The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF ), organized by the San Francisco Film Society , is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution. In 2009, it served around 82,000 patrons, with screenings held in San Francisco and Berkeley.
41-809: In March 2014, Noah Cowan, former executive director of the Toronto International Film Festival , became executive director of the SFFS and SFIFF, replacing Ted Hope . Prior to Hope, the festival was briefly headed by Bingham Ray , who served as SFFS executive director until his death after only ten weeks on the job in January 2012. Graham Leggat became the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society on October 17, 2005. The Scottish -born Leggat died on August 25, 2011, from cancer, aged 51. The 63rd edition of
82-522: A Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time list. This list is produced from a wider poll of film industry professionals and academics throughout Canada, separately from the annual top-ten list. The festival's major prize, the TIFF People's Choice Award , is given to a feature-length film. It is not a juried prize, but is given to the film with the highest ratings as voted by the TIFF-going populace. It
123-695: A dedicated Canadian film stream. In 2004, TIFF was featured as the site of murder mystery in the film Jiminy Glick in Lalawood , a comedy film starring Martin Short . In 2007, it was announced that the organization generates an estimated annual impact of $ 67 million CAD. By 2011, that benefit had grown to $ 170 million CAD. In 2008, Rose McGowan caused controversy at a TIFF press conference for her film Fifty Dead Men Walking , when she noted that "I imagine, had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in
164-510: A fear that the festival would draw commercial attention away from the Oscars. It was not until 1959 that a major American film, Henry King 's Beloved Infidel , starring Gregory Peck and Deborah Kerr , played at SFIFF. The Festival's directing award is named after SFIFF's founder, Irving Levin. From 2003 to 2014, the award was known as the Founder's Directing Award. Prior to 2003, the award
205-614: A previous multiday commercial theatrical run or media broadcast of any kind. The festival currently awards cash prizes in the following categories: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the San Francisco International Film Festival as a qualifying festival for the short films (live action and animated) competitions of the 81st annual Academy Awards. Selected by the International Federation of Film Critics,
246-893: A research centre. There is also a gift shop, two restaurants, a lounge, a cafe, and a three-storey atrium. Cooperatively with Daniels Corporation, there is a 46-storey condominium atop, called the Festival Tower. The first film screening was Bruce McDonald 's Trigger . The first exhibition was a retrospective on Tim Burton , organized by the Museum of Modern Art (New York City). Subsequent exhibitions include Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style, and Stanley Kubrick : The Exhibition, all of which were organized by TIFF, as well as one called Essential Cinema , featuring posters, images and props from TIFF's The Essential 100 list of films. The Film Reference Library (FRL)
287-772: Is a large Canadian film research collection. The library is a free resource for film lovers, filmmakers, students, scholars, and journalists, and is located on the fourth floor of the TIFF Lightbox. An affiliate member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) , the FRL promotes Canadian and global film scholarship by collecting, preserving, and providing access to a comprehensive collection of film prints, and film-related reference resources (including books, periodicals, scripts, research files, movies, press kits, and about 80 special collections. In 2016,
328-489: Is given to an individual or organization notable for making significant contributions to the Bay Area's film community. Recent recipients include: The POV Award honors the lifetime achievement of a filmmaker whose work is crafting documentaries, short films, animation or work for television. Recent recipients include: The George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award, given in tribute to the longstanding Film Society chairman of
369-527: Is known for the celebrity buzz it brings to the area with international media setting up near its restaurants and stores for photos and interviews with the stars. In 2010, TIFF opened its permanent headquarters, TIFF Lightbox, a year-round home for the appreciation of film in the heart of downtown Toronto, although TIFF films are still screened at a wider variety of venues, including the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , rather than exclusively at
410-621: Is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organization behind the film festival is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural centre, located in Downtown Toronto . The TIFF People's Choice Award - which is based on audience balloting - has emerged as an indicator of success during awards season , especially at
