Summer is indeed over. I never got that much needed tan and already the Cinematheque is launching its fall programme.



The new season comes with a new branding (Cinematheque Ontario has been ditched for TIFF Cinematheque) in preparation for the big move-in-together with the rest of the festival's operations in the Bell Lightbox (the someday-to-be TIFF megacenter).

First up this season is a showcase of Toronto on Film, a set as diverse as the city itself, kicking off this Friday, October 9th. Not at all interested in movies that disguise our city as New York, Chicago, or Generic City, America, the series - a birthday shout out to Toronto on its 175th - features Toronto playing Toronto with screenings spread over the next couple of weeks and guest appearances by acclaimed local moviemakers.

Over in the Distillery District, what was meant to be quick peek turned into my stomping ground for the better part of the Nuit Blanche night.

The neighbourhood is a year-round car-free and creative zone, so it was easy to toss away the map and the app, meet up with friends and spend hours going from store to pub to gallery to bakery.

In recent years, I've become dependent on the weekly headline blast from The Economist and Twitter feeds for information about the world. Quick and easy, but not exactly hard hitting or in-depth.

Enter M.U.C.K. - or Movies of Un-Common Knowledge - a new film fest that brings big issues to the big screen in Toronto. For its inaugural edition, running from October 1st to 4th at The Royal cinema, the M.U.C.K. Film Festival & Forum has lined up an eclectic bunch of feature docs tackling some of the major social, political, and economic messes of our time.

The idea behind M.U.C.K. is to engage audiences and to get people talking with filmmakers, organizations and experts after each screening. Will this stir up any local activism? Who knows, but I did learn a few things from this year's programme about folks taking positive action against environmental disasters, war, and injustice.

Following all the fuss and debate over TIFF's City to City spotlight on Tel Aviv, perhaps it's fitting that the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF) is the next movie event to hit Toronto screens. From September 26th to October 2nd, the festival will run cinematic works from Palestinian short, feature, and doc makers - many of which tell compelling and entertaining stories while tackling some serious issues.

The festival's headliner this year is Amreeka, an acclaimed film that - I can assure you - has been oversimplified in the cookie-cutter feelgood trailer above. The Toronto Palestine Film Festival is hosting the Canadian premiere of the film on Saturday, September 26th at the Bloor, following great reviews, nods at Sundance and the Director's Fortnight FIPRESCI (international critics) Prize at Cannes.

Despite being a major industry schmooze, the Toronto International Film Festival holds that it is first and foremost an audience driven event. With this in mind, TIFF volunteer collect ballots after every screening and with all votes counted, this year's Cadillac People's Choice Award went to Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (with Oprah on the ticket as exec producer).

Earlier today, I kicked off the last of my TIFFing at a reception announcing this year's jury and people's choice picks. While my festival favourites (Fish Tank, The Time That Remains, Life During Wartime) were overlooked at the Awards, a surprising new list of must-see titles emerged.

Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival is coming to Toronto with a new show. While I only have a vague memory of anything pre-TIFF, as the Festival is coming to a close this weekend, I'm shifting gears a little - to a solid hour and a half programme of gross and edgy cartoons. Move over Clooney.

Spike and Mike (aka the "Kings of Tasteless Toons") founded the festival in 1990 and have introduced a new show at the San Diego Comic-Con every year since. The festival tours in across 50 cities in Canada and the U.S., and has, over the years, premiered classics like South Park and Wallace & Gromit on the big screen.

Weird, funny, and offensive as ever, this year's set running at the Bloor Cinema from September 18th to 26th is a messed-up mix of old and new picks.