If you’re heading to the Toronto International Film Festival (September 10 to 19, 2020), whether virtually or in person, you’ll want to know where to find the cream of the crop of Canadian talent. Guess what? We’re all over TIFF 2020! In addition to projects in the fest’s official selection and online panels and talks, we’ve got awesome Canadians featured in a variety of initiatives.
Here’s where to find us at TIFF!
1) We’ve got loads of Canadian and coproduced shorts at the fest:
- Jordan Canning and Howie Shia’s 4 North A
- Vincent Toi’s Aniksha
- Marie-Ève Juste’s As Spring Comes (Comme la neige au printemps)
- Paul Shkordoff’s Benjamin, Benny, Ben
- Kelly Fyffe-Marshall’s Black Bodies
- Lev Lewis’s Every Day’s Like This
- David Findlay’s Found Me
- Sofia Bohdanowicz’s Point and Line to Plane
- Tank Standing Buffalo’s RKLSS
- Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux’s Rules for Werewolves
- Alex Anna’s Scars
- Ariane Louis-Seize’s Shooting Star (Comme une comète)
- Tiffany Hsiung’s Sing Me a Lullaby
- Sasha Leigh Henry’s Sinking Ship
- Sophy Romvari’s Still Processing
- Ian Bawa’s Strong Son
- Hannah Cheesman’s Succor
- Igor Drljaca’s The Archivists
- James Burns’s The Water Walker
Schedule available here.
2) TIFF Filmmaker Lab
Did you ever dream of chatting up cinematic icons and learning from their expertise? Well, 20 emerging directors will have that chance at the 2020 TIFF Filmmaker Lab (September 9 to 12)!
From Canadian icons such as David Cronenberg to international talents including Hirokazu Kore-eda, Rian Johnson, Nadine Labaki, Kasi Lemmons, Wim Wenders, Eliza Hittman, Fernando Frias, Paul Federbush, Ramy Youssef, and Hiam Abbass, the Lab’s line-up of esteemed speakers is sure to be unforgettable. This year’s TIFF Filmmaker Lab Governor is none other than Atom Egoyan.
We’ve got 10 Canadian directors chosen to participate in this exciting initiative, alongside 10 international directors…
Canada: Maha Al-Saati, Antoine Bourges, Pier-Philippe Chevigny, Marilyn Cooke, Shawn Gerrard, Lillah Halla, Sasha Leigh Henry, S.M. Turrell, Jeff Wong, and Asia Youngman.
International: Yuhi Amuli, Tammes Bernstein, Jorge Cadena, Álvaro Gago Díaz, Meredith Hama-Brown, Fawzia Mirza, Irene Moray, Asantewaa Prempeh, Simon Ryninks and Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu.
3) TIFF Talent Accelerator!
These six Canadian creators have been selected by TIFF Industry for the second edition of this accelerator programme for emerging Canadian screenwriters, producers, and directors who are women. For a whole year, they’ll each benefit from personalized support and development!
Directors: Sasha Leigh Henry, Asia Youngman
Producers: Lindsay Blair Goeldner, Priscilla Galvez
Writers: Luis De Filippis, Adrianna DiLonardo
Pssst! Take a peek at TIFF’s alumni page to discover the previous TIFF Talent Accelerator participants who went on to make films and projects later selected for the festival!
4) A Canadian filmmaker is named a TIFF Rising Star…
That’s right, Ontario-born Madeleine Sims-Fewer has been picked to participate in this year’s prestigious TIFF Rising Stars programme (September 11 to 14), which spotlights emerging actors through opportunities ranging from red carpets to meetings and much more.
Co-directed and co-written with her creative partner Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer’s first feature Violation (a Talent Fund-supported project) debuts in TIFF’s Midnight Madness section. She also stars in this film, and the duo’s shorts include 2018’s award-winning Woman in Stall, which snagged a Slamdance Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short.
5) Canadian TIFF Ambassadors
Last but not least, Canada is representing at TIFF 2020 in the form of our ambassadors. Canadians Tantoo Cardinal, Jason Reitman, Atom Egoyan, Sarah Gadon, and Denis Villeneuve are among the 50 official TIFF Ambassadors invited to the fest this year.
Stay tuned for more updates and info on all your Canadian TIFF action!
