Toronto Celebrates 35; Announces Industry Programming
In addition to the announcement of 44 new films today, the Toronto International Film Festival also set an extensive industry program, and plans for a 35th anniversary celebration. The latter will involve a series of free public screenings showcasing films from the festival’s past, all of which will take place at the new TIFF Bell Lightbox.
“When our founders Dusty Cohl, Bill Marshall and Henk Van der Kolk started the Festival in 1976, their vision was to showcase the best in Canadian and international film, focusing on excellence in the medium,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF, in a statement. “We are proud to carry on that vision, which over our 35 years, has propelled us into becoming one of the pre-eminent film festivals in the world.”
In celebration, the Festival will host a free public block party on September 12th for the opening of TIFF Bell Lightbox, and “TIFF For Free,” a week of free screenings in the space, starting with Richard Benner’s “Outrageous!,” which became one of the most successful films in Canadian film history after its debut at the 1977 Festival. “Outrageous!” was produced by Festival founders Marshall and Van der Kolk, along with Peter O’’Brian.
Other films screening in the “TIFF For Free” program include Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty,” Sarah Polley’s “Away From Her,” Paul Haggis’s “Crash,” Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Big Chill,” Deepa Mehta’s “Water,” Bruce McDonald’s “Roadkill,” and Rob Reiner’s “The Princess Bride.”
On the industry side of things, the festival also announced a slew of industry programming, including explorations of the worlds of 3D, gaming and non-fiction filmmaking and conversations about funding, distribution, marketing and representation. Announced participants include filmmakers John Sayles and Dustin Lance Black, producer Jon Landau and a special conversation between Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. And new this year, the Festival will host a Filmmakers’ Lounge, noted as “a new hub of activity that will host Festival delegates and offer a variety of industry activities, networking opportunities and entertainment.”
For a complete list of all industry programs, continue to the next page. Additionally, check out a complete list of all titles announced today, as well as the 100 films previously announced here.
MASTER CLASS WITH ROBERT LANTOS
This Master Class is an exclusive opportunity for emerging filmmakers, film students and industry delegates to learn from renowned Canadian producer Robert Lantos (Sunshine, Being Julia, Barney’s Version). Lantos’ films appeal to audiences and critics alike and have met with commercial success. Toronto Star columnist Martin Knelman will interview Lantos live on stage. Master Class with Robert Lantos will take place Thursday, September 16, at 12 p.m. in TIFF Bell Lightbox.
MEET WITH…
Meet With… is a series of informal and intimate information sessions on the hottest topics in today’s film industry. The sessions provide attendees with a unique opportunity to gain insight into the fundamentals of the business and craft of filmmaking from seasoned industry professionals. Meet With… is open to all Sales & Industry and Guest Relations Pass holders and runs from Friday, September 10 through to Thursday, September 16, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Filmmakers’ Lounge.
Meet With… sessions include:
Buzz: If You Build It, They Will Come
Filmmakers, production companies, distributors. Everybody’s trying to find alternative ways of building buzz around their films. But how do you get a cool trailer or film stunt made and then have it permeate the web and resonate? How do you market without a marketing budget? Who is your target audience and how do you tap into it?
Ingrid Hamilton – Publicist, GAT Rob Stefaniuk – Director of Suck and Phil the Alien Matt Toner – Founder, Zeros 2 Heroes Mark Woolen – Founder, Mark Woolen and Associates MODERATOR: Christian Gaines – Director of Film Festival Strategy, IMDB
Finding Film Funding
Representatives from some of Canada’s leading funding agencies gather to unlock mysteries and complexities involved in getting funding help for filmmakers. What do you need to do to make your application stand out?
Stéphanie Azam – Head of English-Language Feature Film, Telefilm Canada Carole Vivier – Chief Executive Officer, Manitoba Film and Sound MODERATOR: John Galway – President, Astral The Harold Greenberg Fund
*Additional guest speakers to be announced
Do It With Others: Get Your Film Seen
The unlimited potential of the Internet and VOD has made websites the desired platform for film distribution. What are the pros and cons of the Do-It-Yourself Distribution model?
