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Victor Kerlow Dear Diary:
Overheard at the Bronx Zoo outside the Mouse House:
“Why do you want to see mice? We can go home and see them.â€
Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via e-mail diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.
Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.
Nicholas Wells and Kenan Christiansen contributed reporting.
Carrión
Catsimatidis
De Blasio
Lhota
Liu
Quinn
Salgado
Thompson
Weiner
Group event
John A. Catsimatidis
Republican
11:30 a.m.
Squares off against Joseph J. Lhota for the second, and final, official debate of the Republican primary, organized by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770). George McDonald was excluded from the debate by the board because he failed to reach minimum fund-raising targets that the Campaign Finance Board imposes upon candidates who take public money.
1:15 p.m.
Greets diners while having brunch with his family at the Silver Star Diner on Second Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
3 p.m.
Holds a “friend-raiser†at the Bucharest restaurant in Queens to entice the local Romanian community to get out and vote.
4:15 p.m.
Greets voters at the Fresh Pond Road Street Festival in Queens.
6 p.m.
Hosts a belated-birthday bash, at the Lefkos Pirgos Cafe, in Astoria, Queens, to mark his turning 65 and encourage supporters to get out and vote.
Bill de Blasio
Democrat
10:30 a.m.
Accompanied by Harry Belanfonte, the candidate addresses congregants at the Christian Cultural Center Church, on Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn, considered the city’s largest house of worship because of its roughly 30,000 members. It’s a return visit for Mr. de Blasio to the church, as it is for William C. Thompson Jr., the mayoral rival who is addressing a later service. John C. Liu also put in an appearance back in May at this church. With this event behind him, Mr. de Blasio will have put in 29 confirmed appearances at local churches since April.
1:30 p.m.
Attends a New Yorkers for de Blasio “Get Out the Vote†event at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
4:15 p.m.
One of three candidates to greet voters at the annual Rochdale Village 2013 Fall Festival, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rochdale Village, in Queens.
John C. Liu
Democrat
6:30 a.m.
Though he visited this congregation three times in one day on Aug. 18, Mr. Liu returns to address the early-bird service of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral on Merrick Boulevard in Queens. William C. Thompson Jr. and Bill de Blasio have also spent time courting the 18,000 parishioners and their influential pastor, the Rev. Floyd Flake, with the pastor ultimately endorsing Mr. Thompson.
9:15 a.m.
Beats a path to the door of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church to address the parishioners of this much-courted congregation on Avenue D in Brooklyn. Bill de Blasio visited in April, Christine C. Quinn went there in August, and William C. Thompson Jr. and Anthony D. Weiner made calls last Sunday.
10 a.m.
Speaks to members of the Baptist Church of Christ, whose pastor, the Rev. Gary Simpson, endorsed him in July. The church is on Garden Taylor Boulevard in Brooklyn.
11:30 a.m.
Addresses worshipers at Brown Memorial Baptist Church, a congregation that Mr. Liu has courted before, as have Bill de Blasio and Anthony D. Weiner. The church is on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn.
12:15 p.m.
Addresses worshipers at the New Life Cathedral on Junius Street in Brooklyn, a group he was to address last Sunday but ended up canceling.
12:45 p.m.
Speaks during the late service at the True Holy Church on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.
1:15 p.m.
Speaks to the congregation at the New Greater Bethel Ministries, capping off seven church visits in one day, matching William C. Thompson Jr.’s one-day pilgrimage. The congregation, on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, had hosted Mr. Thompson and Bill de Blasio in July, and Anthony D. Weiner and Mr. Liu in August. With this event behind him, Mr. Liu will have made 51 confirmed appearances at local churches since April, 11 more than Mr. Thompson, his closest rival.
1:45 p.m.
Attends the March Against Violence that starts at Livonia Street and Bristol Streets in Brooklyn.
2:15 p.m.
Attends his campaign’s “Get Out the Vote†rally at the Flushing Library in Queens.
3 p.m.
Attends his campaign’s “Get Out the Vote†rally for the Sikh community at Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center in South Richmond Hill, Queens.
4 p.m.
Attends his campaign’s “Get Out the Vote†rally at the Liu campaign headquarters in southeast Queens.
4:30 p.m.
One of three candidates to greet voters at the annual Rochdale Village 2013 Fall Festival, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rochdale Village, in Queens.
5:15 p.m.
