Toronto International Film Festival picks

Here are the films I hope to see during the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Even though they are divided into First and Second Picks, I'd love to see them all, plus a few more at the bottom of this post. Pretty music heavy year with two Joy Division films, (Joy Division is a documentary, Control is the Ian Curtis biopic) and a documentary on Daniel Lanois (Here Is What Is). Seemed to be lots of Romanian and Australian contributions this year as well, with several films on world conflicts (Darfur, Iraq) and immigrant experience. Picks for the Advance Ticket Ordering are due at the College Park office by 1pm Friday.

My First Picks

California Dreamin' (Endless) (trying Romanian film this year)
Les Chansons d'amour (charming romantic musical farce from France)
The Band's Visit (from Israel - a small, uniformed Egyptian police band becomes lost in rural Israel on their way to performing at a concert. Cross cultural misunderstandings ensue)
Run, Fat Boy, Run (UK comedy - directed by David Schwimmer,with Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) as the lead)
Philippine Science (high school life by way of the Philippines)
Smiley Face (Gregg Araki's new movie)
Here Is What Is (documentary on Daniel Lanois)
The Trap (Serbian film about a man who can save his child's life if only he will kill a mystery benefactor’s business rival)
Joy Division (documentary about the legendary band)

Second Picks (Back-up)

Control (Ian Curtis bio-pic - I may still try to get rush tickets for this)
No Country for Old Men (The Coen Brothers adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of a drug deal gone wrong, described as "taunt" and "ruthless")
The Tracey Fragments (Canadian, directed by Bruce McDonald (Highway 61 (91), Dance Me Outside (94), Hard Core Logo (96)), starring Ellen Page, and music by Broken Social Scene. Yep, that's pretty Canadian)
Jar City (Icelandic murder mystery)
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (US - Wayne Wangs' new film about Chinese immigrants in America, centered around the conflict between a father and daughter)
A Gentle Breeze in the Village (sweet Japanese coming of age story)
It's a Free World... (UK - Two women form their own recruitment company and navigate the legally murky waters of hiring Eastern European migrant workers for wealthier European Union nations)

Stuff I would have liked to have seen:

Nocturna (Spanish animation), Roming (Romanian farce), The Savages (US - Laura Linney & Philip Seymour Hoffman as sister and brother0, Sukiyaki Western Django (Midnight Madness craziness), Continental, Un Film Sans Fusil (French Canadian), And Along Come Tourists (German), I Am From Titov Veles (Macedonian), Dainipponjin (more Midnight Madness craziness), A Stray Girlfriend (Argentina), Son Of Rambow (sweet looking UK movie about two young boys filming their own version of "Rambo), Persepolis (animated adaptation of the graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran; well recieved at Cannes), Happiness (South Korea), Le Voyage Du Ballon Rouge (whimsical French movie starring Juliette Binoche)