Discovery

The movie stars are arriving in Toronto for TIFF, the international film festival which is second only to Cannes in the firmament of festivals.

There are over 300 films to be seen and our daughter Jocelyn can attest to that staggering figure. As one of the graphic designers for TIFF she laboured long into the evenings and early mornings of August to prepare the massive film guide for the festival.

We have tickets for the film Kon-tiki which shows Saturday evening. As a twelve-year-old I read Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl's recounting of his epic 1947 journey across the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in the book The Kon-tiki Expedition. It was a powerful, real-life, story of adventure and courage. Hererdahl's goal was to prove that Polynesians could have made this 8,000 kilometre crossing.

It has got me thinking of that spirit of discovery which has motivated explorers and adventurers through the centuries. Some were motivated by the prospect of treasure, others by fame. Some of the most adventurous were Christians who set out to share the gospel in lands unknown. The Jesuits made their way around the globe, including Canada.

Sadly, many of those expeditions were extensions of imperial power rather than attempts to make Christ known in a spirit of respect and mutual understanding. The film The Mission does a masterful job of showing the dark side of those attempts, alongside the sincerity and conviction of some. When the United Church apologized to First Nations peoples it acknowledged confusing culture and the gospel.

Kon-tiki may be the only film we see, but something tells me that a few of you will be taking in lots of the movies and maybe doing some star spotting. So far Joc hasn't seen any celebs.

Will you be heading to Toronto for any screenings? What sort of films do you enjoy?