Toronto International Film Festival
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The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is generally considered to be one of the five top film festivals in the world. It begins the Thursday night after Labor Day and lasts for ten days. Between 300-400 films are screened at a dozen or so downtown Toronto venues. The Festival features retrospectives of national cinemas and individual directors and also highlights Canadian cinema. In 2004, Perspective Canada, the programme that had focused on Canadian films since 1984, was replaced by two programmes:
- 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 festival is also 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 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.
The TIFF Group also maintains a library of videotapes submitted to the festival and of film materials as part of Cinematheque Ontario (which provides year round screening of classic films).
Particular years
External link
- Toronto Film Festival official site (http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/)
- Toronto Film Festival coverage (http://www.digitalhit.com/fest/tiff/) on DigitalHit.com