Attends his campaign’s “Get Out the Vote†rally for the Pakistani community in the Kensington section of Brooklyn.
7:15 p.m.
Attends the Greek Festival running at the Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Church on Richmond Avenue on Staten Island.
8:15 p.m.
Attends a Get Out the Vote†rally organized by his campaign in conjunction with the Alliance of South Asian Labor at Diversity Plaza in Queens.
8:30 p.m.
Attends his campaign’s “Get Out the Vote†rally for the Hindu community at the Om Shakti Temple in Woodside, Queens.
9:15 p.m.
Attends the annual Ridgewood Street Festival on Fresh Pond Road in Queens.
Joseph J. Lhota
Republican
9:30 a.m.
Attends his campaign’s “Get Out the Vote†rally and pre-debate breakfast with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani at the Lhota campaign headquarters on East 42nd Street in Manhattan.
11:30 a.m.
Squares off against John A. Catsimatidis in the second, and final, official debate of the Republican primary, organized by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, broadcast live on NBC, Telemundo Nueva York and WOR-AM (770). George McDonald was excluded from the debate by the board because he failed to reach minimum fund-raising targets that the board imposes upon candidates who take public money.
1:30 p.m.
Holds a post-debate news conference, along with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, outside of NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Christine C. Quinn
Democrat
8:30 a.m.
Attends services at Shri Shridi Sai Baba Temple in Queens.
11:20 a.m.
Attends services at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church, where the Rev. Calvin Rice had endorsed Ms. Quinn in January. The church is on Smith Street in Queens. With this visit behind her, Ms. Quinn will have made 11 confirmed appearances at local churches since April.
12 p.m.
Joins several women’s rights groups, elected officials and prominent backers, including the actress Lorraine Bracco and the comedienne Judy Gold, as her campaign kicks off a get-out-the-vote push for Tuesday’s primary, at Verdi Square on West 72nd Street in Manhattan. Also attending will be the Manhattan chapter of the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood’s New York City Action Fund and NARAL Pro-Choice.
1:20 p.m.
Campaigns at the Upper West Side Fairway Fairway Market in Manhattan.
Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.
William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat
6:30 a.m.
Speaks at the early-bird service at the Rev. Floyd Flake’s Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York, the first of seven services that Mr. Thompson tackles today accompanied by a staunch supporter, Representative Gregory Meeks. Between Mr. Flake, who is a former United States congressman, and the congregation’s 18,000 parishioners, Greater Allen has been a coveted way for local politicians to appeal to voters in Queens. Mr. Thompson came in May, winning the reverand’s endorsement soon after. Undaunted, Bill de Blasio visited on June 30, while John C. Liu addressed three services in a row on Aug. 18 from the church’s home on Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica.
7:30 a.m.
Addresses Calvary Baptist Church on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in Queens, the second of seven services that Mr. Thompson attends today with Representative Gregory Meeks. On July 7, Anthony D. Weiner also addressed the congregation.
8:10 a.m.
Returns to Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York to speak at another service, the third of seven church outings that Mr. Thompson embarks on today with Representative Gregory Meeks.
9:30 a.m.
Addresses the congregation of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem in the fourth of seven services he attended today with Representative Gregory Meeks. Though John C. Liu called on the church on Aug. 4, it was Mr. Thompson who secured the endorsement of its influential pastor, the Rev. Calvin Butts, on Aug. 30.
11 a.m.
Bounces back to Calvary Baptist Church in Queens to speak at the late service, his fifth of seven today with Representative Gregory Meeks. Anthony D. Weiner addressed these same pews on July 7.
11:30 a.m.
Speaks at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Queens, his sixth of seven services today with Representative Gregory Meeks.
12:55 p.m.
Still midday, and Mr. Thompson attends the last of seven religious services he has squeezed into the Sunday before the primary. This time, he addresses the Christian Cultural Center on Flatlands Avenue, considered by many to be the city’s largest house of worship, with roughly 30,000 members. Arriving barely two hours after Bill de Blasio called on the same Brooklyn-based congregation, Mr. Thompson brings Representative Gregory Meeks, who has been by his side since dawn. Both Mr. Thompson and Mr. de Blasio have visited this church before, as has John C. Liu, whose footprints can be found at houses of worship in all five boroughs. With this event behind him, Mr. Thompson has made 40 confirmed appearances at local church services since April.
