This September, it is time for the world to witness one of the biggest gatherings of film experts and enthusiasts from all parts of the globe. The Toronto International Film Festival will once again showcase a program of films that will change the way that people see the world.
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and grandest film festivals in the world. It screens new films from reputable personalities as well as aspiring filmmakers in the industry. The festival, better known as TIFF, is one of the largely attended film festivals in the world. It draws over 480,000 attendees each year.
The festival is held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the northwest corner of King Street and John Street. This five-story building has been the home of the festival for many years and houses five cinemas, major exhibitions and galleries, learning studios, two restaurants, a rooftop terrace and a gift shop.
The Toronto International Film Festival receives over 7,300 submissions each year and screens over 255 films throughout the event. The films presented at the festival each year gain worldwide credit and often receive Academy Award recognition.
Among the most popular film premieres that TIFF has screened were American Beauty (1999), The Five Obstructions (2003), Mr. Nobody (2009), Black Swan (2010), and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). which won eight Oscar Awards at the Academy Awards in 2009.
TIFF celebrates its 43rd anniversary this 2018. The festival has prepared 16 Gala Presentations and 34 Special Presentations this year. The festival recently provided a sneak peek of this year’s lineup. Included in this year’s Gala Presentation are A Star is Born by Bradley Cooper, Beautiful Boy by Felix Van Groeningen and First Man by Damien Chazelle.
Other exciting films that we can expect this year are A Million Little Pieces by Sam Taylor-Johnson, American Woman American Woman by Jake Scott, Ben is Back by Peter Hedges, Boy Erased by Joel Edgerton, and many more.
This year, the festival will be attended by several celebrities like Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, Viola Davis, Steve Carell, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Jackman, Liam Neeson, and many more. Aside from an all-star cast, the TIFF will also offer screenings, workshops, lectures, discussions, and industry support to emerging filmmakers.
History
The Toronto International Film Festival was founded in 1976 by Bill Marshall, Dusty Cohl, and Henk Van der Kolk.
The first festival took place on October 18, 1976, and lasted for 7 days. The inaugural festival was called the Toronto Festival of Festivals and was attended by 35,000 people. It screened about 127 films from 30 countries all over the world during the event.
In 1994, the festival was renamed to Toronto International Film Festival, the name used up to the present day. Pierce Handling also became the festival director and CEO in the same year. The festival was curated by a non-profit organization called Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) and was later on recognized as the TIFF.
The organization has been gaining support from various film associations and consequently has grown in size over the year. In 1990, the TIFF Cinematheque and the Film Reference Library was opened. The Film Circuit started to showcase independent Canadian films across Canada in 1994. Aside from the main festival, the organization also founded the TIFF Kids International Film Festival back in 1998.
In 2007, the TIFF Group started building the TIFF Bell Lightbox, which has become the festival’s venue up to this day. This construction was made possible with the support of Ivan Reitman and family, the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada.
The Toronto International Film Festival has been achieving noteworthy recognitions throughout its existence. In 1998, Variety Magazine recognized TIFF as “second (only) to the Cannes Film Festival in terms of high-profile pics, stars, and market activity”. In 2007, Time Magazine quoted that TIFF had “grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period.”
Programmes and Awards
The Toronto International Film Festival receives thousands of films each year and divides these into the following sections.
- Gala Presentations- These are high-status films that usually feature international movie stars.
- Special Presentations- These are high-status films that are usually Canadian premieres.
- Contemporary World Cinema- These are narrative feature films from established but not famous directors.
- Masters- These are feature films created by prominent art filmmakers.
- Discovery- These are new films and are often the first or second feature film of a director.
- In Conversation With- This includes interviews of a director or any key figure in the film industry.
- Primetime- This section contains television episodes on their world or North American premiere.
- Platform- This consists of films from all over the world that do not have distribution rights in North America yet.
- Short Cuts- This consists of short films, both Canadian and international.
- TIFF Cinematheque- This section includes films from all eras, such as restored classics.
- TIFF Kids and TIFF Next Wave- These are films for children and young adults.
- TIFF Docs- This section contains documentary films.
- Midnight Madness- This section is for genre films.
The Toronto International Film Festival presents the following awards.
- People’s Choice Award/Grolsch People’s Choice Award- the highest award in the Festival
- People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award
- People’s Choice Documentary Award
- Best Canadian Feature Film
- Best Canadian First Feature Film
- Excellence in Canadian Production
- Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film
- Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Film
- International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize)- Special Presentations
- International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize)- Discovery
- Toronto Platform Prize
- Artistic Innovation
- Cultural Innovation
- NETPAC
The most recent winners of the Grolsch People’s Choice Award are Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), La La Land (2016), Room (2015), The Imitation Game (2014), and 12 Years a Slave (2013).
How to Enter Your Film
The Toronto International Film Festival accepts film submissions through Withoutabox. The deadline has passed for the submission of entries for the 2018 Festival.
The call for entries for the 2019 festival will open in February 2019, so stay tuned.
The complete lists of general rules, submission deadlines, and fees, as well as details about the Festival, are all available in the Withoutabox site:
https://www.withoutabox.com/03film/03t_fin/03t_fin_fest_01over.php?festival_id=1005
For information about the Festival schedule and events, you can also visit TIFF’s official website at https://www.tiff.net.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 6, 2018, to September 16, 2018.
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