Christopher Horton – Head of Acquisitions, Cinetic Media Rights Management Matthew Kurtin – Acquisitions Manager, Go Digitial Stéphanie Röckmann-Portier – Head of Sales, D360 MODERATOR: Slava Rubin – CEO and co-founder, IndieGoGo
Instant Producers
Online crowd-funding and crowd-sourcing brings filmmakers in direct contact with their audience, who become investors in their films and, by default, co-producers. The practicality of this new wave of fundraising is examined as well as the effect it has on the filmmaker/audience relationship.
Charles-Marie Antonioz – Producer of Trash Humpers Eugene Hernandez – Editor-in-chief and co-founder, IndieWire Slava Rubin – CEO and co-founder, IndieGoGo Peter Wintonick – Filmmaker Rutger Wolfson – Artistic Director, International Film Festival Rotterdam MODERATOR: Mike Goodridge – Editor, Screen International
Talk to my Agent
This is an opportunity for filmmakers and artists to engage in a discussion with agents from some of the biggest agencies in the business, as well as a veteran casting agent, about representation, packaging film projects, gaining access to talent and more.
Jason Knight – Casting Director, John Buchan Associates
Ellia Infascelli – Head of International Division, WME Richard Klubeck – Co-head, Independent Film Group, UTA
Do you like to watch? (Indies)
How can you catch up with the latest independent and art house movies if you missed them at TIFF or other local film festivals? Experts discuss existing alternatives and future possibilities.
Mathieu Boucher – Acquisitions Manager, MUBI Nikkole Denson-Randolph – VP Specialty and Alternative Content, AMC Robin Rhodes – Senior Manager, TIFF Film Circuit MODERATOR: Robin Smith – President, KinoSmith
TIFF Bell Lightbox 101
September 14, 4 p.m. (Special session in TIFF Bell Lightbox) It’s finally here. But what is it? What will it be? Who’s it for? Noah Cowan, Shane Smith and Jesse Wente talk about the exciting plans for TIFF Bell Lightbox. The public is also invited to this special Meet With… and has a chance to ask questions about all things TIFF Bell Lightbox. Special guest Guy Maddin will be on hand to talk about his commissioned new installation in the building.
Noah Cowan – Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox Shane Smith – Director, Public Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox Jesse Wente – Head of Film Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox Guy Maddin – Filmmaker, Creator of Hauntings I and II
The Screenwriters
Some of the industry’s most talented screenwriters gather for a talk on the state of the industry, their approaches and influences, the challenges of keeping their vision while making their work marketable, directing their own script and other issues relating to their craft.
John Sayles – Screenwriter and Filmmaker (AMIGO) Dustin Lance Black – Academy Award Winning Screenwriter (Milk, What’s Wrong With Virginia) MODERATOR: Franklin Leonard – Development Director, Universal Pictures
MOGULS
This new series of intimate, one-on-one sessions with some of the most powerful and influential movers and shakers of the film world offers a rare opportunity to get up close and personal. Gain insight into the inner workings of the creative and business minds that help shape the industry. This year’s line-up of moguls includes producers Christine Vachon and Bob Berney. Moguls will take place in the Filmmakers’ Lounge.
FOCUS ON…
New this year, Focus On… is a series of extended industry sessions designed to explore issues that are having an undeniable impact on filmmaking and the state of the film industry. Artists and experts gather to take a closer look at the effects of new trends and how they will shape the future of the business. Focus On… takes place in the Filmmakers’ Lounge.
This year’s line-up of sessions includes:
3D 4U
3D promises to be so many things to so many people, but how can it serve the independent producer and how accessible is it? This session will debunk the myths and address the controversies of the new world of 3D.
Phil Fairclough – Executive Producer of Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Munro Ferguson – Animator and Director, NFB Terry Horbatiuk – National Sales Manager, Professional Imaging and Display Solutions, Panasonic Canada Inc. Ken MacNeil – President, Creative Post, Member of 3D Flic James Stewart – Producer and Founder, Geneva Film Company MODERATOR: Brendan Christie – Playback Magazine
Get in the Game: The Worlds of Films and Gaming Collide
Video games continue their meteoric rise to the top of the entertainment universe. Along the way, the worlds of games and films have crossed paths, often colliding with both awesome and less than stellar effect. This panel session of game and film luminaries will explore this ongoing collision from various perspectives: business and market synergies; talent and tools overlap; content, design and cultural convergence (and divergence).
