Toronto Stories

Toronto Stories is four films in one, united by a small boy who finds himself amid the frightening confusion of the arrivals lounge in that city`s Pearson International Airport. He speaks no English and is left in a sn antiseptic waiting room for hours until someone can figure out his story. But a child`s curiosity gets the best of him, and when a door is left open he simply walks out and joins a tour group heading to downtown Toronto. By time his absence is noticed hours have elapsed and the alerts go out across the city. This is the set-up which allows four director-screenwriters to tell the story of what happens next to this little boy who is seeing Toronto for the first time. Lee describes her chapter of the film, shot mostly indoors using handheld cameras, as a postcard look at the seldom-profiled interior of Toronto. Woodley`s chapter deals with his own experiences as a wondering child going in search of the Cabbagetown Monster. In his piece, shot on dollies in and around the Don Valley, he aims to capture a rural face of the city not often recognized by those who view Toronto as a concrete jungle. In Sutherland`s chapter, the city is seen through panes of glass in representation of his experiences as a child coming into the city from Scarborough via the subway. And David Weaver`s chapter is inspired by true events and aims to tug at our social conscience as it tells the story of a university professor, fallen from grace and living on the streets outside Union Station.

Toronto Stories had its premiere on September 9th at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.