TIFF newbie questions

With my schedule for the Toronto International Film Festival more or less set, I have some newbie questions for which I need answers.  I've conducted some of this over Twitter, but rather than annoying most people and limiting responses to 140 character bites, I figured I'd post them here, which will allow you to extrapolate to your heart's content.  (Comments are moderated because the only ones I tend to get are spam or of the "you suck/get a life" variety--trust me, I need no reminding--but I'll be keeping up with these.  Comment away.)

So, here are my "I've never been to TIFF before and have a million questions" questions:

1.  Are point-and-shoot digital cameras or small video cameras (a la Flip) permitted in the theaters?  I'd like to take some photos, and maybe a little video, while I'm out and about, but if this is going to be a problem, I won't bother.

2.  Is outside food and drink permitted in theaters?  (I'm guessing it isn't, but with festival attendees eating on the go a lot, I'm hoping it is.)

3.  Along with the first two questions, how vigilantly do festival venues conduct bag searches?  (No, I'm not looking to bootleg.)

4.  What do I need to do with my iPhone to make sure I don't get crushing data and phone bills?

5.  If I know what exchanges I want to make when picking up my tickets, can I do that then and there?

6.  Should I travel by subway or by foot when on my own late at night?  (I'm staying downtown, but the hotel isn't necessarily close to any of theaters.)

7.  Anywhere you suggest that's good to eat that won't break the bank?

8.  Anything else I ought to know?

If you're going to be TIFFing it up and want to meet, e-mail or DM me.  We'll see what we can work out.

Thanks in advance for the answers you can provide.  It will be a relief just to dive into this after all the prep work.

TIFF schedule, third variation

If I've learned one thing about the Toronto International Film Festival, it's that one's schedule is always in flux. First came the requested ideal. Next was the luck of the draw compromise. Now I present the reconstruction. Individual tickets went on sale this morning, so I have been able to pick up some films I didn't get on the first attempt.

TWIXT and I WISH (KISEKI) go back on the schedule. The free screening of THIS IS NOT A FILM (IN FILM NIST) is also new, although whether I get to this will be wholly dependent on tickets being available by arrival time at the theater. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE slides off the schedule and into the role of ticket to be exchanged. I've indicated intended changes and italicized the listings for films that I don't have a ticket lined up.

Thursday, September 8

*6:00-7:46 p.m. INTO THE ABYSS (Werner Herzog, 2011) (USA) Ryerson Theatre

*9:45-11:00 p.m. THIS IS NOT A FILM (IN FILM NIST) (Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi, 2011) (Iran) TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 (no ticket; rush for free screening)

*11:59 p.m.-1:39 p.m. THE RAID (Gareth Huw Evans, 2011) (Indonesia) Ryerson Theatre

Friday, September 9

*2:30-4:01 p.m. FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (KOKURIKO-ZAKA KARA) (Goro Miyazaki, 2011) (Japan) AMC 2

*6:45-8:35 p.m. GOODBYE FIRST LOVE (UN AMOUR DE JEUNESSE) (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011) (France/Germany) Scotiabank 3

*9:30-11:06 p.m. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST (Joachim Trier, 2011) (Norway) Scotiabank 2 (no ticket; planned voucher exchange)

Saturday, September 10

*9:15-11:04 a.m. OUTSIDE SATAN (HORS SATAN) (Bruno Dumont, 2011) (France) AMC 2 (no ticket; planned ticket exchange for 9/10 OSLO, AUGUST 31ST at AMC 1)

*12:00-1:57 p.m. TRISHNA (Michael Winterbottom, 2011) (United Kingdom) Ryerson Theatre

*6:00-8:15 p.m. MELANCHOLIA (Lars von Trier, 2011) (Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany) Ryerson Theatre

*9:45-11:54 p.m. I WISH (KISEKI) (Hirokazu Kore-Eda, 2011) (Japan) TIFF Bell Lightbox 2

Sunday, September 11

*9:30-10:52 a.m. TWIGGY (LA BRINDILLE) (Emmanuelle Millet, 2011) (France) AMC 4

*2:00-3:30 p.m. TWIXT (Francis Ford Coppola, 2011) (USA) Princess of Wales

*4:30-5:47 p.m. GIRL MODEL (Ashley Sabin and David Redmon, 2011) (USA) AMC 6 (no ticket; planned ticket exchange for 9/11 MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE)

