The Toronto International Film Festival Group brings more than world premieres, big-name directors and beautiful stars to the city of Toronto; it also brings in the mighty, albeit Canadian, dollar.

According to a recent study conducted through The Strategic Counsel and Cormex Research, the monetary impact of the Group’s activities has increased by $37 million in the last decade. The Group generated $67 million in 2002, including $23 million in tourism and an additional $22.2 million in documented film sales.

‘The Toronto International Film Festival itself is an engine for the whole Group,’ says managing director Michele Maheux of the Group’s first initiative, which has been running since 1976. In addition to the fact that ‘we’re an incredibly fiscal operation,’ she says the dramatic increase in economic impact from $30 million in 1993 to $67 million last year is also due to the Group’s expansion over the last 10 years.

The Group has grown to include five divisions in addition to TIFF. These include the Film Reference Library, which houses the world’s largest collection of English-language Canadian film resources, and the Film Circuit, which is responsible for bringing domestic and international independent films to more than 100 communities across Canada.

While TIFF remains the hub of the operation, several other programs have seen dramatic growth, according to the study. Cinematheque Ontario, for example, has grown more than 350% since its inception in 1990. And the children’s film festival Sprockets has seen its audience grow from 2,000 to 15,000 in its first five years.

Last year, people attending the Group’s festivals spent $6.5 million in Toronto bars and restaurants, $11.6 million on transportation and $2.8 million in additional travel expenses, according to the study.

‘If we can be an organization that helps turn around tourism for Toronto and consequently for the rest of the country, that’s a very good thing,’ says Maheux.

The group’s growth and success is unprecedented in comparison to parallel organizations in other parts of the world such as Cannes and Sundance. So much so that several festivals are taking an increasingly keen interest in the Toronto organization, Maheux says. ‘To have venerable organizations looking to us for original programming is not only a boon to the way we operate, but is also an indication of our growth and the breadth of our activities,’ she says.

-www.e.bell.ca/filmfest