- [Narrator] There's no stopping great storytelling.
Inside every storyteller is an urgent need to push limits,
expose worlds, change minds,
lift voices, drop jaws,
spring tears, or conjure laughter.
For them, stories don't ask to be told —
they demand it.
That's why TIFF will go on
without half measures or compromises
or an asterisk beside 2020.
Not because promises were made or September arrived,
but because the world is still bursting with stories
not yet told,
places not yet seen
and most importantly,
voices not yet heard.
Our screens may be all different sizes this year
but our films will have the same-sized impact,
they'll shake you, move you,
and refuse to leave you.
Mark our words,
groundbreaking stories are very much... to be continued.
(gentle instrumental music)
- Welcome and hello to you both.
It's great to have Joana Vicente,
Co-Head and Executive Director of TIFF
and Cameron Bailey, Co-Head and Artistic Director of TIFF
with me in studio today.
- Thank you, Tyrone.
It's great to be out of my apartment today
and sitting just six feet away from my friend
and Co-Head Cameron,
and you with so much going on,
it's reassuring to be together right now
to share our news.
- And yeah, it's a pleasure to be out at last
and sharing a safe, physically distanced visit
with both of you.
It has been a sobering time for everyone
and TIFF is really no different,
we've all felt the impact of this pandemic.
It's been incredibly difficult
to deal with the economic fallout
but our teams have been working hard remotely
and trying to make that pivot to adjust to the reality
of what is going on right now.
But we've been working since March
to imagine a new kind of Festival
that continues to deliver the range of experiences
our audiences, filmmakers and partners
have come to love most about TIFF.
- Very true, it's been challenging for everyone,
so it's good to get some good news
and, of course, give us something to look forward to.
I'm glad that we have you both in studio
sort of up-close and personal — kinda — sort of thing [laughs],
but we can talk about my favourite time of the year,
the Toronto International Film Festival.
We know it can't look like last year,
but what will it look like this year?
- Well, we've had to reimagine our business
and find new ways to present programming
in a way that reflects our belief that images matter
now more than ever.
While things will be different this year,
there's no stopping great storytelling,
and as always,
we are determined to celebrate film
and to champion the voices of women filmmakers,
amplify the stories of Black creators,
Indigenous communities, and people of colour,
and provide a space for their stories to be told.
- Yeah, you know, as we create a new Festival experience this year,
we know that nothing compares to that feeling
of the big screen and the big sound in the cinema
and getting immersed in a movie
with other people around you,
but that's just one way to share the film experience.
In the months since the lockdown,
we've also helped to build communities online.
We're using those lessons
to build a festival that will be a hybrid of in-person
and online experiences, both physical and digital.
- So take us through TIFF 2020. Do we have dates yet?
Let's start there.
- Yes, we're still a September festival.
It will be from the 10th to the 19th, 10 days.
We'll have physical, socially distanced screenings
taking place over the first five days
and digital film premieres, talks, and events
happening online for the full 10 days.
We're using an industry leading online platform,
it was created by SHIFT72, it's a company out of New Zealand,
and they've been working with film festivals
around the world
so they know how to build a premium online experience.
So while our screens will be different sizes this year,
the huge mark films make on our lives
is still very much to be continued.
For the in-person portion of the Festival,
Festival screenings will happen
in three of our premier venues.
We're also exploring
physically distanced outdoor experiences
that take audiences beyond the movie theatre,
like drive-ins, so really excited about that,
and I'll add that we're also working closely
with the province and the city on what we're able to deliver
in a physical format as the city begins to reopen.
- We'll distill our usual vast lineup
into a tighter selection of 50-feature films
and five programs of short films.
They're gonna offer the full range of star-driven movies,
first-rate international cinema,
documentaries, and Canadian creativity
that you're all used to.
And we've used the past three months
to reconnect with our colleagues in the festival world.
We're looking for ways to collaborate
with festivals across Canada
as well as Toronto partners of ours
like the Reel Asian Film Festival and Inside Out.
