 Festival poster | |
| Opening film | The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Sly by Thom Zimny |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Awards | American Fiction (People's Choice Award) |
| Festival date | September 7–17, 2023 |
| Website | tiff |
The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023. [1]
Contents
- Key programming announcements
- Awards
- TIFF Tribute Awards
- Regular awards
- Official selections
- Gala Presentations
- Special Presentations
- Centrepiece
- TIFF Docs
- Discovery
- Platform
- Midnight Madness
- Primetime
- Short Cuts
- Wavelengths
- TIFF Classics
- Industry Selects
- Festival Street
- Canada's Top Ten
- Feature films
- Short films
- References
- External links
The most noted change from past years was that the Contemporary World Cinema stream was renamed Centrepiece. [2] The festival also announced some changes to its programming team for the 2023 festival, following the retirement of Steve Gravestock at the end of 2022 [3] and the death of Ravi Srinivasan in early 2023. [4] Noted changes included Norman Wilner taking over Gravestock's role as programmer of Canadian films, and June Kim succeeding Srinivasan as programmer for South Asian films. [1]
The festival indicated that with the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival having returned to more normal attendance figures, the event would take place exclusively in-person, ending the online platform that had been offered since the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. [5] An additional change from past years was that the film market screenings for industry professionals began on September 6, one day earlier than the festival's official opening to the public. [6]
Festival organizers acknowledged that the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike was likely to impact the festival if not resolved in time, in particular because the strike prevented actors from taking part in promotional appearances to support their films, but indicated that the festival would still proceed even if fewer celebrities than usual were in attendance. [7] The rule did not necessarily bar all American actors from attending the event, however; for instance, as Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils was a Canadian production shot under ACTRA rather than SAG-AFTRA contracts, lead actress Amanda Seyfried remained able to attend the premiere, [8] though she ultimately chose not to attend. [9] As well, several films in the 2023 program were directed by notable movie stars, who were able to attend the premieres in their capacity as directors. [10]
The festival indicated that overall, 70 per cent of its planned program for 2023 came from independent and/or international producers, and would not be affected by the strike. [11]
In 2024, chief executive officer Anita Lee confirmed that despite the ongoing strike, attendance at the 2023 festival was up compared to 2022, although still short of the pre-pandemic highs of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. [12]
