Difference between revisions of "Toronto International Film Festival" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
Line 33: Line 33:
 
All Bill and I wanted to make was feature films. Making a feature was a bit of an uphill battle in this country: you didn’t make feature films, you went to see American feature films. We needed to get noticed. How the hell do we get the world to realize we’re here, and how do we get a Canadian film industry? That’s why it started, really.<ref name=history> Daniel McIntosh, [https://www.canculturemag.com/film/2017/09/17/a-brief-history-of-the-rise-of-tiff A Brief History of TIFF] ''CanCultur'', September 17, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2022.</ref>
 
All Bill and I wanted to make was feature films. Making a feature was a bit of an uphill battle in this country: you didn’t make feature films, you went to see American feature films. We needed to get noticed. How the hell do we get the world to realize we’re here, and how do we get a Canadian film industry? That’s why it started, really.<ref name=history> Daniel McIntosh, [https://www.canculturemag.com/film/2017/09/17/a-brief-history-of-the-rise-of-tiff A Brief History of TIFF] ''CanCultur'', September 17, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2022.</ref>
  
−
The inaugural event took place from October 18 through 24, 1976. That first year, 35,000 filmgoers watched 140 films from 30 countries.<ref name=history/> Ironically, however, Hollywood studios withdrew their submissions from TIFF due to concerns that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their products.<ref>David Sterritt, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130906171153/http://fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0609/sterritt_festivals.htm Film Festivals — Then and Now] ''FIPRESCI'', 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2022.</ref>
+
The inaugural event took place from October 18 through 24, 1976. That first year, 35,000 filmgoers watched 140 films from 30 countries.<ref name=TIFFhistory> [https://web.archive.org/web/20100825030348/http://www.torontointernationalfilmfestival.ca/abouttiff/organization/tiffhistory TIFF History] ''tiff''. Retrieved December 26, 2022.</ref> Ironically, however, Hollywood studios withdrew their submissions from TIFF due to concerns that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their products.<ref>David Sterritt, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130906171153/http://fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0609/sterritt_festivals.htm Film Festivals — Then and Now] ''FIPRESCI'', 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2022.</ref>
  
 
===Early Years===
 
===Early Years===

Revision as of 00:02, 27 December 2022

Toronto International Film Festival
Misc 04 (15311051571).jpg
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Founded1976
LanguageInternational
Websitetiff.net

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, located in Downtown Toronto. TIFF is held from the Thursday night after Labour Day (the first Monday in September in Canada), continuing for eleven days.

Year-round, the TIFF Bell Lightbox offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops, industry support, and the chance to meet filmmakers from Canada and around the world. TIFF Bell Lightbox is located on the north west corner of King Street and John Street in downtown Toronto.

Founded in 1976, TIFF is now one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world, one of the "Big Five" worldwide, which include the European Cannes, Berlin, and Venice festivals, alongside the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.

The festival's People's Choice Award—which is based on audience balloting—has emerged as an indicator of success during awards season, especially at the Academy Awards. Past recipients of this award include Oscar-winning films, such as Life Is Beautiful (1998), American Beauty (1999), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The King's Speech (2010), 12 Years a Slave (2013), La La Land (2016), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Green Book (2018), Jojo Rabbit (2019), and Nomadland (2020).

History

Founded in 1976, TIFF is known for the celebrity buzz it brings to the area with international media setting up near its restaurants and stores for photos and interviews with the stars. In 2010, TIFF opened its permanent headquarters, TIFF Bell Lightbox, a year-round home for the appreciation of film in the heart of downtown Toronto, although TIFF films are still screened at a wider variety of venues, including the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, rather than exclusively at the Lightbox.

TIFF's mission is:

to transform the way people see the world through film. TIFF is dedicated to presenting the best of international and Canadian cinema and creating transformational experiences for film lovers and creators of all ages and backgrounds.[1]

First Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival was first launched as the Toronto Festival of Festivals, collecting the best films from other film festivals around the world and showing them to eager audiences in Toronto. It was founded by Bill Marshall, Dusty Cohl, and Henk Van der Kolk,[2] at the Windsor Arms Hotel:

The Windsor Arms is where the festival was born and each year for the last 30 years the Windsor Arms was and continues to be an integral part of the film festival.[3]

