Really? That's where yer goin'?

[bcholmes]

There's this amusing ritual that's emerged at TIFF -- it started last year, and quickly carried over into this year.

Prior to last year's TIFF, Canadian law changed to make it illegal to record films in theatres. The Supreme Court has so far upheld filesharing as legal, but it used to be that recording of films in theatres could only be prosecuted if an intent to profit was shown. And Canada, it seems, was one of the countries with the largest illegal recording trends.

So, at last year's TIFF, new signage and blurbs started preceding the films to point out that this was all now illegal and that TIFF may use night vision technology to catch illegal recording activity. When the "please don't pirate" blurb ran, audiences started making "Arrrrgh!" noises. Me, I find this funny, 'cause I like how it says, "I'm mocking your efforts, here." I, myself, join in.

This year, the "Arrrgh!" noises have been pretty consistent. When TIFF people introduce films, they go into a boring preamble in which they thank all the organizations who've given money to the festival and they also read out a "please don't pirate this film" statement. Which has also been "Arrgh"-ed the last few films I've seen.

Tonight, Matthew Hays, the programmer who introduced the two films I saw, decided that he wanted to do a bit of ridiculing of the "Arrgh"-ing. In a voice heavy with sarcasm, he said, "Oh, isn't that so cute. You all make that pirate sound. Every time."

I'm sorry?!? You're criticizing us for being a bit repetitious? While you're reading out the same list of "We want to thank Blackberry and the Province of Ontario" blurb? In front of every film.

And then, once the camera starts rolling, we get to see the same dumb TIFF branding reel. And the same anti-piracy title card. Followed by the stupid "Let's thank our great volunteers" reel (where the volunteers are said to be important, but not important enough that the word "volunteer" is in a bigger font than the words "NBC Universal"). And then after the historical short film, we get one of three rotating advertisements for RBC funding. And those classy Cadillac ads telling us to "Be an original" (and encouraging us to express that individuality by buying a particular model of Cadillac SUV). Cadillac, for the record, hasn't even achieved the level of originality where they've shot new commercials: they're recycling ones from last year. Then we get more mood reels about TIFF and the new Bell Lightbox building.

But Matthew Hays wants to shame us for being predictable and repetitious. Apparently, we need to normalize all the corporate sponsorship. And the audience... well, we need to just shut up.