After six months of virtual work, school, happy hours, graduations, weddings, funerals and “vacations,” a lot of us are longing to experience even the most mundane parts of our pre-COVID lives. Spending three hours stuck in an airport terminal with spotty wifi and overpriced soggy sandwiches because of a delayed flight? Sure, why not! Making friends while waiting in line to use a gross bar bathroom that’s always covered in water and never has any toilet paper? Yes, please!
But as great as regularly interacting with humans outside our pods will be, it’s not like we’re going to have all the time (and money) in the world to get out and make up for lost time. And as much as we may not want to admit it right now, there are some situations where this whole “virtual” thing works out in our favor.
Take, for example, two major upcoming film festivals. Were you actually going to break out your passport and head up to Toronto, or try to locate a tiny-but-pricey hotel room in Manhattan? Probably not. But, (depending on where you live) you can virtually attend the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the New York Film Festival (NYFF) from the comfort of your own couch. Here’s how.
A quick caveat
Before we get into how to stream movies—excuse us, films—from each festival, we should mention a few restrictions. The biggest one is that TIFF films will only be available to stream in Canada, while NYFF selections will only be accessible in the United States, IndieWire reports. But all is not lost: there are 11 films that will appear in both festivals, including “David Byrne’s American Utopia” and the anticipated documentary “The Truffle Hunters.” Also, some of the TIFF Q&As and other events will offer tickets to audiences outside of Canada—so check both schedules.
How to stream movies from TIFF
This year, TIFF takes place from September 10-19, and features 50 films. Those looking to book tickets should visit the TIFF website, create an account, and make their selections. Tickets range in price from $19 or $26, depending on the title. There is also a section listing the free events at TIFF.
Booking a “ticket” for one of the films basically works the same way as renting a movie from iTunes or Amazon Video—except it only buys you 12 hours of viewing. Plus, each film is only available to rent within a set 24-hour window, becoming available each day at 6 pm EST. The key here, as with any film festival, is to check the schedule and make a plan in advance to ensure you don’t miss the movie you’ve been waiting for months (or years) to see.
TIFF films are available to stream on both Macs and PCs, as well as their app equivalents. If you want to watch the movies on the “big screen” (meaning your TV instead of your phone), here are instructions on how to make that happen.
How to stream movies from NYFF
The NYFF’s streaming offerings are available from September 17-October 11. Virtual attendees can purchase tickets for individual online screenings ($12 to $25), or as curated packages that start at $75 for 11 movies. To do that, create an account through the Film at Lincoln Center Virtual Cinema website, then take a look at the schedule to see what’s playing and when it’s on.
The “tickets” at NYFF work similarly to those at TIFF, meaning that the movies are only available to rent during scheduled periods. But in this case, you can keep some movies for a few days, and others for only four hours. The NYFF films are also available to stream on Macs and PCs, as well as their apps. And the NYFF has also put up instructions walking you through how to watch the movies on your TV.