It's been a few days since the Toronto International Film Festival packed up and already the city has returned, somewhat, to normalcy. The red carpets have been rolled up, the stars have left town, the schedule guides which littered the streets around Bay & Bloor, Yonge & Dundas and by Roy Thomson Hall have disappeared, and all we have left is our memories, and maybe a complaint or two. While we've reviewed many of the films at TIFF this year, why not review the major complaints and changes at this year's festival?

Photo: Kate Beckinsale on the red carpet by Ryan Coleman.

It's over. Almost.

Today is the last day of the Toronto International Film Festival, and honestly, I spent my night partying the festival away last night, so that's why this update is a little late. Apologies.

It has been a good festival for partying, I'll admit that. Whether it was a good festival for everything else has yet to be decided.

Eye Weekly's blog has an article asking if this year's TIFF was the "worst film festival ever" and Tim was interviewed by CTV asking if the festival has become too elitist. The verdict by most: a resounding yes.

Towards the end of the Toronto International Film Festival, festival-goers have a tendency to get tired, hungry, depressing, and extremely cranky. Something to do with staring at a screen for 16 hours a day for ten days straight, I guess.

That's why I can understand — not excuse, mind you, just understand — Lou Lumenick's mindset when he allegedly thwacked Roger Ebert with a binder. When your nerves are on edge and someone starts poking you, it's hard to keep your composure. (Of course, after this incident, I've lost whatever little respect I ever had for Lumenick. Tired as you are, you have to keep your cool.)

Today is the second-to-last day of the festival, so things are winding down slowly. For those of you that still have some energy and want to watch more movies, I've heard that you might still be able to get a seat for Soderbergh's 4.5-hour epic, Che. For those of you that are a bit tired of festivaling, get some rest and eat some homemade food — you need to be fresh for the last bit of TIFF fun tonight and tomorrow.

The dreaded Wednesday of the Toronto International Film Festival is usually the day when festival-goers (such as myself) hit the proverbial 'wall' due to a disturbing lack of sleep, unhealthy food, over-reliance on caffeine and the like. This usually results in sleeping during or through screenings, getting impatient in line or foregoing films all together. I decided on the latter and took Wednesday off to collect my thoughts about some of the thirteen films I've seen so far.

One of my favorite short films playing at this year's Toronto International Film Festival is Pudge, a film that lets Toronto take centre stage. Director Annie Bradley took some time to talk to me about the film, about shooting in Toronto, and about playing at home at TIFF08.



(Apologies for the background noise. It gets a bit difficult finding quiet spaces at the Sutton Place Hotel during festival time.)

It's the eighth day of the Toronto International Film Festival, and I have yet to mention the biggest stars at the festival in my TIFF Today posts. So I'm going to make up for it by talking about those stars today.

I am referring to, of course, the TIFF volunteers.

You've seen them out and about with their green shirts, showing you where to go, checking your tickets, and in general making the festival a much more pleasant experience for everyone. And it's not just your movie nerds that are donning the green shirts. Mary, a volunteer that has been helping out at TIFF for eight years now, told me that she's been having more fun this year than any other because of the diversity of both the audiences and the volunteers.

Jason, a first-time volunteer, was in awe of the sheer amount of work and organization that goes into making the festival happen: "I've always heard of TIFF, but I never realized just how big it really was until I decided to volunteer." His volunteer experiences as a theater usher have been nothing but positive: "I'm so glad I had the chance to volunteer. I've met people that I never would have met before, and everyone is really grateful of the work we're doing. And it's a lot of fun."

Fun aside, volunteers are the lifeblood of the festival. To Mary, Jason, and everyone else volunteering at the festival, thank you from all of us at blogTO.