Special Guest: Jon Landau – Producer of Titanic, Avatar Jade Raymond – Managing Director, Ubisoft Toronto Trevor Fencott – CEO, Bedlam Games Ian Kelso – President, Interactive Ontario
Mare Sheppard – Metanet Independent Game Developer, Metanet MODERATOR: Jason Dela-Rocca – Senior Consultant, Perimeter Partners
Cinematic Bedfellows (Creative Co-producing for Consenting Independents)
Now more than ever, creative producers are looking outside their own territories to source and shoot quality material. Protectionism has been the watchword in national industries for too long but who is going to take the first step? Who is going to shape the future?
Jon Kilik – Producer of Miral and Biutiful, United States Jan Chapman – Producer of Bright Star, Australia Alex Francis – Producer of Moon, United Kingdom MODERATOR: Lenny Crooks, Executive Producer
Case Study: The Bang Bang Club
The filmmaking process is stripped apart and examined – from the genesis of the project through to its ultimate completion. This case study provides invaluable insight about the development and methods of movie making.
Steven Silver – Director, The Bang Bang Club
Daniel Iron – Producer, The Bang Bang Club *Additional speakers to be announced
DOC CONFERENCE
Doc Conference is an in-depth series of panels and discussions about the current landscape of documentary production, financing and distribution. Taking place on Monday, September 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Doc Conference is open to all Guest Relations, Sales & Industry and Press delegates. Tom Perlmutter – Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada will introduce the conference.
Doc Conference panels and guest speakers include:
Filmmaker Dialogue: Werner Herzog & Errol Morris
Visionary directors Werner Herzog (Cave of Forgotten Dreams) and Errol Morris (Tabloid), each with their own sharply defined approach and philosophy towards filmmaking, enter into conversation in a very special Filmmaker Dialogue session. Herzog and Morris share a long
history, and both have strong opinions on the craft of filmmaking. There’s no telling where this dialogue, moderated by TIFF documentaries programmer Thom Powers, will go.
Case Study: War Torn 1861-2010
HBO’s forthcoming documentary War Torn 1861-2010, executive produced by James Gandolfini, is an ambitious production exploring combat stress in American soldiers from the Civil War to the present. This case study takes us behind the scenes of the complex project, presenting sneak preview clips, and a discussion with the film team Jon Alpert, Ellen Goosenberg, Matthew O’Neill, Sara Bernstein and Sheila Nevins.
Director Alex Gibney
Gibney (Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer) will talk about the process of making non-fiction films, his prolific film output and his works in progress.
New Frontiers in Doc Distribution – Parts 1 and 2
Two panels of experts from the fields of Distribution and Marketing discuss new ways for documentary filmmakers to reach audiences including VOD, online, mobile devices and other emerging outlets.
Damon Smith – Reverse Shot, Babelgum Debrah Drisdell – Director General, Accessibility and Digital Enterprises, National Film Board of Canada Matt Dentler – Head of Marketing and Programming, Cinetic Rights Management James Lawler – Constellation TV Stephanie Bruder – Senior Director, Marketing, New Video Nolan Gallagher – CEO, Gravitas Ventures
*Additional speakers to be announced
DOC ROUNDTABLES
Back by popular demand for its fifth year, Doc Roundtables offer a rare chance for documentary filmmakers to meet with industry leaders for an informal networking session. This year’s participants will include Josh Braun (Submarine Entertainment), Ira Deutchman (Emerging Pictures), Sky Sitney (Silverdocs), Clemence Taillandier (Zeitgeist Films Ltd), Molly Thompson (A&E Indie Films), and Debra Zimmerman (Women Make Movies). Doc Roundtables will take place at the Filmmakers’ Lounge Sunday, September 12, Tuesday, September 14 and Wednesday, September 15. Two daily sessions will be held at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
*More guest speakers to be announced soon.
