In-person screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Roy Thomson Hall, the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre, and Festival Village at the iconic Ontario Place punctuate this year’s Festival. Festival Village at Ontario Place comprises the Cinesphere IMAX Theatre, Visa Skyline Drive-in, RBC Lakeside Drive-In and the West Island Open Air Cinema. TIFF 2021 highlights also include screenings across Canada, and the return of the digital TIFF Bell Lightbox and TIFF Bell Digital Talks platforms.
The Festival’s public digital experience is presented by Bell, with film screenings on digital TIFF Bell Lightbox available across Canada. "In Conversation With..." talks and interactive Q&A sessions with actors and creators will be hosted on TIFF Bell Digital Talks, available worldwide. To increase the accessibility of the Festival, all films screened digitally will be closed-captioned.
TIFF is excited to announce the following 12 films as a sampling of what is to come in the Festival’s Official Selection for 2021:
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| Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Fuqua's "Guilty." |
TIFF is also delighted to announce that award-winning Canadian filmmaker Denis
Villeneuve's Dune will screen as a World Exclusive IMAX
Special Event at the Cinesphere Theatre at Ontario Place. The film, based on
Frank Herbert’s seminal novel and featuring an impressive all-star ensemble
cast, will be showcased in Toronto and Montreal, in partnership with Warner
Bros. Canada and venue partner Cineplex. Dune, from Warner
Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is in theatres nationwide this fall.“We are so proud of the calibre of the films and the diversity of the
stories we will be presenting this year,” said Joana Vicente, TIFF Executive
Director and Co-Head. “It is so powerful to be able to share these films with
Festival-goers in theatres. And while the world is definitely moving towards a
degree of normalcy, many of our industry and press colleagues may not be able
to travel across international borders. In response, we have brought back the
TIFF Digital Cinema Pro platform that will host Press & Industry
screenings, the Industry Conference, press conferences, as well as the TIFF
Industry Selects market. We believe that digital access is an important part of
providing accessibility to audiences and will be vital to the future of film
festivals. This inclusivity across all our offerings helps to ensure that, no
matter where you are located, you can participate in the Festival.”
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| Villeneuve prepares the cast of 'Dune" for TIFF. |
“We are confident in our planning for a return to in-person screenings as part
of TIFF as both the province and country accelerate vaccination rollout,”
offered Dr. Peter Nord, Chief Medical Officer, Medcan, and TIFF’s consultative
partner on health and safety for the pandemic. “Canada’s first-dose
immunization rate has surpassed the US, and recently reached the best rates in
the world. As of today in Toronto, more than 75 percent of adults have received their
first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 25% have received their second dose. We
fully anticipate that by the time the Festival arrives, all Ontarians will have
the opportunity to be fully vaccinated. Public health indicators, such as
hospitalizations, ICU occupancy, and case rates indicate that we’re on the
right — and safe — path to fully reopening. In addition, audiences will
confidently be able to enjoy in-cinema screenings by maintaining a safe
physical distance and wearing a mask.”
New this year, audiences across Canada can enjoy the excitement of TIFF in
their own communities with TIFF’s “Coast-to-Coast Screenings.” Film Circuit,
TIFF’s film-outreach programme since 1995, will host in-cinema screenings in
select locations across the country for one evening in each location, to help
ignite theatrical exhibition across Canada and celebrate audiences’ return to
theatres. Locations and films to be announced at a later date.
“TIFF remains a must-attend festival,” said Vicente. “Last year’s industry
offerings led to a record-breaking year in film sales, new highs in Conference
attendance, the introduction of TIFF’s pass-gifting initiative for
under-represented voices, gender parity across all Industry programming
streams, and TIFF’s curated Industry Selects film programme devoted to
international sales titles. Our commitment to diverse voices, to removing all
barriers for their work to be seen, to creating an accessible space for
business, and to sharing creators’ stories is in our DNA. In 2021, TIFF is
ensuring every initiative and event will have diversity, equity, and inclusion
woven into its implementation.”
