Toronto International Film Festival

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Poster for the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), held in Toronto, Canada, is widely considered to be one of the top film festivals in the world. It is the premiere film festival in North America from which the Oscars race begins. It is the world's largest film festival open to the general public [1].

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 more useful and more important...."

Each year, 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. The festival is centred around the Bay and Bloor area, a part of town with several luxury hotels and several movie theatres. Though the Festival in recent years has given more attention to mainstream Hollywood films than in the past, the Festival still maintains its indie roots, featuring retrospectives of national cinemas and individual directors, as well as highlights of Canadian cinema, in addition to the plethora of African, South American and Asian films that regularly show at the festival.

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).

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. This began a three-year transition period after which Piers Handling will relinquish the directorship to focus on his role as Festival CEO.

1 History
2 Particular years
3 External links
4 See also

[edit] History

TIFF, known originally as "The Festival of Festivals", began in 1976 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 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.

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 2007, the Festival Group will begin construction on a new facility at the corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto (on land donated by Ivan Reitman and family). Opening in late 2009, this 'Festival Centre' will provide extensive year-round galleries, cinemas, archives and activities for cinephiles.