Van der Kolk described how it started: All Bill and I wanted to make was feature films. Making a feature was a bit of an uphill battle in this country: you didn’t make feature films, you went to see American feature films. We needed to get noticed. How the hell do we get the world to realize we’re here, and how do we get a Canadian film industry? That’s why it started, really.[4]

The inaugural event took place from October 18 through 24, 1976. That first year, 35,000 filmgoers watched 140 films from 30 countries.[5] Ironically, however, Hollywood studios withdrew their submissions from TIFF due to concerns that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their products.[6]

Early Years

In 1978, the decision was made to replace the name "Festival of Festivals" with "Toronto International Film Festival." The festival moved to a new location, moving from the Harbour Castle Hotel to the Plaza II. The number of galas increased from one to two per night and the Canadian Film Awards were incorporated into the festival.[7] From 1994 to 2009, the umbrella organization running TIFF was named "Toronto International Film Festival Group" (TIFFG). In 2009, the umbrella organization TIFFG was renamed to TIFF.[8]

TIFF was once centered on the Yorkville neighborhood, but the Toronto Entertainment District later gained a greater level of prominence.[9][10]

Growth of the Festival

TIFF has grown, steadily adding initiatives throughout the years. TIFF Cinematheque (formerly Cinematheque Ontario) and the Film Reference Library (FRL) opened in 1990. The TIFF Kids International Film Festival (formerly Sprockets) launched in 1998. Film Circuit began exhibiting independent and Canadian films in under-serviced cities across Canada in 1994.

The festival also organizes the TIFF Film Circuit, a program which partners with local organizations in other Canadian towns and cities to present screenings of films that have previously been shown at TIFF.


In 2001, Perspective Canada, the program that had focused on Canadian films since 1984, was replaced by two programs:

  • 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.

Otherwise, Canadian films are now simply included alongside international films in the other film programs rather than being grouped as a dedicated Canadian film stream.

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, it was announced that the organization generates an estimated annual impact of $67 million CAD.[11] By 2011, that benefit had grown to $170 million CAD.[12]

In 2008, Rose McGowan caused controversy at a TIFF press conference for her film Fifty Dead Men Walking, when she noted that "I imagine, had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in the IRA".[13]

In 2009, TIFF's decision to spotlight films from Tel Aviv created a controversy with protesters, saying it was part of an attempt to re-brand Israel[14] in a positive light after the January 2009 Gaza War.[15][16][17][18]


Recent Festivals and COVID

In 2017, TIFF reduced the number of films screened compared to the 2016 festival[19] with 255 feature-length films in 2017 vs about 400 films in 2016, and also eliminated two venues that had been used in prior years.[20]


In 2019, it was reported that due to a request from its owner, Cineplex Entertainment, no TIFF films distributed by subscription video-on-demand services (specifically Amazon Video and Netflix) are being screened at Scotiabank Theatre—which has been considered the "primary" venue of the festival.[21]


The 2020 version announced that it would be both in-person and virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that film screening would be "masks optional". It was criticized for creating a potential superspreader event as the social nature of the festival could increase the risk for COVID-19 transmission.[22] The festival reversed the decision within 24 hours citing a surge of new cases in Ontario.[23]

In 2022 the Festival returned in person in Toronto from September 8–18.[24] While online screenings continued on the digital platform, the focus of TIFF 2022 was bringing audiences together in person.[25]

TIFF Bell Lightbox

TIFF Bell Lightbox

In 2007, the Festival Group began construction on TIFF Bell Lightbox, a new facility at the corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto, on land donated by Ivan Reitman and family. The $181 million facility is named for founding sponsor Bell Canada, with additional support from the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada.

Bell Lightbox is the cultural centrepiece and home to TIFF programming outside festival dates.

In 2010, the organization opened its new headquarters at TIFF Bell Lightbox. The facility, designed by local firm KPMB Architects, provides extensive year-round galleries, cinemas, archives and activities for cinephiles.[26] The five-storey facility contains five cinemas, two gallery spaces, film archives and an extensive reference library, study spaces, film lab facility, and a research centre. There is also a gift shop, two restaurants, a lounge, a cafe, and a three-storey atrium.[27] Cooperatively with Daniels Corporation, there is a 46-storey condominium atop, called the Festival Tower.

