The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Drew Franklin. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, Ali Farahnakian and Rich Fulcher.
Wanda Yvette Sykes is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her roles on CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10), HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001–present), and ABC's Black-ish (2015–present). She currently stars in the Netflix original series The Upshaws which premiered on May 12, 2021, with Kim Fields and Mike Epps, and has appeared in the HBO Max comedy series The Other Two, as well as playing Allegra Durado, a new, powerful, and "messy"-brained partner in a legal firm on Paramount+'s acclaimed The Good Fight.
Numerous festivals, shows and exhibitions are held annually in Toronto. They include:
Over the Hedge is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and based on the comic strip of the same name by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick from a screenplay by Len Blum, Lorne Cameron, David Hoselton, and Kirkpatrick, the film features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, Avril Lavigne and Nick Nolte. The film's plot follows a raccoon named RJ who must reclaim food for a bear, ultimately manipulating a group of animals that had recently awakened from hibernation in order to speed up the process.
The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.
Sasheer Zamata Moore is an American actress and comedian known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2017 as well as her leading roles in the TV series Woke (2020–present) and Home Economics (2021–present). She also has served as a celebrity ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union. She currently co-hosts a podcast with best friend and fellow comedian, Nicole Byer called “Best Friends”.
Downsizing is a 2017 American science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, written by Payne and Jim Taylor, and starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, and Kristen Wiig. It tells the story of Paul Safrânek, who decides to undergo a recently-invented procedure to shrink his body so he can start a new life in an experimental community, which he ends up doing alone when his wife backs out at the last minute; his journey takes an unexpected turn after he befriends an impoverished activist. Principal photography for the film began in Ontario, Canada, on April 1, 2016.
Nicole Byer is an American actress, comedian, television host, podcaster, and author. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series Nailed It! (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Stella Meghie is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. She is known for her feature films Jean of the Joneses (2016), Everything, Everything (2017), The Weekend (2018), and The Photograph (2020). Meghie has also directed episodes for television series including Grown-ish, Insecure and First Wives Club.
Sleight is a 2016 American superhero drama film about a street magician in Los Angeles. The film is directed by J. D. Dillard, written by Dillard and Alex Theurer and stars Jacob Latimore, Seychelle Gabriel, Dulé Hill, Storm Reid, Sasheer Zamata and Michael Villar. The film was released on April 28, 2017, by WWE Studios and Blumhouse Tilt. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $4 million worldwide, against its $250,000 budget.
Running with Violet is a Canadian comedy-drama web series created by and starring Rebecca Davey and Marie-Claire Marcotte. The series premiered on a dedicated YouTube channel on February 13, 2017. As of January 2020, Running with Violet had generated over 1.5 million views on YouTube.
DeWanda Wise is an American actress. She starred in Spike Lee's Netflix comedy-drama series She's Gotta Have It (2017–19), a contemporary adaptation of his 1986 film.
Alano Herberto Miller is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Cato on the short-lived WGN America drama series Underground.
The First Purge is a 2018 American dystopian action horror film directed by Gerard McMurray and starring Y'lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, and Steve Harris. Written and co-executive produced by James DeMonaco, it is first film of the series not to be directed by him.
Gloria Bell is a 2018 comedy-drama film written and directed by Sebastián Lelio; it is an English language remake of Lelio's 2013 film Gloria. The film stars Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Michael Cera, Caren Pistorius, Brad Garrett, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Rita Wilson, Sean Astin, and Holland Taylor. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 8, 2019, by A24.
Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us is a 2018 Japanese anime adventure film based on Satoshi Tajiri's Pokémon media franchise, produced by OLM and Wit Studio and distributed by Toho. It is the twenty-first film in the Pokémon universe and the second film in the Alternate Timeline series. The film was directed by Tetsuo Yajima, written by Eiji Umehara and Aya Takaha, and stars the voices of Rica Matsumoto, Ikue Ōtani, Megumi Hayashibara, Shin-ichiro Miki, Inuko Inuyama, Rina Kawaei, Mana Ashida, Koji Ohkura, Gaku Hamada, Masako Nozawa, Kōichi Yamadera, and Inori Minase. In the film, several humans and their partner Pokémon creatures work together to stop a forest fire and a poisonous spore that threatens Fula City and its nearby wildlife.
Someone Great is a 2019 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. The film stars Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, DeWanda Wise, Lakeith Stanfield, and Peter Vack.
The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to the festival were members of underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color. The People's Choice Award was won by Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly.
The Photograph is a 2020 American romantic drama film written and directed by Stella Meghie. It follows the estranged daughter of a famous photographer who falls in love with the journalist who is investigating her late mother's life. Chelsea Peretti, Lil Rel Howery and Courtney B. Vance also star.
