The cast of Bunraku gather onstage for a Q & A. (Submitted by Roger Rousseau)

By Roger Rousseau, citizen contributor

We may have passed TIFF's halfway mark, but the festival is far from over. There are still many films to be seen, celebrities to be photographed and Q&As to be had. At their best, Q&As can be informative and entertaining. At their worst, they can create a feeling of unease and embarrassment between the filmmakers and the audience. Perhaps if we created some sort of guide, a "Do's and Don'ts of TIFF Q&As," we can find a way to make them all great.

After putting the word out that I wanted feedback and stories on TIFF Q&As, my good friend and avid TIFFer Mike Lane sent me a lengthy response. Mike usually sees about 30 films per festival, but this year he's had to cut down on the screenings so he can finish editing a behind-the-scenes documentary about a film that's currently screening at TIFF. Since he was kind enough to take a break and respond to my questions, I thought I would share with you Mike's wisdom and experiences, with the hope that this can set us down the right path for better Q&As to come.

Roger Rousseau: What makes for a good Q&A?

Mike Lane: The most important part is the role that the TIFF programmer plays in the process, getting the ball rolling. Colin Geddes' Q&As are the best, as he tends to start off with a few intelligent questions that are both inquisitive and well-informed (because really, the TIFF programmer might be the only person in the theatre with knowledge of the filmmaker). The deadliest sessions are the ones where the programmer greets the crowd with the dead weight prompt "any questions?" and is met with a wall of silence.

RR: What's a good, fail-safe question?

ML: You probably can't go wrong asking about the creative genesis of a project, unless you're asking that question to an actor who would have absolutely no concrete idea of the writer or director's motives. I suppose you could ask an actor what their process was, if you're interested in that sort of thing. Don't actors like to talk about that sort of thing?

RR: Examples of bad questions?

ML: Don't ask what it was like working with a particular cast/crew member -- the answer will always be "so-and-so is awesome," which is, most likely, the answer you were hoping for (unless somehow Klaus Kinski was involved) and will almost always be bull. Don't ask about the budget -- only a producer would care about that answer, and if the movie hasn't sold worldwide the filmmakers won't tell you the number because it affects their sales bargaining position. Don't ask about the ending, even if you didn't get it. And for the love of Christ, don't praise the movie or thank them for being present in your preamble like some kind of mindless, applause-starved sycophant. Do that afterward, when you've followed them into the alley behind the theatre so nobody else will see Guillermo Del Toro give you a bear hug for calling his movie "f--king beautiful."

RR: What are the best and worst Q&As you've attended?

ML: Political films and/or movies from war-torn or Middle Eastern countries can either be the best or the worst. At best, you can get a heaping helping of balance or fresh information from the people involved or from theatregoers who actually know what they're talking about. At worst, you get stubborn people with the curious position of refusing to accept that film is an artistic representation rather than actual truth and are deeply, personally insulted by the film. Last year's Lebanon featured a despicable character who identified himself as a Lebanese Christian, so the Q&A was inevitably seized by a fiercely angry woman who identified herself as a Lebanese Christian and wanted to know why the filmmaker was saying that all Lebanese Christians are evil (because she and her family aren't evil, nor are her friends). When that happens you're safe to walk out -- no other subject will be broached.

RR: Any real head-scratchers?

ML: At the premiere of Paul Schrader's Auto-Focus, a dark drama about the weird sex and weirder murder that befell Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, an audience member insisted on asking Willem Dafoe several questions about how the special effects in Spider-Man were achieved. Was he on some sort of gyro device? How did he balance? For the record, Dafoe was a class act and refused to answer.

Have any Q&A stories or advice to share? Let us know in the comments section.

You can follow Roger throughout #TIFF10 on twitter at @roger_writes