The
Toronto International Film Festival
(TIFF) is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. The
festival begins the Thursday night after
Labour Day (the first Monday
in September, in Canada) and lasts for ten days. Between 300-400
films are screened at approximately 23 screens in downtown Toronto
venues. Annual attendance at TIFF exceeds 300,000 from public and
industry audiences.
In terms of prestige, it is regularly ranked
in the top five alongside the Cannes Film Festival
, Berlin International Film
Festival, Venice Film
Festival, and Sundance Film
Festival.
Founded in 1976, the TIFF is now among the top prestigious film
festivals in the world. In 1998,
Variety magazine acknowledged that
"the Festival is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile
pics, stars and market activity." Quoted by the
National Post in 1999,
Roger Ebert claimed "...although Cannes is still
larger, Toronto is just as great...." It is the premiere film
festival in North America, from which the
Oscar race begins.
The
festival is centered around the Yorkville
neighborhood, an upscale area in the downtown
core. The festival is known for the buzz it brings to
Yorkville and cameras and media have taken to covering the
red
carpet with fashion and interviews with the stars. Although the
Festival has begun to give more attention to mainstream Hollywood
films, it still maintains its independent roots. It features
retrospectives of national cinemas and individual directors,
highlights of Canadian cinema, and a variety of African, South
American, and Asian films.
The festival is considered a launch pad for many studios to begin
"
Oscar-buzz" for their films; for
example,
Taylor Hackford's
Ray premiered at the festival
and garnered much attention for
Jamie
Foxx's portrayal of
Ray Charles (for
which he ultimately won the
Academy Award for Best Actor);
and
Slumdog
Millionaire, that went on to win 8 Oscars at the 2009
Academy Awards.
The Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival,
since 1994, is
Piers Handling. In
2004,
Noah Cowan became Co-Director of
the Festival. In late 2007, Cowan was promoted to Artistic Director
of
Bell Lightbox, the Toronto
International Film Festival Group's (TIFFG) future home, while
long-time programmer
Cameron Bailey
succeeded as Co-Director.
For last year's 2008 festival, please see:
33rd Annual
Toronto International Film Festival.
History
TIFF,
known originally as "The Festival of Festivals", was founded in
1976 at the Windsor Arms
Hotel
. It began as a collection of the best films
from festivals around the world.
It has since, through consistent
investment and promotion by its organizers and sponsors, grown to
become a vital component of Hollywood's
marketing machine.
Many notable films have had their global or North American premiere
at the Toronto International Film Festival, including
Chariots of Fire,
The Big Chill,
Husbands and Wives,
Thirty Two Short Films
About Glenn Gould,
Downfall,
American Beauty,
Sideways, and
Crash.
In 2001, Perspective Canada, the programme that had focused on
Canadian films since 1984, was replaced by two programmes:
- Canada First!, a forum for Canadian filmmakers presenting their
first feature-length work, featuring eight to 15 films, and
- Short Cuts Canada, which includes 30-40 Canadian short films.
The TIFF Group occasionally polls critics, programmers, and
industry professionals, asking them to identify their top 10
Canadian films. The TIFF Group has conducted three such polls, in
1984, 1993, and 2004.
In October 2008, TIFF Group was named one of "
Canada's Top 100 Employers" by
Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in
Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month,
TIFF Group was also named one of
Greater Toronto's Top
Employers, which was announced by the
Toronto Star newspaper.
In 2004, TIFF was featured as the site of murder mystery in the
film
Jiminy Glick in
Lalawood, a comedy film starring
Martin
Short.
In 2007, the Festival Group began construction on a new facility at
the corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto (on land
donated by
Ivan Reitman and family) -
Bell Lightbox, named for founding sponsor Bell, with additional
support from the Governments of Ontario and Canada. The facility
will open in 2010 and will provide extensive year-round galleries,
cinemas, archives and activities for cinephiles.
In 2009,
TIFF's decision to spotlight, with financial support from the
Israeli government, films from Tel Aviv
created a
controversy with protesters saying it was part of an attempt to
re-brand Israel in a positive light after
the January 2009 Gaza War.
The
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
is a major sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival
(TIFF).
People's Choice Award
References
- Brand Israel set to launch in GTA,
Canadian Jewish News, August 21,
2009.
- TIFF focus on Tel Aviv draws protests.
Globe and
Mail. September 8, 2009.
- We don't feel like celebrating with Israel this
year, Globe and Mail, September 10, 2009.
- Canadian director protests TIFF Tel Aviv
spotlight, CBC
News.
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