- Internationally, we're working
with our festival colleagues in Venice, Telluride,
and New York —
and usually we're tough competitors,
but this year we're compelled to work together
to support filmmakers
and bring the gift of cinema to audiences.
On the industry side,
we plan to welcome
thousands of film professionals, as always,
but this year it might be online.
Our screenings for press and industry will happen
on our digital platform,
and we'll also offer companies and individuals
the opportunity to gift industry access
to 250 under-represented, emerging filmmakers
from around the world,
opening the doors and giving access for those
who need it most.
- Well, this is getting very exciting.
Let's talk about the digital side of things.
There are a number of companies
that are offering different experiences.
What will TIFF be offering audiences this year?
- Well, we're gonna have films and interactive talks
and virtual red carpets,
digital press conferences and Q&As
with casts and filmmakers.
Industry delegates can expect advanced security
and anti-piracy measures, access to buyers,
and a dedicated platform for screenings and networking.
And press from all over the world
will be able to participate in press junkets,
and screen films in a secure, digital environment.
Our digital platform actually affords us new opportunities
to connect with audiences beyond Toronto.
- Now, as you mentioned,
three venues for in-person screenings.
Let's think about how exciting that is
to be able to sit with a community of people
and watch a film, I haven't done that in so long.
And of course, I'm sure the steps will be taken
to ensure everyone's safety and health.
- Oh yes, the health and safety of our audience
is our number one priority.
We'll see a physically reduced
and socially distanced footprint at this year's Festival,
and we're taking guidance from public health officials.
Our premier venues have been very supportive
and they're really excited to be able to invite audiences
back to their spaces.
- So the Festival is also about premieres,
stars signing autographs on red carpets,
and of course, my role as an eTalk host,
getting the opportunity
to interview the filmmakers and actors.
So what will that portion of it look like this year?
- Well, where the people who made the films
can be here in Toronto,
they'll be there to present their films in theatres safely.
We're listening to what the government tells us
about travel restrictions.
We know that a lot of our usual guests will not be able to
or may choose not to travel in September,
and those who can't join us in person, can join us remotely
introducing their films
and taking part in Q&As digitally.
We'll also have online press conferences,
in-depth conversations with actors and filmmakers,
and we'll provide local and international journalists
with access and support for interviews.
- TIFF Tribute Gala that we launched last year
honoring amazing talent like Meryl Streep, Taika Waititi,
and Mati Diop, will also continue this year.
New this year,
we're also excited that we will have TIFF ambassadors:
celebrated filmmakers and actors
supporting TIFF in this extraordinary year.
They'll be engaging with our audience, filmmakers, industry,
and key partners through interactive experiences and events.
- Well, I can't lie, I am getting excited about the Festival
and all the possibilities,
but it had to have been a challenge to reinvent
that Festival experience,
especially with everything that we're going through
and that the world continues to go through.
- It has been a challenge but it's been exciting as well.
We went back to TIFF's DNA,
that connection between audiences and films.
We're here to offer something transformative
and we can still do that, we will still do that.
- We're grateful that we are in the position
to share amazing work with our audiences
and this year will be unlike any another edition
of the Festival
and we don't take that lightly.
We're exploring new innovations,
ways to give back to the community and local businesses
and advancing what a film festival is capable of delivering.
- Very exciting stuff.
Let's talk about screenings.
Now, I don't have to tell you both
that TIFF has a reputation for predicting films
that audiences flock to
and then those same films end up being very successful
during award season,
so what is the selection of films this year like?
- It'll be a tighter selection
but with the same quality and range you'd expect
from Wavelengths avant-garde films
to marquee Galas, documentaries to Midnight Madness,
and we'll be ready to share more a bit later in the summer.
- We would also like to thank you Tyrone, and Bell Media,
long-time partner of TIFF in every sense of the word,
for giving us the opportunity to share with you
the plan for TIFF 2020.
- Thanks for having us here today
and stay connected with us as we roll out additional details
during the summer.
We're still 12 weeks away from TIFF 2020
so there's more to come.
- Well we'll definitely be waiting and watching
for more details.
Thank you guys so much for coming in,
now we have something to look forward to.