When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

This is what lemonade looks like: front row to the Theeb Q&A

In similar words: when you mix up your film screenings, watch a movie anyway. This manner of thinking was exactly how I had managed to watch a TIFF film for free earlier this week. Allow me to explain.

My friends and I had bought tickets to the Korean film, Haemoo, which was premiering during the festival. In anticipation of the film, I got dolled up after work on Monday evening and made my way to Roy Thomson Hall (60 Simcoe St), the location of the premiere. I arrived there early and hung out by the red carpet to bide my time before I was scheduled to meet Holly, Hellen, and V. I made a few phone calls to let them know that I was already there but I could not get a hold of them. I was beginning to worry that we were not going to make it to the line early enough for good seats when Holly finally gave me a call back.

As it turns out, our premiere was not on Monday...

It was on Tuesday.

(Insert cackling laughter here)

I felt really stupid at that moment (there is no point in sugar coating that fact) and yet I could not help but laugh it off anyway. This type of thing is really typical of me and I was not surprised that I mixed up the dates. I was just happy that I didn't miss it completely.

I called V after speaking to Holly to ask if she wanted to have dinner but she was not available. I was thus left with all of this free time to myself. I remembered AT mentioning that the public could line up at a theatre to rush for tickets an hour before a film screening. Consequently, I made my way to the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St W) to see if I could attend a screening while I was in the area. I had heard good things about the Canadian film Bang Bang Baby and decided to try rushing for it: I lined up outside of Scotiabank Theatre (259 Richmond St W) alongside film enthusiasts and P&I and was optimistic that I would snag a ticket to the screening.

I waited in line for over an hour and, in my uncomfortable flats, my feet began to cramp up to the point that I could no longer walk properly. It was close to 7:15PM when they started to give out tickets to Bang Bang Baby. I almost jumped up for joy. Five people were left in front of me and I patiently waited for it to be my turn...

My turn never came: Bang Bang Baby was sold out for the night! I was devastated to say the least. Slowly, people left the line until there were only probably twenty-five people left who were either waiting to rush for the next screenings or deciding what to do next. I was part of the latter.

I just wanted to see something. Anything. I thus asked a passing staff member if there was any way I could just buy a ticket to any screening at that location. Together, we looked over the list of screenings on his clipboard to find out which films were available for rush and non-rush. He then told me that if I was willing to attend any screening, he had an extra ticket to the Arabic film Theeb that I could take for free... Provided that I was fine with having missed the beginning of the film.

Of course, the answer to that pseudo-question could only be yes! The nice gentleman then radioed Cinema 13 (the location of the screening) and asked if I, a hard ticket holder, could still enter the theatre even though I was late. The receiver apparently said yes and I was afterwards instructed to go straight to the screening and make my way to the front row.

I hope that in my rush to the theatre, I was able to thank that outstanding TIFF staff member for such an amazing experience: as it turned out, I had only missed a few minutes of the film and was able to quickly understand the plot and enjoy the entirety of Theeb, which happened to be about a young Jordanian Bedouin of the same name who was, in essence, troubled by whom he should pledge his loyalty to: his tribe and his family or a stranger he meets in grave circumstances. It was a fantastic film.

Once the credits started rolling, the writer, director, and producer walked up to the screen for a short Q&A about Theeb, which was filmed with actual Bedouins in the Jordanian desert. I enjoyed watching it and was glad for the opportunity of seeing a film I would not have thought to see otherwise. My elation for Monday evening's turn of events was palpable - I was practically skipping to the escalators at the theatre. I afterwards made my way home that evening, thinking that there is certainly merit to keeping an open mind, having the willingness and patience to take events as they come, and, most importantly, trusting the generosity of others.