The Toronto International Film Festival Prepares for More In-Person Events

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced that it is preparing to return this fall with more in-person events. The planned activities include an opening night party, live public screenings, a variety of networking opportunities, and the traditional awards gala.

This Year’s Event

The year of 2022 will mark the TIFF 47th edition. The Festival will include a timespan of eleven days, from September 8 to September 18. The organizers have decided to reinstall the live celebratory and networking gatherings that were cancelled in the last two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The list of the planned in-person events features happenings, such as the opening night party, filmmaking dinners, industry networking events, press conferences, programmers gatherings, in-person film screenings, and the traditional industry conference and TIFF Tribute Awards Gala.

Despite the return of the in-person events, however, TIFF organizers say health remains a primary concern. According to the officials, the Festival will abide by all provincial Covid-19 measures to ensure the health and safety of all guests, audiences, staff, and volunteers remain intact. The team said more details would be announced in the following months.

New Appointments

In addition to bringing back in-person events, TIFF has prepared more surprises for its 47th edition. The Festival officials announced they are bringing in five new film curators to the programming team. The big difference this year will be in the curation of indigenous films. TIFF has appointed Jason Ryle, an Anishinaabe producer and arts consultant from Lake St. Martin, Man., to the position of international programmer, Indigenous Cinema at TIFF. Ryle is the former head of the imaginative Film + Media Arts Festival.

Digital Screenings

The 47th edition of TIFF will also include many digital screenings. A quick glance at the Festival’s official website shows that the titles listed so far are:

• President
• Flee
• I’m Your Man
• Luzzu
• Test Pattern
• Bad Luck Banging or Looney Porn
• Drunken Birds

About TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival was originally founded under the name of the Toronto Festival of Festivals in 1976 at the Windsor Arms Hotel by Bill Marshall, Henk Van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl. It began its existence as an attempt to provide a comprehensive selection of the best films from film festivals across the globe. The event was accepted very well from its early days and collected an inaugural audience of about 35,000 people.

While the public enjoyed the festival a lot, Hollywood studios were not of a similar opinion. In fact, they decided to withdraw their films from the event under the pretext that the Canadian audiences were “too parochial” for such types of movie production. However, that did not stop the festival from becoming one of the major, most-celebrated film events in the world. Nowadays, TIFF attracts close to half a million people each year with the goal “to transform the way people see the world through film.” The latter statement represents the Canadian spirit of always striving to influence the world by means of artistic expression.

Change of Names

Only two years after the inaugural event, a decision was taken to change its name to the “Toronto International Film Festival.” Other changes happened as well. The Festival moved from the Harbour Castle Hotel to the Plaza II. Also, Wayne Clark replaced Bill Marshall as a director.

Another bold move included the incorporation of the Canadian Film Awards within the event. The number of celebratory galas increased from one to two per night, which made the Festival all the more glamorous and enjoyable.

Another round of name changes followed, this time concerning the umbrella organization. From 1994 to 2009, it was known as the “Toronto International Film Festival Group.” In 2009, however, it was renamed to TIFF.

The TIFF Bell Lightbox

As the Festival evolved, it was in the need of new headquarters. Thus, in 2007, the construction of the TIFF Bell Lightbox began. The facility is located at the corners of King and John Streets in the center of Toronto. The land beneath was donated to the Festival Group by Ivan Reitman and his family. The construction received additional financial help from the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada. It was named for its founding sponsor, Bell Canada.

The TIFF Bell Lightbox opened in 2010 to house the Festival’s headquarters. The five-storey compound is a masterpiece by the local firm KPMB architects. It contains two gallery spaces, five cinemas, two restaurants, a research centre and a film lab facility, along with study spaces, film archives, and a library. It also features a café, a gift shop, and an impressive three-storey atrium. The 46-storey condominium atop, called The Festival Tower, is jointly run with the Daniels Corporation.

The first film screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox was Bruce McDonald’s Trigger. The Museum of Modern Art of New York City organized the first exhibition, which was a presentation on Tim Burton. Some of the other exhibitions include Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style, and Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition.

The Film Reference Library (FRL) is another one of the TIFF Bell Lightbox jewels. It comprises a massive Canadian film research collection and it provides free resources to the public. It is open to filmmakers, scholars, journalists, students, and everyone who loves film in general. The FRL is an affiliate member of the International Federation of Film Archives, and its goal is to promote film scholarship.