2:30 p.m.
One of three candidates to greet voters at the annual Rochdale Village 2013 Fall Festival, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rochdale Village, in Queens.
4 p.m.
Hosts a get-out-the-vote rally, catering to local Jewish voters, at Kingston Avenue in Brooklyn.
5:30 p.m.
Hosts a rally with members of the Congressional Black Caucus at Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn.
Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat
10:30 a.m.
Speaks at the First African Methodist Episcopal Zion on MacDonough Street in Brooklyn.
11:15 a.m.
Speaks at the Stuyvesant Christian Center, also on MacDonough Street in Brooklyn.
11:45 a.m.
Still working Brooklyn, Mr. Weiner addresses Bethany Methodist Church on Saint John’s Place. Once this appearance is behind him, the candidate will have put in 31 confirmed appearances at local churches on Sundays since April.
1 p.m.
Greets voters at the 31st Street Astoria Alive Street Fair in Queens.
1:50 p.m.
Greets voters attending Bloomingdale Family Days as they indulge in eclectic mix of events, including yoga lessons, mural painting for children, live music, a walking tour and composting lessons. By the time Mr. Weiner arrives, Tom Fedorek, senior guide at St. John the Divine Cathedral, should be wrapping up his explanation on why signs of the zodiac appear in the stained-glass windows. Sponsored by the Columbus-Amsterdam Business Improvement District, the street fair runs along Amsterdam Avenue.
2:15 p.m.
Outlines his closing arguments for his Keys to the City Tour, an agenda composed of 64 ideas on how to improve the city, from placing a Kindle into the backpack of every student to increasing the value of food stamps that are used to buy fresh produce, at the YMCA in West Harlem.
3:30 p.m.
Joins voters at the 11th Annual West Side County Fair in Manhattan. The event will feature live music, carnival rides, reptile shows and sideshow and aerial acts by the Lady Circus.
6 p.m.
Hosts an hourlong town hall-style meeting via the telephone, fielding questions from registered voters in Manhattan.
7:30 p.m.
Spends another hour answering questions from Brooklyn voters at his second “tele-town hall meeting†of the day.
Sal F. Albanese
Democrat
1:30 p.m.
Stops by the Ferragosto Festival, held by local merchants and the Italian community, on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
3:30 p.m.
While other candidates spend the remaining days before the election attempting to curry favor throughout the boroughs, Mr. Albanese doubles down on building support in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, campaigning there for the fourth day in a row, greeting shoppers on Third Avenue.
Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Independent
11:15 a.m.
Attends services at First Central Baptist Church in the Stapleton section of Staten Island, where his opponents Anthony D. Weiner and Christine C. Quinn both spoke on July 14.
2 p.m.
Stops by the Ferragosto Festival, held by local merchants and the Italian community, on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
3:30 p.m.
Visits the Co-op City Community Festival in the Section 5 Greenway of the sprawling housing development in the Bronx.
Erick J. Salgado
Democrat
10 a.m.
Marches in the 17th Annual Central American Parade, which begins at a memorial commemorating the 1990 fire that claimed 87 lives at the Happy Land Social Club.
Attends children’s parade on Graham Avenue in Brooklyn.
Visits a festival outside the church where he is a pastor, at 8700 18th Avenue in Brooklyn.
5 p.m.
Watches “65 Years of Israel†at the Millennium Theater with Gregory Davidzon, a Russian radio host, in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn.
Charles Sykes/Invision, via Charles Sykes, via Invision, via Associated Press Bruno Mars performed at MTV’s Video Music Awards ceremony in August.The Grammy award-winning pop artist Bruno Mars has been chosen by the National Football League to perform the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show in February. Mr. Mars appeared in Times Square during a live broadcast of Fox’s “N.F.L. Sunday†to make the news official. He described being named as “an honor.â€
The selection of Mr. Mars, 27, whose debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans,†was released in 2010, is something of a departure for the N.F.L., which in recent years has tapped long-established acts for the Super Bowl, like Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Madonna. Even the most recent halftime artist, Beyoncé, 32, has been a star since the late 1990s.
The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Mr. Mars’s second album, “Unorthodox Jukebox,†has sold over four million copies worldwide since its release in December.
