(Dear English reader, please scroll down to find the ‘click’ for English translation)
现在说说，多伦多人如何为TIFF疯狂，如何为TIFF排队。
我买了10张票的TIFF package。原来，买10张票package的人 有优先权。所以，在电影节未开始卖票给大众时，有10张票package的人可以拿表格填写要看的电影。表格要在规定时间内交还。接下来，会以抽签方式来分配入门票。天啊！ 这是什么游戏条规! 我起初觉得很夸张。文艺片不是没人看吗？（可能只是亚洲吧）现在看电影买票竞然像买‘万字’，要看‘中不中奖’。
可是，当我看到长长人龙排 队拿表格时，我才了解到多伦多人的疯狂。我只好乖乖遵守游戏规则。接下来的日子，都与排队有关。拿表格要排队，交还表格要排队，拿票要排队。最令我伤心的是，花了那么多时间排队，我最想看的两部电影没‘中奖’ – 李安的《色，戒》 和夺康城电影节大奖的< 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days> 。
至于没买10张票package的人，则在票都给人‘选光’后，在9月5日才可以买票。听说Ed的一个朋友去年早上5点钟开始排队。即使是网上购票，你还是要去拿票， 还是要排队。这两天，我要去换票，排了近一个小时的队。队伍长到要排在建筑外，烈日风吹雨打是你的事。
有趣的是， 有一种票称Rush ticket, 也与排队有关。如果，某些电影的入门票卖光了，你还有一线希望， 即是在电影开映前开始排队。在电影开映前的十五分钟，工作人员会进场算空位子，将这些空位子的票卖给排队的人。可是，人人都会这样想啊！所以，如果要看热门电影的话，最好开映前的一个小时前就去排队，机率才较大。我正在认真考虑要不要去排《色.戒》的队。Ed说我也疯了 ！ 因为再过两个星期《色.戒》就会公开放映，何必急这两个星期。说得也是。
这是因为，有很多电影 [包括《色.戒》]，可能是全球第一或第二次播放 （有些电影在刚过的康城电影节被抢先播放了），人人都要一睹为快。 人嘛，就是这样丑陋，什么都要比别人抢先一步，管他是不是真的喜欢那部电影。当然，也有很多人真的爱电影或希望有运看到心依的偶像。像我，不急那两个星期，可是想一睹李安大导演的风采。
话又说回来，你即使有了入门票，电影开映前十五分钟没赶到，你的位子会给人拿了。加上，票没座位号码，先到先选位。所以，最好在开映前至少半小时前就开始排队，才可拿到好位子。
所以， 我认为，TIFF 也等于排队。要看电影，先要训练有这份耐心排队。这叫做 ‘this is part of the experience ! ’ ；）
Let’s see how Torontonians are crazy about TIFF and how they line up for TIFF !
I bought a 10 tickets pass for this year TIFF. People who purchase 10 tickets pass (including myself) have the privilege to choose the films they want to see before the ticket sale is opened to the public. The procedure involves picking up the advance order form on a specific day, choose the films and fill in the form, drop off the order form on a specific day. All the order forms go into a draw. A couple of days later, you will be informed which tickets you get, and then pick up the tickets on a specific day. Initially, I really could not understand or probably quite annoyed by this complicated procedure. I thought not many people like this sort of art and independent films (probably only in Asia) and wondered what’s the big deal. I only want to buy tickets for movies and why I am like buying lottery here !
Anyway, when I saw the extremely long line for picking up the advance order form, I knew everyone is serious, as well as crazy ! And I knew I have to follow the rules of this ‘game’. So, I lined up to pick up order form, lined up to drop off the form, lined up to pick up the tickets. What upset me the most was, after all these lining up business, I still could not get a ticket for <Lust, Caution> by Ang Lee, and Cannes winner <4 months, 3 weeks, 2days >, the two films I most anticipated !
For general public who don’t buy the 10 tickets pass, they have to wait till 5th Sept to buy tickets and most likely most popular films are already sold out anyway. Of course, they have to line up to buy tickets too. Ed’s friend started lining up at 5am last year. Even if we can buy tickets online this year, we still have to go to box office to pick up the tickets, and of course, you have to line up ! Most likely the line is so long that you will have to wait outside of the building, regardless of the weather !
There is also an interesting phenomena called Rush ticket line. If tickets for a film is sold out, you still have some hope. What you can do is, you go to line up at the theatre, say about half to one hour (depending on the popularity of the film) before the film starts. About 15 minutes before the film starts, the TIFF volunteer will count how many empty seats left in the theatre and they can sell those empty seats to the Rush Line. I am seriously considering to line up at the <Lust Caution> Rush line but Ed thinks that I am getting crazy. The film is going to be wide released in 2 weeks, he wondered what’s the rush. I guess he is right.
The craziness is mainly due to most of the film is world first or second premier (some already showed in the recent Cannes Film Festival) , so everyone wants to see it before everybody else, sometimes even though you may not really love films. Well, I guess this is the tendency of human nature. I am sure there are also lots of people really like films or simply want to see if they get the luck to meet the stars in the screening. Like me, I really want to watch <Lust Caution> at TIFF because I want to check out Ang Lee, the recent most acclaimed director !
Back to the topic of lining up. So, if it is a sold out session and you don’t arrive 15 minutes before the screening time, even you hold a ticket, too bad, it is likely your seats will be taken by the Rush Line people. And tickets are not numbered, so it is better to get there nice and early to make sure you have a good seat. So, once again, you arrive early to line up !
In conclusion, I strongly think that, except films, TIFF is all about lining up. If you want to watch movies at TIFF, you first have to cultivate your patience to line up. This is called ‘part of the experience’ !
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