Toronto International Film Festival co-heads Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente know that programming a hit festival in 2021 isn’t just about predicting the next Academy Award winners, but ensuring its long-term sustainability.

The festival revealed its plans for 2021 today (June 23), which encompasses both in-person and digital screenings during the 10-day event, running from Sept. 9 to 18. The planned in-person events are buoyed by Ontario’s easing COVID-19 restrictions over the summer as vaccination rates rise.

TIFF also revealed the first 10 of its more than 100-film Official Selection titles, which includes Canadian films such as Danis Goutlet’s Night Raiders and animated copro Charlotte.

“Many of the films that we’re selecting from this year were made against all odds during the pandemic,” Bailey, artistic director and co-head of TIFF, tells Playback Daily in a joint interview with executive director and co-head Vicente. “There are films that are shaped by the pandemic and shaped by what we were all going through over the last year – and I think that’s helpful for all of us to be able to have that cathartic experience of recalling what it’s been like – but there are many films that will transcend this particular moment as well and offer escape.”

Bailey says the inclusion of Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders is indicative of how this year’s film selection will continue to showcase Canada’s Indigenous filmmaking talent, along with other select Canadian stories among its 100+ feature lineup. “There is a rise of Indigenous filmmaking in Canada that I think is just getting started,” says Bailey. “Last year we showed Tracy Deer’s Beans, which went on to win the Best Motion Picture prize at the Canadian Screen Awards. There’s a lot more where that came from.”

A major component of their plan to build on the success of TIFF’s digital accessibility is the Industry Conference, which will be online-only from Sept. 10 to 14, to be more accessible to international industry members unable to travel.

For 2021, Vicente says they’re working with the platform developers to enhance the user experience to better help industry members connect with one another. Looking into the future of the conference, she says there isn’t a clear picture on how it will evolve, but they’re looking into how to recreate the intimate experience of their conference sessions while allowing the capacity to reach thousands.

The hybrid in-person and digital model is expected to be the new normal for festivals, to the point where Bailey predicts the term “hybrid” will disappear entirely.

New to the festival this year is Coast-to-Coast Screening, which will bring a select number of TIFF films to theatres across Canada for one-night-only screening events. Powered by TIFF’s existing Film Circuit, which was founded in 1989 and connects to more than 160 communities across Canada, it will be the first time select theatres in Canada will run TIFF selections at the same time as the festival. The chosen locations will be announced later this summer.

Bailey says the idea was born from the success of their digital platform in 2020, which highlighted how much interest for the festival existed across Canada. They wanted to build on it with a select number of in-person screenings with a few Film Circuit partners. “We really want people across the country to be able to feel they’re a part of the spirit of the excitement that comes when we’re all seeing new movies in the fall,” says Bailey.

The national screenings also provide a new avenue to attract sponsors as the festival aims to increase revenue after the losses of 2020. It was previously reported that last year’s festival brought in approximately 10% of the revenue compared to past festivals, and TIFF saw an overall 50% loss in the previous year.

Vicente notes that TIFF has a “diversified revenue stream” which relies on philanthropy as well as ticket sales to continue operations, and the festival continues to make use of the federal wage subsidy and cultural funds.

Capacity restrictions and health measures mean TIFF remains unable to deliver the same value to sponsors compared to pre-pandemic festivals, says Vicente, so they’re looking at digital offerings and national screenings to increase their value. “In a way this year is almost more difficult than last year because we are expected to adapt to the new realities and do something bigger,” says Vicente.

Among the programming features in 2021 is a retrospective on documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, curated by Jason Ryle. Bailey says the retrospective was in the works for TIFF’s year-long programming in 2020, but was postponed when the pandemic hit. They decided to include it as part of the fall festival with plans to invite Obomsawin to Toronto for an in-person event. “[Obomsawin] is an icon of Canadian cinema, an icon of Indigenous storytelling through documentaries, and we want to make sure the whole world knows more about her,” says Bailey.

This fall won’t see the same level of collaboration as 2020, when TIFF made a joint promise of non-competitive solidarity with Venice, Telluride and the New York Film Festival. Bailey says 2020 was “a beautiful moment” where the festivals all screened the eventual Best Picture winner Nomadland, and worked together to develop their digital platforms. But, with the initial crisis faded, the festivals are focused on putting forward the best value possible.

Vicente says the 2021 festival marks a balancing act between fulfilling their mission as a platform for filmmakers and remaining sustainable as an organization. “It’s about survival; it’s about relevance,” she says. “It’s about continuing to do the things that people expect from us – and that’s what drives us.”

Photo by Luis Mora