MIFF less about the films and more about the scheduling

A friend asked me to write up some tips for MIFF scheduling and then I just got on a weird roll so I thought I'd share my tips for MIFF survival and how to not make me hate you.

• Co-ordinate early with your mates as having a friend at a film means you will leave the house to see a Lars Von Trier film at 9pm on a freezing cold Tuesday night and stand in line for about an hour. Also really think about what you can and will want to do scheduling wise. Do you even want to leave the house at 9pm on Tues night to stand in line? If you schedule 3 films in a row will you even enjoy the 3rd one?


• Also try and find out whats coming out in cinemas and when - cause even though somethings getting a release it might be in 1-2 years and who wants to wait that long to see White Ribbon?


• Also don't get too top heavy with your MIFF schedule or you will burn yourself out and also it can be sad when you get to the final weeks and there are no more films to look forward to. This can sometimes result in overspending - pacing people, pacing!


• Don't assume just cause the doco is about something good its going to be good. Lots of bad docos were made about good subjects.


• Make sure to go see one weird, random film you don't know anything about just because someone (or some few) say its amazing. It helps with control issues and is usually a festival highlight cause y'know you never would have seen it otherwise. Foreign films are usually good for this as well as those arty films with no talking for 4 hours.


• On the flip side don't pick things you don't want to watch because you feel you should! Some people like crap docos about good subjects - a lot! Also sometimes a Saturday night is not a good time to see a brutal french horror film like Martyrs when maybe you’re the kind of person that should be seeing a documentary about a day in the life of supermodel instead.


• Bring water. Paying for water sucks and you will get thirsty.


• Plan meal times in between films. You will get hungry. Its flu season so try and be healthy otherwise you will get sick.


• Rug up in layers its definitely cold in the queue but is often warm inside the cinema with 200 other nerds mouth breathing.


• Oh and please don't ask rhetorical questions in Q and A's. Also if five people before you have already thanked whoever it is for being there - you don’t have to do it again.


• DON'T TAKE HOT FOOD INTO THE CINEMA EVER! I will find you and kill you. PS coffee doesn't count as food. If you bring me coffee during MIFF I will love you forever.

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