Since 1976 there has been an event held annually in Toronto attracting movie buffs, self-appointed critics, and film geeks like me to the city in hopes to see something incredible before anyone else. For the past few weeks the 11-day Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was running, complete with workshops, screenings, features, shorts, and much more. Sadly I personally was unable to attend, but I was still able to find some of the news and happenings to keep you updated.
One of the biggest parts of TIFF, for those who’ve never been, is the crazy amount of screenings that go on during the week. The festival welcomes over 450,000 people to attend screenings of more than 350 films from around 70 different countries, spanning every movie genre you could imagine. Even the films themselves take their own creative directions; full 1h30m+ fictive features, 10-20min shorts, coming of age movies, and even documentaries from all over the world available to the public to be screened around Toronto!
Historically, the Toronto International Film Festival has also been known for its array of different lectures, workshops, and discussions offered by notable names from Hollywood, with the hopes to get the next generation of movie stars and visionaries to find their inspiration. The education portion of TIFF is oriented around all things behind the scenes of the film industry: the lights, camera, and action that goes on behind the lens. TIFF even gets plenty of big-name movie stars to walk down their red carpets with their fans taking photos, just waiting to get into the theatres with them. This year attendees had the opportunity to see Leonardo DiCaprio (for his documentary: Before the Flood), Natalie Portman (for Planetarium), Matthew McConaughey (for Sing), and plenty more!
Aside from the screenings and workshops, an exciting part of the week for the industry itself is the opportunity to win some pretty prestigious awards. While the big name awards, like the Oscars, are more publicly recognized, TIFF is special; the awards given there are determined by the attendees who enjoyed the films! The Academy Awards are given out by the Academy—a group of film industry veterans and current professionals—but the awards at TIFF are far more personal. It’s an opportunity for the industry to touch base with their audience and find out how their work is going to be received way before they get released to the general public.
The most coveted award at TIFF is the Grolsch People’s Choice Award, which is the equivalent to the Oscar for Best Picture. This year, the award went to La La Land, a musical drama/comedy directed by Damien Chazelle (Director of Whiplash and 10 Cloverfield Lane). The film features Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and will hit theatres December 16th, 2016, but has received critical acclaim and recognition months before its release!
All in all, this year’s TIFF was similar to every other year in layout and events, but unique in the way that each film told a different story and from a special perspective. The beauty of the festival is the chance to enjoy international culture through another culture’s lens and share experiences in one medium that unites us all: film.
Leave a Reply