by a pair of circus promotors in 1841, then drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery in New Orleans. It’s based on the remarkable memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man, and a skilled carpenter and fiddler, who was lured from Sarasota, N.Y., to Washington, D.C. But here’s the best of what I saw, 28 films in all: Plus, I’m sure, a bunch of amazing films I didn’t even know I’d missed. There are many titles I was sad to miss, including Philomena, The Unknown Known, Finding Vivian Maier, The Wind Rises-and more than a few Canadian titles. Unfortunately, a front-loaded schedule of must-see movies made it impossible to cover the waterfront. I tended to see the more high-profile pictures, those with stars and distribution, and TIFF 2013 produced an exceptional vintage. During the festival, I chose to post mini-reviews only of the films I loved, or liked.