Just recently, it was revealed that all signs are pointing to the Venice Film Festival being able to hold a physical event, complete with a red carpet, beginning on September 2. This would lead you to believe that the Toronto International Film Festival, which begins a week later, would be able to do the same. Well, maybe. You see, TIFF isn’t sure a physical event will be possible, due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the festival did announce plans for if there is a physical event, including several of the films that will be screened.
According to TIFF, the festival is planning on a physical component to the event this year, if the local government will allow it. And if so, TIFF 2020 will be a mixture of physical and digital screenings, allowing for the event to resemble previous editions, albeit in a smaller package.
The current plan is for the festival to feature 50 new feature films, five programs of short films, as well as interactive talks, film cast reunions, and Q&As with cast and filmmakers. For the feature films, those selected will screen (following social distancing regulations) over the first five days of the event. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have a full list of the features that will be selected but TIFF did say that “Ammonite,” directed by Francis Lee, “Another Round,” from director Thomas Vinterberg, “Bruised,” the debut film from director Halle Berry, “Concrete Cowboy” by filmmaker Ricky Staub (starring Idris Elba), “Fauna,” from director Nicolás Pereda, “Good Joe Bell” by director Reinaldo Marcus Green (starring Mark Wahlberg), “Spring Blossom,” the debut film by director Suzanne Lindon, and “True Mothers” by director Naomi Kawase will all screen at the event.
In addition to physical screenings in the cinema, there are also plans for drive-ins and outdoor experiences for guests to enjoy.
“The pandemic has hit TIFF hard, but we’ve responded by going back to our original inspiration — to bring the very best in film to the broadest possible audience,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head, TIFF. “Our teams have had to rethink everything, and open our minds to new ideas. In countless video calls over the past three months we have rebuilt our Festival for 2020 drawing on our five decades of commitment to strong curation, support for filmmakers and engagement with audiences. We have listened to this year’s urgent calls for greater representation of underrepresented voices. You’ll see that this year at the Festival. And we have watched as audiences have embraced cinema’s ability to transport them through screens of all sizes. You’ll see that too. We’re excited to present thoughtful, high-impact programming this September that reflects our belief that there’s no stopping great storytelling.”
“TIFF has a proud history of programming award-winning films, expanding the conversation to include a multitude of voices, and in creating boundary-pushing initiatives for the industry. And this year we’ve added new innovations and ways to give back to the community. In doing so, we’re aiming to advance what a film festival is capable of delivering — for audiences and the film industry,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head, TIFF. “We could never have anticipated the global seismic changes we would be facing in 2020. We tapped into the original spirit of the Festival from when it began in 1976 as our guiding light. The distilled edition of TIFF 2020 reflects a deep love of film, passion for our loyal audiences, commitment to the industry and a whole lot of heart.”
This year, TIFF is also introducing the idea of TIFF Ambassadors, a group of 50 filmmakers and actors selected to help “deliver a strong festival for the film industry.” While we don’t know the full list of those Ambassadors, the event announced that Ava DuVernay, Taika Waititi, Anurag Kashyap, Nicole Kidman, Martin Scorsese, Nadine Labaki, Alfonso Cuarón, Tantoo Cardinal, Riz Ahmed, Rian Johnson, Jason Reitman, Isabelle Huppert, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan, Priyanka Chopra, Viggo Mortensen, Zhang Ziyi, David Oyelowo, Lulu Wang, Rosamund Pike, Sarah Gadon, and Denis Villeneuve will all take part.
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Joining these physical appearances and screenings, there will be a pretty big digital component, primarily reserved for members of the press and the film industry, allowing for secure screenings of films for the marketplace and for reviews. This seems to be the industry standard for festivals dealing with the pandemic.
The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival is expected to begin on September 10.