The first film screening was Bruce McDonald's Trigger. The first exhibition was a retrospective on Tim Burton, organized by the Museum of Modern Art (New York City). Subsequent exhibitions include Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style, and Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition, all of which were organized by TIFF, as well as one called Essential Cinema, featuring posters, images and props from TIFF's The Essential 100 list of films.[28][29]

The Film Reference Library (FRL) is a large Canadian film research collection. The library is a free resource for film lovers, filmmakers, students, scholars, and journalists, and is located on the fourth floor of the TIFF Bell Lightbox. An affiliate member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the FRL promotes Canadian and global film scholarship by collecting, preserving, and providing access to a comprehensive collection of film prints, and film-related reference resources (including books, periodicals, scripts, research files, movies, press kits, and about 80 special collections.

In 2016, the festival received a donation of 1,400 film prints, and launched a campaign to raise money for the preservation and storage of the films.[30]

Notable film premieres

Films such as American Beauty, Ray, Mr. Nobody, 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Five Obstructions, Singapore Sling, and I Am Love have premiered at TIFF. Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles ultimately won him the Academy Award for Best Actor while Slumdog Millionaire went on to win eight Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards. Precious, which won the 2009 TIFF People's Choice Award, went on to win two Oscars at the 82nd Academy Awards. The King's Speech, the winner of the 2010 TIFF People's Choice Award, won four Oscars at the 83rd Academy Awards, while Silver Linings Playbook, the winner of the 2012 TIFF People's Choice Award, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. In 2019, the festival opened with Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band, the first time the festival ever opened with a Canadian documentary film.[31]

Many Hollywood studios premiere their films in Toronto due to TIFF's easy-going non-competitive nature, relatively inexpensive costs (when compared to European festivals), eager film-fluent audiences and convenient timing.[32][33][34]

The Festival today

TIFF is now one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world.[35] It os one of the "Big Five" worldwide, which include the European Cannes, Berlin, and Venice festivals, alongside the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.[36]In 1998, Variety acknowledged that TIFF "is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars, and market activity". In 2007, Time noted that TIFF had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period".[37] This is partially the result of the festival's ability and reputation for generating "Oscar buzz".[38]

Awards

The festival's major prize, the People's Choice Award, is given to a feature-length film. It is not a juried prize, but is given to the film with the highest ratings as voted by the TIFF-going populace.[39] It is presently referred to as the "Grolsch People's Choice Award";[40] past sponsors of the award have included Cadillac.[41] The winners of this award have often later earned Academy Award nominations.[42] People's Choice Awards are also presented for Documentary and Midnight Madness films. Each of the People's Choice Awards names first and second runners-up in addition to the winners.

However, TIFF does present juried awards in some other categories. The festival presents three major awards for Canadian films: Best Canadian Film, Best Canadian First Feature Film, and Best Canadian Short Film, as well as awards for Best International Short Film, two FIPRESCI-sponsored International Critics' Prizes for the Special Presentation and Discovery programs, and a NETPAC Prize for the best film from Asia having its world premiere at the festival.[43]

In 2015, the festival introduced Platform, a juried programme that champions director's cinema from around the world; one film from the stream is selected as the winner of the Platform Prize.

For all of the juried awards, honorable mentions may also be given, although the juries are expected to select one overall winner.

For 2019, TIFF announced two new awards, the TIFF Impact Award to honour production companies for work that has had an impact on the film industry, and the Mary Pickford Award to honour an emerging female filmmaker.[44] In the same year the festival introduced the TIFF Tribute Awards, a gala ceremony at which distinguished actors and filmmakers are honoured for their lifetime career achievements; unlike most award categories, the Tribute Award honorees are named in advance of the festival.[45]

Sections

The hundreds of films screened at the annual festival are divided into sections (referred to by TIFF as "Programmes") based on genre (e.g. documentary, children's films), format (e.g. short films, television episodes), the status of filmmaker (e.g. "masters", first-time directors), and so forth. Up until the early 2010s there were sections reserved for Canadian films, but beginning in 2015 all Canadian films are integrated in sections with films from outside Canada.