Industry registration for this year’s Festival (Sept. 9–18) and Industry
Conference (Sept. 10–14) will open on June 25 and a full outline of this
year’s pass benefits can be found at tiff.net/industry-accreditation. More
details on the digital Conference programming, Talent Development initiatives,
and Industry programmes will follow throughout the summer. TIFF will announce
talent appearances and update accredited professionals on in-person offerings
for Press & Industry delegates, such as Press & Industry screenings, in
late July as government plans for reopening the city and the country are
finalized.
Since its inception, one of TIFF’s guiding principles has been to celebrate and
amplify the voices of exceptional filmmakers working in Canada. Award-winning
filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin’s prolific body of work will be highlighted at TIFF
2021 with a retrospective entitled Celebrating Alanis.
“Alanis is one of the most important figures in Canadian film, documentary
film, and Indigenous film,” said Bailey. “Curated by Jason Ryle, one of the
world’s leading Indigenous curators, this retrospective captures a national
moment when Canadians are looking for ways to better understand and access how
central Indigenous history and culture are to this nation.” Celebrating
Alanis is co-presented with the National Film Board of Canada.
TIFF will build on its unwavering commitment to greater representation of
voices by challenging the status quo, celebrating diverse storytellers and
audiences, and making space for Black, Indigenous, people-of-color, women, and
LGBTQ+ creators and other under-represented talent. “TIFF’s programming team
works to ensure that the films they curate are reflective of the audiences they
serve,” continued Bailey. “Films and film festivals help shape our culture,
which is why access and representation are so important. Our team strives to
bring under-represented voices to the table, and we build on this year after
year.”
To ensure that under-represented voices and perspectives are sought out and
welcomed into its press corps, TIFF’s media team works with outlets and editors
around the globe, encouraging a diverse contingent. In addition, TIFF will host
the fourth year of its Media Inclusion Initiative (MII), a mentorship programme
committed to growing the diversity of the press corps covering the Festival.
This year, TIFF welcomes 45 new critics and writers who will offer greater
representation in the areas of race, gender, sexual orientation, and
disability. The MII participants will have access to films, talks, specialized
workshops, and one-on-one mentoring opportunities for eligible
participants.TIFF is delighted to welcome Rotten Tomatoes as a supporter of
this year’s Media Inclusion Initiative.
TIFF will once again celebrate outstanding filmmaking with its jury awards: the Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) Awards, the Platform Prize, the IMDbPro Short Cuts Awards, the Amplify Voices Awards presented by Canada Goose, and the Shawn Mendes Foundation Changemaker Award. Known for its discerning audiences that predict box-office and critical success, the TIFF People’s Choice Awards series returns, comprising the People’s Choice Award, the People’s Choice Documentary Award, and the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award. All films in TIFF’s Official Selection are eligible for the People’s Choice Award and are voted on by Festival audiences.
TIFF is more accessible than ever in 2021, and public audiences across Canada can be among the first to make exciting cinematic discoveries. There are several ticket options available to audiences, from single film tickets for in-person screenings to packages for digital film screenings that allow access for up to 20 digital films. Digital ticket package sales start June 30 for TIFF’s Contributors Circle Members and all ticket dates are available at tiff.net/tickets. Ticket sales are serviced online and by phone only.
TIFF continues to work closely with the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, and public health officials on the safe execution of the Festival, with its number-one priority being the health and well-being of both Festival filmgoers and residents of the community. Based on the provincial government’s recently announced reopening plan, TIFF is planning to operate at a higher capacity for indoor theatres by September, likely with mandatory mask usage for Festival-goers. To help ensure the safest possible experience, TIFF has once again partnered with Medcan, a global health care leader providing medical expertise, consultation, and health inspiration to achieve its mission to help people “Live Well, For Life.” Based on the pillars of evidence-based care, exceptional client service, and the latest in technology, Medcan’s team of over 90 physicians supports employee health care across the continuum of health, including its “Safe at Work System,” which helps organizations navigate the pandemic.
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