#documentary-controversy

#documentary-controversy

Chloe Zhao's adaptation of Hamnet has won this year's people's choice award at the Toronto film festival. The acclaimed drama, based on Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel, stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal and tells a fictionalised account of William Shakespeare and wife Agnes as they grieve for their young son. The award has come to suggest future Oscar success with every recipient from 2011 to 2023 scoring either a best picture nomination or a win.

TIFF was once a global powerhouse and automatic stop for the year's major films. Not so much anymore; lots to unpack here, but among items to discuss is their ticketing website, which functions with the speed and functionality of a late '80s queue in gerontocratic Romania; a festival that (in partnership with Ticketmaster!) allows scalpers to buy up every single seat as fast as possible and resell them for hundreds of (devalued Canadian) dollars exudes both desperation and "you get what you deserve" karma.