*6:15-8:29 p.m. CRAZY HORSE (Frederick Wiseman, 2011) (France/USA) AMC 3

*9:45-11:59 p.m. FAUST (Alexander Sokurov, 2011) (Russia) Scotiabank 3

Monday, September 12

*11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. RAMPART (Oren Moverman, 2011) (USA) VISA Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)

*2:00-3:30 p.m. EXTRATERRESTRIAL (EXTRATERRESTRE) (Nacho Vigalondo, 2011) (Spain) AMC 7

*9:00-11:00 p.m. LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (DUO MING JIN) (Johnnie To, 2011) (Hong Kong) VISA Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)

If I'm able to execute the exchanges, it leaves me with a voucher to spend and two significant gaps in my schedule (Saturday afternoon and Monday late afternoon/early evening). I'm leaning toward J'AIME REGARDER LES FILLES to fill the Saturday hole, but I still have time decide. Nothing stands out to fill the Monday slot. Maybe I'll try to rush A DANGEROUS METHOD, although considering how quickly that screening filled, that may be a waste of time. I'm also considering the 9/9 midnight screening of GOD BLESS AMERICA.

In other words, while this seems close to a final version of the schedule, it's not in stone.

TIFF schedule, take two

The lottery results are in, and I only managed to grab eight of my fifteen first choices for the Toronto International Film Festival. Considering that two are lower profile titles before 10 a.m. on weekend mornings and one is a midnight screening, I didn't have very good luck getting my pick of the prime films. No Kaurismäki, Meirelles, Polley, Kore-eda, Coppola, Maddin, or Cronenberg. (Not getting the Kore-eda film hurts most.)

I'm planning to buy a premium ticket for MELANCHOLIA. I am probably going to move OSLO, AUGUST 31ST from 9:45 a.m. Saturday to 9:30 p.m. Friday if possible. Assuming that works, I'll try to get OUTSIDE SATAN (HORS SATAN) for 9:15 a.m. Saturday, as it'll give me seventeen more minutes to get to TRISHNA. I'm also willing to trade in MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE at 3:00 p.m. Sunday.

Additionally, I have two vouchers to cash in. There are certainly holes in my schedule, so we'll see what I can figure out once I've made heads and tails of this.

Anyway, here's the second iteration of my TIFF 2011 schedule:

Thursday, September 8

*6:00-7:46 p.m. INTO THE ABYSS (Werner Herzog, 2011) (USA) Ryerson Theatre

*11:59 p.m.-1:39 p.m. THE RAID (Gareth Huw Evans, 2011) (Indonesia) Ryerson Theatre

Friday, September 9

*2:30-4:01 p.m. FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (KOKURIKO-ZAKA KARA) (Goro Miyazaki, 2011) (Japan) AMC 2

6:45-8:35 p.m. GOODBYE FIRST LOVE (UN AMOUR DE JEUNESSE) (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011) (France/Germany) Scotiabank 3

Saturday, September 10

*9:45-11:21 a.m. OSLO, AUGUST 31ST (Joachim Trier, 2011) (Norway) AMC 1

*12:00-1:57 p.m. TRISHNA (Michael Winterbottom, 2011) (United Kingdom) Ryerson Theatre

*6:00-8:15 p.m. MELANCHOLIA (Lars von Trier, 2011) (Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany) Ryerson Theatre (premium screening)

Sunday, September 11

*9:30-10:52 a.m. TWIGGY (LA BRINDILLE) (Emmanuelle Millet, 2011) (France) AMC 4

*3:00-4:43 p.m. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (Sean Durkin, 2010) (USA) Ryerson Theatre

*6:15-8:29 p.m. CRAZY HORSE (Frederick Wiseman, 2011) (France/USA) AMC 3

*9:45-11:59 p.m. FAUST (Alexander Sokurov, 2011) (Russia) Scotiabank 3

Monday, September 12

*11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. RAMPART (Oren Moverman, 2011) (USA) VISA Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)

*2:00-3:30 p.m. EXTRATERRESTRIAL (EXTRATERRESTRE) (Nacho Vigalondo, 2011) (Spain) AMC 7

*9:00-11:00 p.m. LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (DUO MING JIN) (Johnnie To, 2011) (Hong Kong) VISA Screening Room (Elgin Theatre)