TIFF
September 10-20, 2015

The Toronto International Film Festival is well underway in Canada’s most populous city. It is one of the festivals mentioned along with Cannes, Sundance and others as part of an illustrious group of worldwide film festivals.

Around the World in 15 Film Festivals
Condé Nast Traveler

Any film with succulent scenery, inspiring stories and captivating characters can motivate one to travel the globe in search of the place, idea or circumstances around which the film is based. Like travel, films can provide an outlet for escapism, a sense of adventure and a means of self discovery. Not only do some films inspire travel, they are also part of the tourist industry. Some movie-related sites are:

Hollywood and Universal studios; Bollywood in Mumbai, India; Hobbiton, New Zealand
Star Wars filming locations in Tunisia

Here are some of my film picks:

• Lord of the Rings
  I had been to New Zealand before this film came out, but watching this trilogy imbued me with a sense of nostalgia and a longing to return to the “land of the long white cloud“. My travel to New Zealand has become its own series: “Fellowship of the Traveller” “The Two Islands (North vs. South)” “Return of the Kimberley”.
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
  I felt a great sense of adventure watching this film and perhaps it was at this time that I realized I wanted to travel. The desert scenery still intrigues me and I anticipate the day I can travel (relatively) safely throughout the Middle East again.
• The Man with the Golden Gun
  This James Bond film was shot in Phang Nga Bay which has now been nicknamed James Bond Island. I ended up on a boat tour there when I visited Thailand.
• Pascali’s Island
  The sumptuous scenery of this film had me fired up to visit the Mediterranean. It was shot in Greece and the chronological setting was that of the deteriorating Ottoman Empire.
• A Room with a View
  This Merchant Ivory production was filmed in Florence and presented the timeless beauty of this much-visited travel destination.

What are some of the movies that inspired your travels?