Currently the festival's 14 sections are as follows:[19]

  • Contemporary World Cinema: narrative feature films by established directors
  • Discovery: films that are typically the director's first or second feature film
  • Gala Presentations: high-profile feature films, often featuring international movie stars, presented with a red carpet
  • In Conversation With...: interviews of a director or other figure from the film industry, generally accompanied by brief excerpts from films (up until the 2014 festival, this section was called "Mavericks")
  • Masters: feature films by "the world's most influential art-house filmmakers"
  • Midnight Madness: genre films (traditionally at TIFF each film in this section has one screening scheduled for 11:59pm and another the following afternoon); the section was launched at TIFF in 1988 and was programmed by Colin Geddes from 1998 to 2016,[46] now programmed by Peter Kuplowsky
  • Platform: a competitive section launched in 2015, named for Jia Zhangke's film Platform, of films from around the world that do not have distribution in North America.[47][48] Every year the Platform section has a high-profile international jury which confers the C$25,000 Platform Prize; both documentaries and narrative films are eligible for inclusion in the section.
  • Primetime: television episodes making either their world premiere or North American premiere projected cinematically; this section was launched in 2015
  • Short Cuts: a section of short films (usually six to ten short films included at each screening) both Canadian and international; up until the 2013 festival only Canadian short films were screened and the section was called Short Cuts Canada, in 2014 a new section called Short Cuts International was added, and then in 2015 they were merged into a section called Short Cuts
  • Special Presentations: high-profile feature films, usually Canadian premieres if not world premieres
  • TIFF Cinematheque: unlike the other sections which present new films, the TIFF Cinematheque section has films from all eras of cinema, often classic films that have been newly restored
  • TIFF Docs (formerly called Reel to Reel): documentary films
  • TIFF Kids and TIFF Next Wave (formerly called Sprockets): films for children and teenagers; however, this is not a dedicated program in its own right, but a designation added to youth-suitable films that are already in one of the other programs.
  • Wavelengths: experimental films and art films, both feature-length and shorts (this section was named for Michael Snow's film Wavelength)

In previous years, sections at TIFF have included Perspectives Canada, Canada First!, City to City (2009 to 2016), Future Projections, Vanguard (up to 2016), and Visions (up to 2011).

Canada's Top Ten

Each year, TIFF releases a Canada's Top Ten list of the films selected by a poll of festival programmers across Canada as the ten best Canadian feature and short films of the year, regardless of whether or not they were screened at TIFF.[49] The films selected are announced in December each year.

Previously, the winning films were screened at a smaller follow-up "Canada's Top Ten" festival at the Lightbox the following January, with a People's Choice Award then presented for that minifestival.[49] In 2018, TIFF announced a change, under which instead of a dedicated festival, each Top Ten film will receive its own standalone theatrical run at the Lightbox throughout the year.[50]

Since 1984, every decade TIFF has also produced a Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time list. This list is produced from a wider poll of film industry professionals and academics throughout Canada, separately from the annual top-ten list.