“He is the most formidable synthesizer of styles going in pop today, taking in doo-wop, lovers rock reggae, torch songs, 1950s rock, 1970s funk, 1990s R&B and more, making for a sound that’s both pan-stylistic and, in a way, panracial,†Jon Caramanica wrote in The Times in a review of Mr. Mars’s performance earlier this summer at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times Will Barnet reciting lines from “Macbeth†for a small audience on the High Line park. Like so many fledgling actors before him, Will Barnet moved to New York City to become a star. It did not take very long for Mr. Barnet, a recent graduate of Brown University, to learn how unlikely that would be.
Nonetheless, Mr. Barnet has not lacked for work. Since arriving in the city last year, he has been Hamlet, Prince Hal, Richard III, Romeo and even Juliet.
The key to landing all those plum roles has been his choice of casting director: himself. Last summer, inspired by street performers in Washington Square Park, Mr. Barnet, 23, made “a bet with myself to see if I could get people to stop and listen to ‘Hamlet.’ â€
He began delivering Shakespearean monologues that he had learned in college, and what began as a lark quickly evolved into something bigger: “Will in the Park.†Armed with a small sign offering Shakespeare by request (“Cheaper than Broadway,†it says), Mr. Barnet performs regularly for hours in Greenwich Village and on the High Line, as well as in Central Park and at farmers’ markets, where he often gets food in addition to the tips he receives. (People tip more in winter, he said.)
The High Line is his favorite spot, he said, because its narrow paths deliver him a steady stream of spectators; he especially loves to perform near a bust of Colin Powell in the park, above West 22nd Street. (But, heeding rules that bar performers from monopolizing a space, he stays on the move.)
On a recent Friday evening, the first passers-by offered mostly bemused or intrigued stares. But one monologue typically leads to another; Mr. Barnet, who says he knows three dozen soliloquies and counting, said he performs 10 to 15 an hour.
This time, Hamlet’s “To be or not to be†soliloquy, (one of the most requested), led to Macbeth’s “Tomorrow and tomorrow.†The audience included Sue Ainscough, an Englishwoman who lives in Italy with her husband, Maurizio Calbi, a Shakespeare scholar and the author of the book “Spectral Shakespeares,†which examines experimental adaptations of the playwright’s work. “It’s nice to see people spreading the word in different ways,†Mr. Calbi said after watching Mr. Barnet. “And he’s very good.â€
Mr. Barnet, who lives on the Far West Side of Manhattan, was reluctant to discuss how much he earned, though during a one-hour period on the High Line recently, listeners gave him multiple $5 and $20 bills.
He said that people in Central Park were less receptive. The space is vast, and visitors tend to have a more defined agenda, he said, while Washington Square Park and the High Line attract wanderers looking for “events to witness.†(The New York University students that typically cross Washington Square Park often make requests that sound more like a challenge, Mr. Barnet said, with queries like, “What’s the one I just did in class at Tisch? It’s ‘Othello,’ let’s see you do that,†referring to the university’s arts school.)
On Friday, Lori Marcus and her son, Logan, almost walked past Mr. Barnet on the High Line but stopped and requested a speech from “Hamlet,†letting Mr. Barnet choose. He selected “How all occasions do inform against me†from Act IV.
“I usually go to ‘Shakespeare in the Park,’ †Ms. Marcus said, “but didn’t get there this summer so this was my fix.â€
That speech from “Hamlet†was followed by a request for one from “Othello,†which yielded yet another from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.â€
Mr. Barnet, a native of South Carolina, said the constant performing had sharpened his skills. He has shaken the temptation to declaim too grandly, he said, and has broken other bad habits. He has also learned, he said, how to fix problems on the fly, adapt to a space, and keep an audience’s attention. One of his favorite moments, he said, came when a couple requested some sonnets, but their child started crying. Mr. Barnet directed his performance at the stroller “with a more lilting delivery,†which, he said, stopped the tears. Another time three older men, one of whom was an actor, took turns trading sonnet recitations with him. And once, a fan yelled down a request from an apartment roof above the High Line. Naturally, he wanted Romeo doing the balcony scene.
Mr. Barnet’s public exposure has led to “strange opportunities†including a modeling job, performances at holiday parties, and jobs coaching teenage actors. The sense of constant discovery and the direct connection with his audiences has thrilled him. “I still want to get an agent and do films,†he said, “but right now I’m earning money doing what I love to do, and it’s much more interesting than what traditional channels allow.â€
Mr. Barnet is contemplating how to expand the experience. He is toying with the idea of learning all the parts for one play. “I’m not sure how I’ll pull it off, but I like the idea of just putting a sign up saying, ‘Now Playing: ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ â€
Vin Diesel’s enormous following on Facebook - his personal page has nearly 47 million “likes†- did not translate into enormous ticket sales for “Riddick†(Universal), which took in a soft $18.7 million in North America over the weekend. That was enough for No. 1 on what is historically one of the slowest box-office weekends of the year. But box-office analysts, citing online chatter, had been hoping for more. “Riddick,†which may have suffered from its R rating, was independently financed for about $38 million.
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler†(Weinstein) was second, taking in about $8.9 million, for a stellar four-week total of $91.9 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. Third place went to the Spanish-language juggernaut “Instructions Not Included†(Lionsgate), which took in about $8.1 million in semi-limited release, for a two-week total of $20.3 million. The comedy “We’re the Millers†(Warner) cruised along in fourth place, selling an estimated $7.9 million tickets, for a five-week total of $123.8 million, while the animated “Planes†(Disney) landed in the fifth spot, taking in $4.3 million, for a five-week total of $79.3 million.
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Kanye West will headline his first solo tour in five years to promote his album “Yeezus,†it was announced on Friday. Press representatives for the tour said in a news release that the Yeezus Tour, as it is called, will begin Oct. 19 at the Key Arena in Seattle and run for seven weeks, when it will conclude Dec. 7 at the Toyota Center in Houston. New York-area tour dates include a Nov. 19 appearance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and a Nov. 23 appearance at Madison Square Garden.
Mr. West will be joined at most of these tour dates by Kendrick Lamar, the Southern California rapper whose album “good kid, m.A.A.d city†was released to wide acclaim last year, as well as other special guests still to be announced. Mr. West previously toured with Jay Z in 2011 in support of their joint album, “Watch the Throne,†and as a solo artist in 2008 on his Glow in the Dark tour, which also featured artists like Gnarls Barkley, Chris Brown and N.E.R.D.
David Plunkert This week, The New York Times Book Review unveils its first redesign in six years. In addition to the updated look, the Book Review's back page is now home to a new feature: Bookends, where each week two distinguished columnists (from a rotating cast of 10) will address a provocative question from the world of books. First up, Zoë Heller and Adam Kirsch answer the question: “Are novelists too wary of criticizing other novelists?†Ms. Heller writes:
If nonfiction writers are, by and large, less squeamish about criticizing one another's work, this is not, one suspects, because they are a bolder or less compassionate bunch, but rather because the criticism of nonfiction tends to be a more impersonal business than that of assessing novels. The critic of nonfiction contests matters of fact, of interpretation, of ideological stance. The critic of fiction, by contrast, has only aesthetic criteria to work with. You may respectfully take issue with another writer's analysis of the Weimar Republic without impugning his skill and dignity as a historian. But when you argue that a novelist's characters are implausible or that his sentences are inelegant, there's no disguising the rebuke to his artistry.
On this week's podcast, Jennifer McDonald, a preview editor at the Book Review, introduces Bookends; Sheri Fink talks about “Five Days at Memorialâ€; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Katy Butler talks about “Knocking on Heaven's Doorâ€; George Johnson discusses “The Cancer Chroniclesâ€; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Pamela Paul is the host.
Chad Batka for The New York Times Kim Gordon performing with Bill Nace as Body/Head this summer.This week: Body/Head and Kim Gordon, post-Sonic Youth.
For 30 years, Kim Gordon was a member of Sonic Youth, one of America's most influential rock bands; she was a bassist, guitarist, and singer of dark, baleful psychodramas. But she still doesn't consider herself a musician - even as Body/Head, her first post-Sonic Youth project, releases its first full album, and as her musicality and artistic purpose are clearer than ever.
Ben Ratliff talks to Jon Caramanica about her roots as a mid-'70s conceptual artist, her inheritance of No Wave sensibilities, her term as a presiding conscience in indie-rock, and her new freedom.
Listen above, download the MP3 or subscribe in iTunes.
RELATED:
Ben Ratliff on Kim Gordon and Body/Head
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Tracks by artists discussed this week. (Spotify users can also find it.)
TORONTO - Halfway through the Friday night screening of “12 Years a Slave†at the Toronto International Film Festival, a woman roughly 15 rows back in the auditorium finally had to cut loose.