451-777: Is presently referred to as the " Grolsch People's Choice Award"; past sponsors of the award have included Cadillac . The winners of this award have often later earned Academy Award nominations. People's Choice Awards are also presented for Documentary and Midnight Madness films. Each of the People's Choice Awards names first and second runners-up in addition to the winners. However, TIFF does present juried awards in some other categories. The festival presents three major awards for Canadian films: Best Canadian Film , Best Canadian First Feature Film , and Best Canadian Short Film , as well as awards for Best International Short Film , two FIPRESCI -sponsored International Critics' Prizes for
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#1732773285247492-464: The Academy Award for Best Actor while Slumdog Millionaire went on to win eight Oscars at the 2009 Academy Awards. Precious , which won the 2009 TIFF People's Choice Award, went on to win two Oscars at the 82nd Academy Awards. The King's Speech , the winner of the 2010 TIFF People's Choice Award, won four Oscars at the 83rd Academy Awards, while Silver Linings Playbook , the winner of
533-651: The Academy Awards . Past recipients of this award include Oscar-winning films, such as Chariots of Fire (1981), Life Is Beautiful (1998), American Beauty (1999), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The King's Speech (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), La La Land (2016), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Green Book (2018), Jojo Rabbit (2019), Nomadland (2020), Belfast (2021) and American Fiction (2023). TIFF starts
574-464: The BBC , TIFF is one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. In 1998, Variety acknowledged that TIFF "is second only to Cannes in terms of high-profile pics, stars, and market activity". In 2007, Time noted that TIFF had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period". In 2016, TIFF hosted 1,800 members of
615-737: The FIPRESCI Prize aims to promote film art, to encourage new and young cinema and to help films get better distribution and win greater public attention. Each year, the festival invites a prominent thinker to discuss the intersecting worlds of contemporary cinema, culture and society. Recent speakers include: The San Francisco International Film Festival also involves live music and film events, which usually feature contemporary musicians performing original scores to classic silent films. Music/film pairings at SFIFF have included: Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival ( TIFF , often stylized as tiff )
656-480: The "primary" venue of the festival. The 2020 edition was both in-person and virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic , with the virtual platform provided by Shift72 . The film screenings were initially declared as "masks optional", a decision that drew criticism for creating a potential superspreader event as the social nature of the festival could increase the risk for COVID-19 transmission. The festival reversed
697-571: The 2012 TIFF People's Choice Award, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence . In 2019, the festival opened with Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band , the first time the festival ever opened with a Canadian documentary film. Many Hollywood studios premiere their films in Toronto due to TIFF's easy-going non-competitive nature, relatively inexpensive costs (when compared to European festivals), eager film-fluent audiences and convenient timing. In 2007,
738-819: The Festival Group began construction on TIFF Lightbox , a new facility at the corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto, on land donated by Ivan Reitman and family. The $ 181 million facility was sponsored by Bell Canada , with additional support from the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada . In 2010, the organization opened its new headquarters at TIFF Lightbox. The facility, designed by local firm KPMB Architects , provides extensive year-round galleries, cinemas, archives and activities for cinephiles. The five-storey facility contains five cinemas, two gallery spaces, film archives and an extensive reference library, study spaces, film lab facility, and
779-484: The IRA". In 2009, TIFF's decision to spotlight films from Tel Aviv created a controversy with protesters, saying it was part of an attempt to re-brand Israel in a positive light after the January 2009 Gaza War . In 2016, 397 films from 83 countries were screened at 28 screens in downtown Toronto venues, welcoming an estimated 480,000 attendees, over 5,000 of whom were industry professionals. In 2017, TIFF reduced
