A Film Festival in a Pandemic? Toronto Says the Show Must Go On
A Film Festival in a Pandemic? Toronto Says the Show Must Go On
(Bloomberg) -- How do you put on a celebration of cinema in the middle of a global health crisis?
For the Toronto International Film Festival, the September event that helps launch the Oscar awards season, the answer fell somewhere between the push by Venice’s film festival to keep live screenings and the outright cancellation of Telluride’s annual event. Toronto’s hybrid solution puts limits on in-person screenings and employs drive-ins and an outdoor theater.
It’s a major change to an event that routinely sends ripples through the film industry. In normal times, TIFF is a grand showcase of big-budget Hollywood fare, art-house films, experimental work, documentaries, shorts and TV series. Studios use it to publicize soon-to-be-released movies, journalists and executives get a peek at what’s ahead and distributors get to witness how a representative North American audience reacts to a film. If Toronto loves it, chances are big box-office returns or award gold will follow.
This 45th edition, though, is a grim reminder of the current state of a shaken industry, with its paucity of blockbusters, shift to virtual viewing and general diminution. TIFF, which runs through Sept. 19, is showing about 60 features this year compared with 245 last year.
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