation by South African artist Candice Breitz about a video installation she put together featuring different sets of twins shown on two screens simultaneously. The presentation featured clips from Breitz’s exhibition, as well as from the films that inspired her work involving twins.
Even though I initially got the ticket for this as a way to bide time, it was definitely a very interesting presentation and it was a good experience seeing something other than a film at the festival, since I’ve got plenty of those to get to!
