Communications master and Serendipity Point Films producer Robert Lantos learned in 1978 that screaming ‘censorship’ from coast-to-coast would grab a lot of free press for a film with no marketing budget.

That year, the uncut version of In Praise of Older Women created such a frenzy on opening night at the 3rd Festival of Festivals (as the Toronto fest was then called) that it helped put the event on the map. It was Lantos’ first of 10 Toronto fest opening nights, capped this year with Fugitive Pieces.

Lantos fondly remembers that first opening night as unparalleled ‘fun’ when politicians took sides. ‘Frankly, nothing compares to that storm,’ he chuckles.

‘The film had been grabbing front-page headlines across Canada and was the subject of much controversy because of the [now-defunct] Ontario Censor Board’s demands that a couple of things be cut,’ Lantos continues. ‘That in turn caused such a furor that the censor board found itself at the epicenter of the storm. It led to massive lineups on Yonge Street, which led to riots, so there was an unplanned overflow screening.’

There were police everywhere. ‘The festival ran the uncensored version, but both versions were in the projection booth – and so was the Toronto vice squad,’ Lantos continues.

To quell the crowd and make his own political statement, Canada’s then-secretary of state John Roberts – also an avid film buff – joined the fray.

‘John Roberts went up on stage and said; ‘If anyone is going to be arrested tonight, I want to be the first one,” Lantos laughs.

Ahead of TIFF’s 32nd edition, Lantos confided to Playback that the most important aspect of the coveted opening-night spot is still about ‘ritual.’

‘Being the opening film has a certain frisson to it,’ he says.

TIFF opening-night directors and Lantos collaborators Atom Egoyan and Ted Kotcheff agree.

‘Having opened the festival three times with Robert, I have to confess that the actual screening is often secondary to the fabulous parties that Robert hosts afterwards,’ says Egoyan, whose films The Sweet Hereafter, Felicia’s Journey and Ararat opened TIFF in 1997, 1999 and 2002, respectively. ‘[Robert] loves the social ritual and celebration of the Gala event, and no one better organizes glamour and a sense of fun.’

Joshua Then and Now director Kotcheff says his 1985 opening night must have been a really good one because he doesn’t remember a thing. However, the exec producer of Law & Order: SVU does recall that: ‘Robert is one of the best film producers I’ve ever worked with. He’s a combination of intelligence, tact and great ideas, and if you don’t like his ideas, he backs off quickly – unlike some producers I’ve worked with… And of course, he loves his food and he loves his drink, so he throws great parties.’

Robert Lantos’ TIFF openers
In Praise of Older Women (1978)
Joshua Then & Now (1985)
Black Robe (1991)
Whale Music (1994)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Felicia’s Journey (1999)
Stardom (2000)
Ararat (2002)
Being Julia (2005)
Fugitive Pieces (2007)