Eleven Films to Watch Out For At TIFF

Filmmaker Terry Miles explains why he's excited to see Curling amongst many other Canadian films at TIFF.

The Mark: What Canadian film(s), besides your own, are you excited to see at The Toronto International Film Festival?

Terry Miles: The Canadian film I’m most excited about seeing at this year’s TIFF is Allan King’s film A Married Couple. I’ve seen the film a few times, but never in a theatre. A Married Couple is, I think, a perfect film. It’s a documentary that definitely belongs in the competition for the best Canadian feature film of all time. Krzysztof Kieslowski is one of my favourite filmmakers, and I strongly believe, like Kieslowski, that narrative dramatic feature films bring us much closer to the truth than any documentary. A Married Couple, like Salesman, is a glowing exception. It feels a lot closer in tone and content to a film like Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, than to other documentary films from the same period. There are other Canadian films I look forward to seeing including Curling, Good Neighbors, A Beginner's Guide to Endings, and as many others as I can possibly fit in during the amazing madness that is The Toronto International Film Festival.

TM: What advice would you give to inspiring Canadian filmmaker?

MilesBuy or rent a camera and start practicing. Start shooting. You are going to make a lot of shitty films, so get them out of the way as soon as possible. Also, write. Writing your own material is a great way to get started.

TM: What is the premise of your film at this year's festival, A Night For Dying Tigers?

Mile: A family gets together the night before the eldest brother is going to prison. Then their slow disintegration begins…

TM: Where did you get the inspiration for the film?

Miles: I had a particular tone in mind, and I knew I wanted a dark family drama (with comedy!), so, I raided a handful of my scripts, took the best characters from each of them, and turned them into a family.