“Yes!†“Yes!†“Yes!†“Yes!†she kept saying, as the enslaved Solomon Northup, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, gave a thrashing to an especially wicked master played by Paul Dano.
No ambiguity here.
While “The Fifth Estate,†another Toronto film, cultivates a studied ambivalence toward its subject, Julian Assange, “12 Years a Slave†knows exactly where it stands.
Slavery is evil - and the film hammers that home with its portrayal of horrifying plantation moments. Beatings, rape, murder, it's all there, in vivid tableaux constructed by the film's director, Steve McQueen.
At the Princess of Wales theater here on Friday, those scenes - written by John Ridley, with help from the film's historical consultant, Henry Louis Gates Jr. - provoked considerable response from the audience. People groaned at the floggings; laughed bitterly at the ranting of a plantation mistress; and clapped in time to a gospel tune that played over the credits at the end.
The screening carried echoes of a revival meeting, and the prevailing sentiment, as the movie ended, was “Amen!â€
“If I never get to participate in a film after it, this is it for me,†Brad Pitt, who appears in the movie, said afterward. He was underscoring the sense of importance that comes with what is, after all, a very rare portrayal of slavery in early 19th-century America.
The amen spirit will be an enormous plus as “12 Years a Slave,†which will be released by Fox Searchlight on Oct. 18, mounts its drive for the Oscars.
“So I hear we're about to see the best picture winner,†said one young woman as she eased into her seat for the Friday screening - though the Academy Awards are six months away, and very few contenders have been seen yet by Oscar voters.
But there's a bit of risk in the sense of moral certainty that comes with “12 Years a Slave.â€
Much as “The Fifth Estate†will have to sustain its pose of ambiguity for the next half-year, “12 Years†will have to sustain its outrage. To do either is a challenge.
TORONTO-Tough issues and hard situations: Screens at the Toronto International Film Festival are jammed with so many, it is impossible to do them justice.
But justice - of a vibrant, cinematic kind-is precisely what those who made the movies seek, even when it is not immediately in prospect.
“We're running a campaign at the moment to use the film to help these children†said the writer-director Sarah McCarthy, as she introduced her documentary, “The Dark Matter of Love,†at a Saturday afternoon premiere here.
Ms. McCarthy was referring to perhaps 300 Russian children who, she said, had already bonded with prospective adoptive parents from the United States, before Russian's government called a halt to American adoptions.
“A Dark Matter of Love†is not really a political film. Rather, it is a case study in the delicate matter of family bonding, focusing on a Wisconsin family and three Russian orphans whom they adopted when long past infancy. Despite the challenges, the expanded family - who joined Ms. McCarthy on stage after the screening - appear to be on a path toward a full, love-filled life for all involved.
But Ms. McCarthy and others fret that the Russian ban will block the path for others, unless, rising indignation, perhaps fueled by her film, helps to reverse it.
Sometimes, cinema lovers expect more than their favorite medium can likely deliver. At the festival's opening night gala on Thursday, Chaz Ebert, the widow of critic Roger Ebert, suggested on stage that world leaders might settle mortal differences, if only they were locked up with a bunch of films.
“Show them some movies, and maybe we'd have peace instead of war,†Ms. Ebert suggested, during a tribute to her husband.
If that's a bit much to ask, others here nonetheless insisted that film shows a way through tough situations.
As Ms. McCarthy spoke at the Bell Lightbox on Saturday, for instance, Colin Firth and colleagues - at a press conference downstairs - were explaining the lessons in their movie “The Railway Man.â€
It is a real-life drama, based on the experiences of Eddie Lomax, who faced torment as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II. “No matter how bleak life might be, there's always a way forward, if you're open to see it,†said Mr. Lomax's widow, Patti, in summarizing the film's message.
Those seeking difficult issues, hard situations and inspiration in bleak moments would find them all a few minutes later at the Roy Thomson hall, where “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,†about the political struggles of Nelson Mandela, had its world premiere on Saturday.
“This movie is a big deal,†said Cameron Bailey, the festival's artistic director, as he introduced what might be the most insistent of the many festival offerings that insist on social justice.
“We hope you enjoy the film,†Mr. Bailey added. “We hope you learn from it, and we hope you teach it.â€
Michael Cieply covers the film industry from the Los Angeles bureau.