The City of Toronto has launched a one-time grant program to inject $2 million in funds to approximately 40 of the city’s festivals, but local film festival organizers say many will still have to look elsewhere to alleviate widespread funding shortfalls.

“In 2024, we had to cut down our festival from 11 to nine days to be able to work with the resources that we have,” Elie Chivi, co-head and executive director of the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, tells Playback Daily. “But even with that, we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for the festival that we just had.”

The Special Events Stabilization Initiative (SESI) program, announced by the municipal government on July 20, targets not-for-profit festivals and is meant to offset rising costs related to the health, safety and security of attendees. Festival organizers say, however, that venue rental, artist accommodation and compensation, as well as equipment, are their primary costs and concerns.

Even so, many film festivals will not even be able to meet the eligibility requirements the grant stipulates. Successful applicants are required to have a festival that is available to the public and offers free admission or tickets under $5. The initiative also bars requesting money for purposes such as administration, programming and technical production.

“While we recognize that a range of festivals help to make Toronto a vibrant place to live, work and visit, the City of Toronto is directing its funding supports to events that take place outdoors in the public realm and are offered for free or at a nominal cost,” said a spokesperson for the City of Toronto in an email response.

Free outdoor film festivals will be eligible to apply, but even then, the requirements on how the grant can be used can be restrictive for the specific needs of such festivals.

“Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) will apply for the SESI grant, though we do not expect to receive much support from this initiative,” said Emily Reid, artistic and executive director of TOPS, in an email statement.

The festival went public with its financial concerns earlier this month, telling The Globe and Mail it was still roughly $70,000 short of making its annual budget for 2024.

“Many of Toronto’s festivals are at the breaking point… and our most important costs are staffing, programming, infrastructure and equipment rentals, and operating costs to keep our lights on and our wheels turning,” added Reid.

For the majority of film festivals, however, ticket sales are an essential part of funding.

“Once the festival wraps, that money from ticket sales goes toward covering some of the expenses,” says Leslie Ann Coles, founder and director of the Female Eye Film Festival. “Those box-office revenues support our ability to remit payments to the national filmmakers for the presentation of their work.”

While SESI could potentially be an essential source of one-time funding for many types of festivals in Toronto, organizers say they will need to continue utilizing other government grants, donations from the public, as well as funding from private sponsors.

“Without these festivals platforming [new artists], this work may otherwise not be seen,” says Eric Bizzarri, co-founder and CEO of Future of Film Showcase, which primarily screens short films from emerging directors. “It’s very special [for these festivals] to exist as a platform for filmmakers to launch their careers from and to exist in a space that is unpretentious, accessible and welcoming.”

Story written by Jamie Casemore

Image: Unsplash