The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has brought fundamental change to all ways of life this year, and the 45th annual Toronto International Film Festival is no exception. While TIFF 2020 (#TIFF20) begins tomorrow, it’s going to look wildly different than it has before.
The biggest change is that most screenings and most viewers will be watching movies, including world premieres, from their homes via a special app called Bell Digital Cinema. Televisions, home theatres, and even computers and tablets will screen movies at the homes of movie lovers across the GTA, including Oakville, and even across Canada.
Next to the geographic reach and accessibility of this year’s festival, however, the biggest change is the significantly smaller number of titles that are part of this year’s programming. Event though last year’s festival had more than 330 features, this year has only 57 feature films.
That means, while difficult, it’s possible for someone to actually watch every movie there is during this year’s 10 days of TIFF. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Part of what makes this project so exciting is the likelihood this might not be possible again at a future festival. This year is also special because of the greater focus and percentage of Canadian works and lesser-known work from around the world. With 80% fewer movies in all, it’s easier for titles to stick out from the crowd.
What’s available for fans to see
This year’s festival format is a mixture of three different kinds of shows: in-person screenings at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, drive-in and open air screenings at four venues across the city, and what will be most common and popular, digital screenings at your own home through a newly created streaming app.
We’ll be talking tomorrow about how to get tickets for each of them, with today being the first of our 12-part series in covering TIFF over the next two weeks. Once the festival opens, we’ll feature reviews for entries in the Gala Presentations programme each day, highlighting some of the most prominent titles at this year’s festival.
The project will then culminate in a best of the festival list next Sunday September 20, 2020, featuring the best from all categories of TIFF 2020, including how and when you’ll be able to see the winners.
What else is available at TIFF this year
It should be noted that while I will be seeing every new, feature length film, I won’t be seeing every single title the festival is offering. There are three notable exceptions:
- The Primetime Programme, which features the first episodes of new TV series, or in one case, all six episodes of an upcoming mini-series
- TIFF Reunions, featuring screenings of classic films like Full Metal Jacket
- Short Cuts Programme, featuring 36 short films
Outside of screening films, TIFF also has talks, panels, masterclasses, and streamed online event featuring a team of TIFF Ambassadors, many of whom appear virtually in live, scheduled events. Learn more about these initiatives and events here.
Finally, there is one other special event of a singular short film called The Water Walker, which will be available for free. Screening outside Short Cuts, more can be learned about this special short film online here.
It’s going to be a TIFF for the history books
As I prepare to strap in for ten days straight of movie watching, I’d encourage all our readers to look online at TIFF’S schedule of events and find something for them to enjoy during the festival, whether at your own home or at one of the event venues just a short drive away.
While there are a few titles now sold out, 90% of all titles and events are still available, and will continue to be as more tickets are added. (But I myself am still looking to secure a ticket for the last movie on the list - it’s true some are very hard to get!)
If it's completed correctly, this will be an astonishing accomplishment. But I’m well prepared and well trained. Two weeks have gone into perfecting a schedule to make it possible, including securing tickets to 56 of the 57 titles. (We’re working on the last one.)
I had a warm up with seeing all eight features in four days at Oakville’s terrific OFFA Online Film Festival back in June, including dozens of short films, too. And last spring I endured 22 Marvel movies in a row over a mere 54 hours, culminating in Canada’s first showtime of Avengers: Endgame (and still had a review ready for the next morning!)
Regardless of anything else, this will be the longest report and densest coverage of any event in the history of Oakville News. It’s the highest-calibre film festival in the country, and among the greatest film festivals in the world.
We Oakvillians are lucky to have the festival as next door neighbours. And this year, we’re equally lucky that it’s easier than ever to be part of it.
The 45th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10-19, 2020. A full schedule is available here, and tickets for all TIFF events are available online now.
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