820-538: The Lightbox. TIFF has grown, steadily adding initiatives throughout the years. TIFF Cinematheque (formerly Cinematheque Ontario) and the Film Reference Library (FRL) opened in 1990. The TIFF Kids International Film Festival (formerly Sprockets) launched in 1998. Film Circuit began exhibiting independent and Canadian films in under-serviced cities across Canada in 1994. The festival also organizes
861-555: The Special Presentation and Discovery programs, and a NETPAC Prize for the best film from Asia having its world premiere at the festival. In 2015, the festival introduced Platform, a juried programme that champions director's cinema from around the world; one film from the stream is selected as the winner of the Platform Prize . For all of the juried awards, honorable mentions may also be given, although
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#1732773285247902-543: The TIFF Film Circuit, a program which partners with local organizations in other Canadian towns and cities to present screenings of films that have previously been shown at TIFF. In May 2024, TIFF announced that it will launch a full film market in 2026. The festival was founded in 1976 at the Windsor Arms Hotel by Bill Marshall , Henk Van der Kolk and Dusty Cohl . Beginning as a collection of
943-651: The Thursday night after Labour Day (the first Monday in September in Canada) and lasts for eleven days. The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival took place from September 5 through 15, 2024. As of 2022 , the festival's CEO is Cameron Bailey . The Toronto International Film Festival was first launched as the Toronto Festival of Festivals , collecting the best films from other film festivals around
984-635: The artistic director of TIFF Lightbox , while longtime programmer Cameron Bailey succeeded as co-director. As of 2013, Bailey is now the artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as TIFF Lightbox's year round programming. TIFF was once centred on the Yorkville neighbourhood, but the Toronto Entertainment District later gained a greater level of prominence. TIFF
1025-464: The best-regarded films from film festivals around the world, it had an inaugural attendance of 35,000. Ironically, however, Hollywood studios withdrew their submissions from TIFF due to concerns that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their feature releases. In 1978, the festival first began billing itself as "the Toronto International Film Festival" as a supplementary name, although it retained Festival of Festivals as its primary branding. At
1066-667: The board who died in 2013, honors filmmakers for their contributions to the art of cinema. Recent recipients include: The Film Festival's Midnight Awards were given from 2007–2011 to honor a young American actor and actress who have made outstanding contributions to independent and Hollywood cinema. Recent recipients include: In 2017, the San Francisco Film Society made a "strategic move" to set its 60th anniversary SF Film Awards Night closer to awards season in early December. This $ 15,000 cash award supports innovative thinking by independent filmmakers and shines
1107-639: The decision within 24 hours citing a surge of new cases in Ontario, causing them to go fully virtual instead. The 2020 festival also saw the introduction of Industry Selects, an ad hoc film market for films seeking commercial distribution. Due to the pandemic, which prevented members of the North American film industry from travelling to international film festivals where many of the Industry Selects films were screened, they were available on
1148-510: The festival received a donation of 1,400 film prints, and launched a campaign to raise money for the preservation and storage of the films. Each year, TIFF releases a Canada's Top Ten list of the films selected by a poll of festival programmers across Canada as the ten best Canadian feature and short films of the year, regardless of whether or not they were screened at TIFF. The films selected are announced in December each year. Previously,
1189-646: The festival's industry platform, but not on the commercial platform for the general public. Introduced at the time as a temporary measure due to the pandemic, it was converted into a permanent part of the TIFF program in 2022, and became the nucleus of the festival's plans to launch a full film market in 2026. Films such as American Beauty , Ray , Mr. Nobody , 127 Hours , Black Swan , Disobedience , The Five Obstructions , Singapore Sling , I Am Love and The Fabelmans have premiered at TIFF. Jamie Foxx 's portrayal of Ray Charles ultimately won him
1230-486: The festival, originally scheduled for April 2020, was ultimately postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The 67th edition of the festival took place from April 24 to April 28, 2024. Founded in 1957 by film exhibitor Irving "Bud" Levin, the SFIFF began as a philanthropic effort to secure San Francisco's place in the international arts scene as well as expose locals to cinema as an art form. The first festival screening
