Mississauga student helps choose films for international festival in Toronto

A Mississauga student helped curate an international film festival in Toronto.

Darania Taylor, a Grade 12 student at Rick Hansen Secondary School, was selected to be one of 12 teen programmers from across the GTA for the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival. The students, aged 15 to 18, were selected from a competitive pool of young film enthusiasts, and hail from public, private and specialized arts high schools.

The festival, celebrating its 15th anniversary, is at TIFF Lightbox theatre in Toronto from April 16 to 19. It spotlights films from rising filmmakers alongside workshops and special events, with free tickets for audiences under 25 years old.

Taylor said she heard about the film festival committee through a friend in her English class. She joined to make new friends who love movies, and is particularly interested in screenplay writing.

The TIFF Next Wave Film Festival committee started to meet in the fall. With guidance from TIFF staff, the committee met once a week and on weekends and watched films, rating each movie to help select the final line-up for the festival. Films had to be relatable to a young audience, Taylor said. The committee selected diverse films from around the world.

“We watched a lot of movies—over 100,” she said.

Taylor said she is most excited about two films—CAMP and Our Hero, Balthazar. CAMP, a Canadian film directed by Avalon Fast, is about a group of counsellors at a Christian grief camp who find catharsis through the occult.

“It’s very surreal and whimsical, it’s an experience,” Taylor said.

Our Hero, Balthazar tells the story of a lonely New York teen who flies to Texas, where he thinks he can stop a future school shooter—but his plan quickly spirals out of control.

The film was riveting, Taylor said.

“Eyes wide open—I barely blinked,” she said.

Participating in the committee was time-consuming, but fortunately, Taylor was able to arrange her schedule to have a spare in the last period, giving her more time to get downtown for the meetings.

“I am in Mississauga, so the commute is longer,” she said.

She also took extra credits in the summer, freeing up her workload this school year.

The experience has helped Taylor become more open and better express herself. Taylor said she can now critically assess media and better articulate why she likes a movie.

When it comes to inspirational people in the film industry, Taylor said she admires Canadian actress and filmmaker Taylor Russell for her confidence and passion for reading.

“She inspires me to be more articulate and more intentional,” she said.

Russell is inspiring as a Black woman in cinema.

“It’s like, ‘you look like me, and you made it this far,'” said Taylor. “I want little girls to look up to me and think, ‘hey, I can do that too.'”

Taylor will attend Queen’s University in the fall and wants to do a double major in science and arts. She dreams of becoming an author and illustrator and hopes her work is someday translated for film.

TIFF Next Wave Film Festival spotlights nine feature films from seven countries.

The weekend festival kicks off with the Canadian Premiere of Chandler Levack’s Roommates starring Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Billy Bryk, Sarah Sherman, Natasha Lyonne, and Nick Kroll, followed by Oscar Boyson’s Our Hero, Balthazar starring Jaeden Martell and Asa Butterfield. Both screenings are followed by director question and answer sessions.

For the full film line-up and ticket information, see the website here.