1. My weekly read
The Economist is the most useful magazine in the English language, mostly because it’s truly global. The Toronto-Paris flight is just about enough time to get through an issue.

2. My special occasion suit
Last year, I got married in a Strellson tuxedo. I wore it again when I strolled the red carpet at Cannes. And I’ll be sporting it on TIFF’s opening night. For a film festival director, a good tux is like a catcher’s glove, or maybe his mask.

3. My cinematic crush
Thandie Newton. Or Scarlett Johansson. Or Rani Mukherjee. Everyone who toils in the film industry needs an absurd crush to remind them how movies really work. Some of us can have several.

4. The chain store Toronto should have
Muji (www.muji.eu) is like a Japanese IKEA with a little Gap thrown in. My wife, Carolynne, turned me on to the cheap, simple, brilliantly designed products, which you can find in London, Paris and Oslo. When I go overseas, I stock up on minimalist masterpieces, like the little pen and notebook I carry everywhere.

5. My most important document
Like many people in Toronto, I’m an immigrant (I moved here in 1971 from Barbados). So whether I’m landing in Berlin, Mumbai or Lagos, I’m grateful for the Canadian passport secured for me by my forward-thinking mom, Luciene Bailey.

6. My festival haunts
The green rooms backstage at Roy Thomson Hall, the Ryerson Theatre and the Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre can be sheer havoc—nervous directors, gawking hangers-on and stars primping for their big moment onstage. But isn’t that why we throw this party every year?

7. My soundtrack
Elvis Costello is the greatest songwriter of his generation. During the festival a few years back, I barrelled into an elevator at the Four Seasons and almost walked right into him. I said something totally unoriginal, like, “I’m a great admirer of your work.” He just smiled politely.

8. My favourite meal replacement
Served with a drink (I usually have a glass of shiraz), the olives, almonds and apple rings at the Park Hyatt Roof Lounge (4 Avenue Rd., 416-925-1234) are luscious snacks. Not exactly a balanced meal, but they’ll do when there’s no time for fine dining. And you can’t beat the view.

9. Post-TIFF fuel-up
When it’s all over, I’ll head to Albert’s Real Jamaican Foods (558 Queen St. W., 416-304-0767) for a large oxtail dinner to go.

10. My favourite ’hood
Parkdale has been home for a decade, which gives me the right to complain about the creeping gentrification. Long live the scruffy storefronts, the crooked sidewalks and the cast of characters on the Dufferin bus.