Get ready to pop some caffeine pills and call in sick for the next ten days of work because the Midnight Madness, the popular and iconoclastic film series at the Toronto International Film Festival, is around the corner!
This
year marks twentieth anniversary of Midnight Madness. No big cakes or
candles for us though, we prefer to rip it up on a more auspicious
date, maybe our 21st, just to keep folks on their toes? However, we still plan to celebrate by planting a few speed bumps on the information super highway with this blog devoted to Midnight Madness past, present and future.
We?ll be announcing the eight of the ten films for this years selection later today (July 23rd), followed by the final two on July 31st (just to be a tease), and leading up to the first screening on September 6th, visit the blog for postings about the history of the series.
The legend started
in 1988 when the curtains of The Bloor Cinema parted, the lights dimmed
and Midnight Madness was unleashed upon an unsuspecting ?Festival of
Festivals? audience, as it was then known as back then.181 films have unspoiled over nineteen years and there will be ten more added this year.
The
series has had three homes, two programmers, eight sponsors, a few late
starts (sorry ? we try our best to start on time!), plenty of guests,
one film show up without subtitles (anyone remember which one?) and
only one projector break down over its history. We will be calling out
to the many who have had experiences at Midnight Madness, either on
screen, on stage or in the audience, to share their Festival memories.
Do you
have your own memories of Midnight Madness? A favourite film? A guest
who impressed you at a Q&A? Maybe you met your girlfriend in the
line-up? Please share your stories in the comments!
The Madness will be upon us in 45 days!
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