The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is back in business. TIFF gave media and industry peers a taste of what to expect in the years to come as the festival, which recently secured Rogers as its presenting sponsor, held an omnibus event celebrating Canadian titles in this year’s programming. The event also highlighted the role TIFF hopes its marketplace will play when it launches in 2026.
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey welcomed the crowd and noted that TIFF looks forward to marking its 50th anniversary with the 2025 festival. “We’ll be celebrating our Canadian roots,” Bailey told the crowd.
This year’s festival has 59 Canadian titles combining features—both docs and dramas—with shorts and episodic works. TIFF previously announced Canadian docs Your Tomorrow, about Ontario Place and the role that public space plays in cities; So Surreal: Behind the Masks, about the hunt for Indigenous masks; Russians at War, about the invasion of Ukraine; and Living Together, about cohabitation among Gen Zs and Millennials. Episodic Canadian docs are The Knowing, about a family’s history with residential schools, and The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, about the titular Canadian rock band.
Bailey also announced the addition of one more documentary to the festival’s Gala programme. TIFF will hold the world premiere of the Randy Bachman documentary Takin’ Care of Business. The film is directed by Tyler Measom (An Honest Liar; Jesus Town, USA) and profiles one of the biggest names in Canadian rock as Bachman looks back on his years with The Guess Who and the Bachman Turner Overdrive.
Canadian Awards
TIFF also announced a new format for Canadian prizes at the festival. The new Best Canadian Discovery Award will recognize a work by a director making their first or second feature. Best Canadian Film, meanwhile, will honour a film by a director with three or more feature credits to their name. Both prizes carry a purse of $10,000 CAD, with the latter prize presented by Canada Goose.
Market Preview
The event then shifted to a talk about the upcoming TIFF market, which received a sizable $23 million investment from the Canadian government. TIFF’s Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee joined Communications VP Judy Lung, Kerry Swanson of the Indigenous Screen Office, and director/producer Jennifer Holness to offer talking points about the market.
Lee said that TIFF has always been a place for business in the film industry with sales, deals, and acquisitions made annually. But she acknowledged that TIFF’s previous marketplace was an informal one without obvious infrastructure. She said that festival has to seize an opportunity and respond to a changing marketplace post-COVID.
Moreover, she added that longstanding European markets at festivals like Berlin and Cannes don’t really have a North American equivalent. “There is a gap in the fall in North America,” said Lee. “We are very much a gateway to the North American market.” (Industry commentators, meanwhile, have noted that the TIFF market could invite competition with the American Film Market later in the fall.)
Lee added that having a formal marketplace could help producers, funders, distributors, and sales agents decide where to go on the festival circuit. “The landscape has shifted significantly,” said Lee. “Everyone needs to be rigorous about how many industry events they attend.”
Lee said that plans for the market include work in progress screenings and a financing forum. She also said a key part of the industry hub would be a formal mechanism to connect emerging players and developing film scenes, like talents from Asia and Africa, with high stakes partners.
Partnerships and co-production
Swanson echoed the latter point. “Indigenous producers have been shut out of the international marketplace for decades,” she told the crowd.
The ISO director cited the growing momentum for Indigenous creators and said that the market could foster relationships between co-production partners, particularly “Indigenous to Indigenous co-production.” Swanson also said the festival’s robust programming slate could boost business, noting that TIFF has four ISO-supported works in this year’s line-up that prospective partners can turn to.
Holness, who served as a producer on this year’s TIFF drama 40 Acres, noted her own experience navigating the informal market and “having to fight it out on your own.” Holness said that an informal market proves especially challenging for new producers/filmmakers without networks.
“We’re in an environment whereby international companies are blowing up and we have to work together,” added Holness, who echoed the sentiments about partnership. Holness added that the market could prove especially useful for producers looking to connect with American partners in series/episodic work, who, in turn, might be looking for Canadian partners who can access tax credits and financing.
TIFF’s programming slate this year boasts a sales-ready roster. International docs up for grabs include buzzy titles like Mistress Dispeller, The Last Republican, and No Other Land.