1271-687: The juries are expected to select one overall winner. In 2019, the festival introduced the TIFF Tribute Awards , a gala ceremony at which distinguished actors and filmmakers are honoured for their lifetime career achievements; unlike most award categories, the Tribute Award honorees are named in advance of the festival. The hundreds of films screened at the annual festival are divided into sections (referred to by TIFF as "Programmes") based on genre (e.g. documentary , children's films ), format (e.g. short films , television episodes ),
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1312-438: The number of films screened compared to the 2016 festival with 255 feature-length films in 2017 , and also eliminated two venues that had been used in prior years. In 2019, it was reported that due to a request from its owner, Cineplex Entertainment , no TIFF films distributed by subscription video-on-demand services (specifically Amazon Video and Netflix ) are being screened at Scotiabank Theatre—which has been considered
1353-686: The press and print media outlets such as the Toronto Star , The Globe and Mail , The New York Times , The Times of India , Los Angeles Times , The Philadelphia Inquirer , Miami Herald , and the Toronto Sun have published a significant amount of festival coverage. Also, the major industry trade magazines Variety , The Hollywood Reporter and Screen International all produce daily editions during TIFF. TIFF reports also appear in weekly news magazines; American, Canadian and international entertainment shows; news services; and
1394-633: The same time it moved from the Harbour Castle Hotel to the Plaza II, and Wayne Clarkson replaced Marshall as the festival director. The number of galas increased from one to two per night and the Canadian Film Awards were incorporated into the festival. The Festival of Festivals name was dropped in 1994, with the event becoming known exclusively as the Toronto International Film Festival at that time. From 1994 to 2009,
1435-437: The spotlight on an emerging director. Films in this juried competition must be the director's first narrative feature and are selected for their unique artistic sensibility or vision. The Golden Gate Awards is the competitive section for documentaries, animation, shorts, experimental film, and video, youth works and works for television. Eligibility requires that entries have a San Francisco Bay Area premiere and be exempt from
1476-510: The status of filmmaker (e.g. "masters", first-time directors), and so forth. Up until the early 2010s there were sections reserved for Canadian films, but beginning in 2015 all Canadian films are integrated in sections with films from outside Canada. Currently the festival's 14 sections are as follows: In previous years, sections at TIFF have included Perspectives Canada, Canada First!, City to City ( 2009 to 2016), Future Projections, Vanguard (up to 2016), and Visions (up to 2011). According to
1517-428: The umbrella organization running TIFF was named "Toronto International Film Festival Group" (TIFFG). In 2009, the umbrella organization TIFFG was renamed to TIFF. In 2001, Perspective Canada, the programme that had focused on Canadian films since 1984, was replaced by two programmes: As of 2015, Canadian films are now simply included alongside international films in the other film programs rather than being grouped as
1558-421: The winning films were screened at a smaller follow-up "Canada's Top Ten" festival at the Lightbox the following January, with a People's Choice Award then presented for that minifestival. In 2018, TIFF announced a change, under which instead of a dedicated festival, each Top Ten film will receive its own standalone theatrical run at the Lightbox throughout the year. Since 1984, every decade TIFF has also produced
1599-441: The world and showing them to eager audiences in Toronto. Founded by Bill Marshall , Dusty Cohl , and Henk Van der Kolk , the inaugural event took place from October 18 through 24, 1976. That first year, 35,000 filmgoers watched 127 films from 30 countries presented in ten programmes. Piers Handling had been the festival's director and CEO since 1994, while Noah Cowan became co-director of TIFF in 2004. In late 2007, Cowan became
1640-581: Was known as the Akira Kurosawa Award. Recipients include: Named for the longtime San Francisco benefactor of arts and charitable organizations Peter J. Owens (1936–91), this award honors an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity. Recent recipients include: Recipients of the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting include: Named in honor of San Francisco film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922–87), this award
1681-558: Was on December 4–18, 1957 at the Metro Theatre in Cow Hollow. Akira Kurosawa 's Throne of Blood ; Helmut Käutner 's The Captain from Köpenick (1956 film) ; and Satyajit Ray 's Pather Panchali were among the films that screened at the first festival. One obstacle in the early years was the lack of support from the major Hollywood studios, suggested reasons being the growing threat of international films' appeal and