When I'm asked about the new boom in theatrical documentaries, I point to TIFF 2002 as the starting point. That was the year that Spellbound, Winged Migration and Bowling for Columbine played the festival before becoming surprise box office hits in the next year.
Spellbound's director Jeffrey Blitz recalls that turning point...
JEFFREY BLITZ:
Toronto was the first film festival where theatrical distributors took note of Spellbound and it was enormously exciting because of that. The night it all came to a head, I remember sitting in the lobby of the Windsor Arms while our reps negotiated long in the bar well past midnight. At the start of negotiations, the hotel was bustling with people but as the night drew on it got quieter and quieter until we were the only people in the darkened lobby. Sean Welch and I were sprawled out on the hotel armchairs, killing time by cracking jokes and telling stories and doing crossword puzzles, and then suddenly, without warning, our reps would emerge from the deserted bar and tell us where we stood. This pattern of boredom and speculation followed by intense excitement and focus went on for hours while the details of the deal were ironed out. By morning, we had a terrific deal in place with THINKFilm and the next stage of our journey with Spellbound had been launched.
And here's how THINKFilm's buyer remembers it...
MARK URMAN:
After all but swearing that I wouldn't even watch a documentary at a film festival, lest I like, buy it, and lose money on it, I found myself with time on my hands at Toronto four years ago. It was a Sunday morning and my Toronto- based colleague, Randy Manis was interested in catching a film about spelling bees. (He had just read "Bee Season" and was predisposed.) I, on the other hand, had avoided the film when it played in my own back yard in Tribeca, convinced that I, and everyone else, couldn't possibly enjoy a film about 14 year-old overachievers. But, it was Sunday morning in Toronto, Randy prevailed, and as we entered the theater at ROM, I was fully prepared to nap. The film was, of course, Spellbound, and about ten minutes into it, Randy and I turned to each other and said "I love this!" We partook in the standing ovation at the end of the film and loitered in the back of the theater through the spirited q&a, grinning like fools. When it was all done, we approached the filmmakers like groupies and said, "Hi. We're from THINKFilm and we love your movie and want to buy it!" A day later we did, and it went on to be a great success and our first Oscar nominee. After that, we were hooked, and haven't left Toronto without at least one great documentary in our suitcases!
Subscribe