Notes

  1. ↑ Our Mission TIFF. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  2. ↑ Peter Goffin, TIFF co-founder Bill Marshall, 77, remembered as pioneer of Canadian film Toronto Star, January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  3. ↑ Philip Stavrou, Film Festival events return to their roots CTVglobemedia, September 12, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ Daniel McIntosh, A Brief History of TIFF CanCultur, September 17, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ TIFF History tiff. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  6. ↑ David Sterritt, Film Festivals — Then and Now FIPRESCI, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=magazine }}
  8. ↑ TIFF History. Toronto International Film Festival.
  9. ↑ Mudhar, Raju, "From mega clubs to mega culture in Entertainment District", Toronto Star, August 25, 2010.
  10. ↑ Allen, Kate (August 24, 2011). TIFF's great migration. Toronto Star.
  11. ↑ (September 7, 2007). McGuinty government helps promote Toronto International Film Festival. Press release.
  12. ↑ Toronto International Film Festival (August 16, 2011). Festival Announces Boundary-Pushing Visions Titles. Press release.
  13. ↑ The Globe and Mail (2008–2011). Director apologises for Rose McGowan's IRA comments. Belfast Telegraph.
  14. ↑ Israel set to launch in GTA, Canadian Jewish News, August 21, 2009.
  15. ↑ Posner, Michael, "TIFF focus on Tel Aviv draws protests", The Globe and Mail, February 11, 2010.
  16. ↑ Klein, Naomi, "We don't feel like celebrating with Israel this year", The Globe and Mail, October 31, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Canadian director protests TIFF Tel Aviv spotlight", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, August 29, 2009.
  18. ↑ A conversation with organizers of the Toronto film festival protest. World Socialist Web Site. International Committee of the Fourth International.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Toronto International Film Festival (February 23, 2017). TIFF Unveils 2017 Programmes & Programmers. Press release.
  20. ↑ Victoria Ahearn. "TIFF downscales for 2017", February 23, 2017.
  21. ↑ Lindahl, Chris (2019-09-07). TIFF Confirms Cineplex Policy Banning Netflix and Amazon From Primary Screening Venue (in en).
  22. ↑ Etan Vlessing (September 8, 2020). As Toronto Film Fest Screenings Go Mask-Optional, Attendees Fear Event Will Be a Coronavirus "Superspreader".
  23. ↑ Etan Vlessing (September 9, 2020). Toronto Film Fest Reverses Controversial Face Mask Policy.
  24. ↑ TIFF 2022 TIFF. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  25. ↑ About Festival 2022 Film Freeway. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  26. ↑ Dixon, Guy, "Lightbox aims to draw filmmakers to its facilities - The Globe and Mail", The Globe and Mail, September 9, 2010.
  27. ↑ Norman Wilner. "Let there be lightbox", NOW, September 9–16, 2010.
  28. ↑ Germain, David, "No place like home: Toronto film fest opens new HQ", U-T San Diego News, September 9, 2010.
  29. ↑ "A look at the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition TIFF 2014", The Vancouver Sun, November 27, 2014.
  30. ↑ "TIFF gains cach of 1,400 film prints" {{#invoke:webarchive|webarchive}}. Toronto Star, November 16, 2016. Page E2.
  31. ↑ New documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band to open TIFF 2019 (2019-07-19).
  32. ↑ Ebert, Roger, "Starting off the season", Chicago Sun-Times, September 2008.
  33. ↑ TIFF unspools with celebrities eager to connect with fans. The Canadian Press. CTV (September 2009).
  34. ↑ Rich, Joshua, "Fest intentions", Entertainment Weekly, January 2005.
  35. ↑ "Toronto 2013: Why the festival matters", BBC News, September 4, 2013.
  36. ↑ Marijke de Valck, Brendan Kredell, and Skadi Loist (eds.), Film Festivals: History, Theory, Method, Practice (Routledge, 2016, ISBN 978-0415712477).
  37. ↑ {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=magazine }}
  38. ↑ "Toronto Film Festival: Oscar Buzz Begins", CBS News, September 19, 2009.
  39. ↑ Walmsley, Katie, "Oprah flick 'Precious' wins top award at Toronto", CNN, September 2009.
  40. ↑ You Pick the Winner: How to Vote for the Grolsch People's Choice Award. TIFF (2016).
  41. ↑ Chris Knight. "Lebanese film wins TIFF People's Choice Award", September 18, 2011.
  42. ↑ "‘The Imitation Game’ wins top prize at TIFF" {{#invoke:webarchive|webarchive}}. The Globe and Mail, September 14, 2014.
  43. ↑ Knegt, Peter (September 2009). 'Precious' tops Toronto winners. IndieWire.
  44. ↑ "Toronto Film Festival Expands Tribute Gala With New Awards". Variety, June 27, 2019.
  45. ↑ Michael Rosser, "Anthony Hopkins, Chloe Zhao, Mira Nair to receive TIFF Tribute awards". Screen Daily, August 12, 2020.
  46. ↑ Graham Winfrey (February 7, 2017). TIFF Programmer Colin Geddes Departing After 20 Years. IndieWire.
  47. ↑ Anne Thompson (July 15, 2015). Why the Toronto Film Festival is Adding 'Platform' Competition Sidebar.
  48. ↑ Etan Vlessing (August 11, 2016). Toronto: Natalie Portman's 'Jackie' Biopic, 'Moonlight' From Brad Pitt's Plan B Join Lineup. The Hollywood Reporter.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 "TIFF reveals Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival line-up" {{#invoke:webarchive|webarchive}}. The Globe and Mail, December 8, 2015.
  50. ↑ "TIFF scraps popular Canada's Top Ten Film Festival". Now, November 7, 2018.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • de Valck, Marijke, Brendan Kredell, and Skadi Loist (eds.). Film Festivals: History, Theory, Method, Practice. Routledge, 2016. ISBN 978-0415712477
  • de Valck, Marijke, and Antoine Damiens (eds.). Rethinking Film Festivals in the Pandemic Era and After. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023. ISBN 978-3031141706
  • Wong, Cindy Hing-Yuk. Film Festivals: Culture, People, and Power on the Global Screen. Rutgers University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0813550657

External links

All links retrieved


Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Toronto_International_Film_Festival&oldid=1093143

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki