If you are a devotee of big screen/Hollywood movies, you already have heard about the Toronto Film Festival, formally known as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). A venue for film lovers from all over the world, the festival had its first gathering in 1976 and currently attracts nearly 500,000 viewers from around the world that meet in downtown Toronto. Public tickets for this year’s non-TIFF members are a paltry $25 or so per screening, opening it up to virtually anyone.
The idea started when three men, Bill Marshall, Dusty Cohl and Henk Van der Kolk, decided to collect the best films from around the world and give film goers and producers everywhere a chance to see the entire scope of the creative movie industry. It has blossomed into a place where the public can meet the stars — and upcoming stars — of their favorite films. There is a part of downtown Toronto that is exclusively for the media as a meet-and-greet to create buzz for a specific actor or movie.
Its primary location for attendees is the $181 million TIFF Bell Lightbox, constructed in 2007. While the festival is only held 5 days out of each year, the Lightbox is a gallery and history of the festival open virtually all year. It houses the Film Reference Library, a collection of films available from previous festivals that can be watched by the public. Basically, the Lightbox can be considered to be an international history of many of the world’s best films.
Each year TIFF selects one film to be awarded The People’s Choice Award, currently titled the “Grolsch People’s Choice Award”. Not to be confused with the American award show, this award is given to the film that is voted the best by TIFF attendees and must be feature length. Also, filmmakers can earn the award in two other subcategories – Best Documentary and Best Midnight Madness film. There are first and second runners up awards for all categories. The awards have led to a number of Academy Award nominations and winners.
The specific categories are somewhat unconventional, as they are grouped not by genre but by director/filmmaker experience and exposure:
- Contemporary World Cinema – a narrative feature film from an established but not famous director
- Discovery – a director’s first or second feature film
- Gala Presentations – the red carpet category
- In Conversation With… – director or other film industry figure interviews
- Masters – feature films by established filmmakers
- Midnight Madness: genre films
- Platform — international films that do not have distribution in North America
- Primetime — new, previously unaired, television episodes
- Short Cuts – short films
- Special Presentations – high-profile, usually Canadian, feature films
- TIFF Cinematheque: films from any era of cinema that have been restored
- TIFF Docs – documentary films
- TIFF Kids and TIFF Next Wave – children and teenagers
- Wavelengths – experimental films
Part of the festival experience is for people to stand in line in order to attend a movie, so there is no actual priority seating for the public. Tickets are sold on a first come, first serve basis and you can buy ticket packages. A maximum of 4 tickets per screening is allowed unless a group of 20 or more will be attending. If you are wondering if you can bring in a video recording device, the answer is no — they are strictly prohibited.
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