Torontonians have been accused of looking upon their city as the centre of the universe, and perhaps never more so than in the 10 days of the year known as the Toronto International Film Festival. But what has become one of the preeminent launching pads for world cinema as well as a publicity hub for the most sought-after movie stars ground to a halt on day six due to the terrorism perpetrated against Canada’s neighbor to the south.

The stunning news of the suicide hijackings in the U.S. took much of the shine off this year’s edition of TIFF (Sept. 6-15), which in recent years has become a red-carpet, black-limousine, star-studded affair, where would-be schmoozers try to talk their way past jaded bouncers into exclusive parties. But in the wake of the tragedy, the usually celebratory tone turned somber. At 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, TIFF issued a statement on its website that all festival events other than screenings had been cancelled for the day. By 2 p.m., the day’s screenings were off as well.

Festival organizers scrambled to reschedule screenings, adding Sunday, Sept. 16 for films whose second public screening had been postponed (most films get two public screenings.) Organizers shifted their attention to helping U.S. guests cope with the situation by setting up counseling services. (One visiting filmmaker reportedly had a brother who worked at the World Trade Center.) TIFF also worked with hotels to accommodate U.S. attendees who had been stranded with the grounding of all flights at Pearson Int’l. Airport.

At a press conference Sept. 12, TIFF announced that all remaining extra festival events, including red-carpet star entrances and the closing-night party for the Australian film Lantana, had been cancelled. The Awards Brunch would be replaced with a closing press conference.

Before the tragedy

TIFF 2001 was on track to be perhaps the most high-profile in the event’s history, with the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Steve Martin, Gene Hackman and Heather Graham on hand to promote their offerings from among the 249 features showcased. Of these, 27 were of Canadian origin, including coproductions.

The biggest Canadian parties in the festival’s opening days were packed with the who’s who of the local industry. The Citytv Festival Schmooze, held in the ChumCity parking lot, did its annual job of feting this year’s Canuck filmmakers. The retro decor promoted the theme of Drive-in Classics, one of CHUM’s new digital specialties.

One of the busiest parties was tied in to another specialty, the Indepen-dent Film Channel Canada. The soiree, held at Harbourfront’s Power Plant, featured the likes of Salter Street Films CEO Michael Donovan, filmmaker Bruce McDonald (who debuted his feature Picture Claire at the fest) and TV writer/director Ken Finkleman. Partygoers wolfed down lobster salad and hollered to their

fellow guests over the strains of rock band Sloan.

Always one of the most anticipated festival get-togethers, the Canadian Film Centre Festival Barbecue was blessed with sunny skies, strong attendance, and some good news. CFC founder Norman Jewison announced that Universal Studios Canada, a festival sponsor and purveyor of a festival bag coveted by many a female press and industry attendee, was donating $1 million to the centre, Canada’s foremost training ground for moviemaking talent. The money will be used towards teachers and equipment for the renamed Universal Studios Short Dramatic Film Programme.

Maintaining cultural identity

While the festival experience for Toronto’s disproportionately high number of moviegoers consisted chiefly of queuing up for a mouthwatering buffet of international cinema, filmmakers from around the

globe assembled to address the issues of the moment at Rogers Industry Centre panels.

Among those topics was maintaining a national identity in an international context and supporting a diversity of voices within a national cinema, addressed at Trading Identity: Policy in Perspective, moderated by Ontario Media Development Corporation CEO Adam Ostry.

Canadian filmmakers who look at the 2.5% of national screens occupied by local films may draw some comfort in knowing other non-Hollywood cinemas suffer from similar distribution and exhibition problems, although several other countries can boast much better box-office numbers for local productions. Korea, for example, has a screen quota system that demands the country’s theatres show Korean films for 146 days of the year, according to Gi-Hwan Yang of Korea’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity. The system has led to 40% of films on Korean screens being of local origin.

Thirty percent of France’s screens show French movies, a result of the country’s subsidy and tax system. Along with taxes from the TV sector, each movie ticket sold in France includes a tax used toward the film industry, explained Alain Begramian of the Centre National de la Cinematographie.

In the U.K., Hollywood productions take up 85% to 90% of the country’s movie screens, said Robert Jones of the Film Council. Australia’s figures are closest to Canada’s, with local box office between 3% and 6%. That, however, does not factor in international breakout hits such as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding, said Australian film producer Jan Chapman.

While some of these countries have a strong national cinema, the measures they have used have caused trade disputes. Bonnie Richardson, VP trade and federal affairs, Motion Picture Association of America, for one, criticized Korea’s insistence that its film regulations not be subject to free trade agreements.

‘The argument is that film is culture because it has a social impact,’ she said. ‘But it is not the only medium that has social impact. Compare it to banks or telecoms, which have an impact on society [and both of which are covered under trade agreements.] If you take a cultural exception approach, there is no way to talk. Trade agreements are flexible enough that it is possible to come up with a set of rules.’

Richardson added that the current debate about so-called ‘runaway productions’ should also be resolved without the U.S. introducing tax breaks – which could violate trade agreements – or resorting to punitive measures against Canada.

Supporting a strong national industry is just one piece of the puzzle. The other is how to ensure national cinema reflects the diversity of its population. ‘If you looked at our movies and had never been to England, you would think we’re all white and living in the 19th century, or we live in Notting Hill or a mine town where the mine has closed,’ said the Film Council’s Jones, explaining the challenge faced in the U.K.

Canadian cinema suffers from the same homogeneity, according to Canadian Native filmmaker Shirley Cheechoo (Silent Tears, Backroads). She said that government funding agencies have directed her applications for money to small aboriginal programs while larger programs have turned down her projects, deeming them not marketable enough.

One filmmaker who hopes to bring to the screen a story examining issues around race in Canada is Chaz Thorne, winner of the Telefilm Canada Pitch This! session. Unlike most of the other five pitchers, the Nova Scotian used minimal props for his idea. Called Poor Boy’s Game, the script focuses on a poor white boxer with a racist past who has to train with a black coach. Thorne is now $6,000 closer to turning his vision into reality.

New formats and outlets

for moviemakers

Other sessions dealt with the problem of moviemakers being able to practice their craft with the increasingly prohibitive economics of theatrical production. Big Screen, Small Screen: Coming Soon to a Living Room Near You dealt with the reality of movie producers, directors and writers shifting their focus from making features to working in TV.

Jewison reappeared to make the case on the North American side. Jewison started in TV in the fledgling days of the CBC before going on to Hollywood to direct films such as In the Heat of the Night and The Thomas Crown Affair. But he happily returned to TV recently to direct the play adaptation Dinner with Friends for HBO. He argued that today’s theatrical releases are more akin to spectacles.

‘It’s all about technology,’ he lamented. ‘Where has genuine human intimacy [in movies] gone? Where does the writer fit in? We go to Showtime and HBO.’ He spoke of the creative freedom allowed when working for cable networks, adding: ‘They’ll leave you alone. You don’t even have to worry about opening week. I’ve gone back to making the films I want to make.’

The session entitled Ben Hur Production Values on an I Love Lucy budget argued just as persuasively that the technology of which Jewison was scornful can in fact also be creatively liberating.

Bill Buxton, chief scientist of Toronto-based software manufacturer Alias|Wavefront, Bob Munroe, president of F/X shop C.O.R.E Digital Pictures, and director Vincenzo Natali illustrated how advances in digital technology, from preproduction to principal photography to distribution and exhibition, will soon facilitate professional moviemaking from basement desktop systems.

TIFF coverage will continue in the Oct. 1 issue.