I want to preface this article by saying I am not a movie buff. I am much more of a book or podcast person. However, this past September, I attended my first film festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The experience led me to conclude that everyone who can attend a film festival should absolutely do so.
I have spent most of my life primarily residing within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), yet I never attended the TIFF until this year. Like many others, I always felt that film festivals are expensive and elitist events that only film enthusiasts, affluent individuals, and celebrities attend. I was aware of the TIFF before this year through people I knew in the past who posted on social media their goings throughout the years, all of who were adamant film snobs. But my desire to go this year was the premiering of the movie adaptation of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s book Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I first read the book over a year ago, and it has remained one of my favourite books ever since. The book follows the characters Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana, who live in El Paso, Texas, in the late 80s. The two become friends through Dante teaching Ari to swim. The book dives into racial identity, sexuality, and family relationships, all overshadowed by the raging HIV Aids epidemic across America. I immediately booked tickets after finding out the movie would be premiering at the TIFF.
Something I quickly found about Film festivals, or at least for the TIFF, is that they aren’t as expensive as one would expect for a film premiere. Although I had initially expected they would range in the hundreds, the Tiff premiere tickets are around 60 dollars full-price and about 30 dollars for later screening. Moreover, tickets can be cheaper or even free for those with memberships and people under 25. On average, in Canada (Toronto, anyways), it’s around 11-20 dollars to see a movie without popcorn or any concessions on top.
Understandably, 60 dollars can sound like a lot for a movie’s premiere. However, I do think the money is completely worth it on just the experience alone. If you’ve ever been in a movie theatre during the first couple of showings of a highly anticipated movie, you’ve experienced the energy in these screenings: The excitement, the gasps, the genuine laughter, and the tears. This all exists at film festivals, but on a higher level. Because suddenly, you are experiencing the movie with so many of the people who worked on the film (from cast to crew), who are big fans of prior material (in Aristotle and Dante’s case, the book), and those who love movies.
I found this at the TIFF and the screening of Aristotle and Dante. The energy from the crowd as moviegoers was unlike anything I had experienced before, especially with Aristotle and Dante, a highly well-loved novel for its positive portrayal of an LGBTQ+ relationship. The movie, which is a love letter to the community and fans, was watched in the premiere showing by all those who loved the book and those who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. This was emphasised wholly by the words of Director Aitch Alberto before the screening; “These boys were ours, and now I give them to you.” And it truly felt like that at the first screening.
Photo by Noura Almane
I remember as the lights came up and I collected myself from the emotional roller coaster the movie sent me on, I turned to my friend and found that four seats from us sat the two lead actors, Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales. It was surreal and jarring in the best way to finish watching a phenomenal piece and realise that the lead actors watched it at the same time, sitting just a couple rows down from you, knowing they watched everyone react to their work for the first time.
Moreover, what makes Film Festivals a fantastic experience are the movies shown at them. Aristotle and Dante was one of two movies I saw at the TIFF, the other being Chevalier, which followed the story of Joseph Bologne, a highly famous mixed-raced french composer during the French Revolution. Joseph was an exceptionally well-known composer rivalling Mozart during his time, even at one point was in the court of Maire Antoinette. However, today he has been lost in history, which is also why discovering a film made about his life was so captivating, and part of a duty to reread the dominant whitewashed narratives.
Film festivals like the TIFF do a great job of putting stories that usually would not be told on screen, and this is the case with both the movies I saw. In the case of Aristotle and Dante, a film about a queer relationship in the 80s was written by an openly gay man and directed by a trans woman. And in the case of Chevalier, a story of a mixed-raced man born out of a non-consensual relationship between an enslaved woman and enslaver, who was at his time one of the most famous composers in France. The TIFF encourages this display of diverse and underrepresented stories through things like its Amplify Voices Award. This is just another of many reasons people who are able to go to film festivals should.
It has become a habit now for people to go to the movies only to consume what is ‘trending’. This is seen repeatedly with each new superhero Marvel movie pushed out and dominating box offices (I am just as guilty of being one of the said patrons of these films). But film festivals can help movies and stories that otherwise would have been neglected, get told by artists who would otherwise be shoved aside in favour of more prominent industry veterans. This felt all the more emphasised by the presence of Aitch Alberto, a creative powerhouse in her own right, and an absolutely incredible female director!
For all these reasons and more, I encourage everyone who can to attend these events. And I encourage everyone to watch Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Chevalier when they go to theatres and streaming services worldwide.
You can check out more information about the TIFF on their website, watch the trailers and first looks of Aristotle and Dante and Chevalier here.
Additional photos by Noura Almane