After years of rough seas for TIFF, filmmakers hope for smooth sailing at the people's festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious film festivals in Canada. It's the largest in North America, and it's even listed among the "big five" — the most important, and most famous, film showcases the world has to offer. 

And one of the main benefits of TIFF was there from the outset. It was founded in 1976 as "the Festival of Festivals" by Henk Van der Kolk, Bill Marshall and Dusty Cohle, who were largely looking to create an avenue for Canadians to showcase their work. 

With the dominance of American studios — and the then even more anemic Canadian film industry — none of them saw a way to actually do that in this country. The solution was to bring buzzier, foreign films to Toronto to attract interest, then capitalize on it by featuring Canadian movies alongside the glitzier Hollywood offerings.

"We needed to get noticed. How the hell do we get the world to realize we're here, and how do we get a Canadian film industry?" Van der Kolk told the National Post in 2015. "That's why it started, really."

But after a slew of COVID and strike-hobbled years, is TIFF finally back to its usual celebrity romp that brings eyeballs and big opportunities for up-and-coming Canadians? Filmmakers and industry members certainly hope so. They say the festival is vital for producing and promoting independent Canadian movies.

As a festival, TIFF kicked into high gear a few years after its launch — particularly after the potential censoring of the film In Praise of Older Women caused a huge crowd to descend on the unaltered premiere at the 1978 festival. 

Hollywood began to take notice and the festival grew, eventually changing its name to the current TIFF moniker in 1994.

Though the festival routinely tempts some of the biggest stars in the world to the city, Canadian filmmakers continue to express their appreciation for having a showcase like TIFF in their own backyard.

Jennifer Holness is one of them. As a producer and filmmaker from Etobicoke, Ont., her first feature Love, Sex and Eating the Bones won the 2003 TIFF award for best Canadian first feature film alongside her co-director and husband Sudz Sutherland.

Along with the cash prize, the filmmakers were celebrated in a space that included legitimate superstars and gave them a reason to believe in themselves.

"That early affirmation and support for the work allowed us to go around the globe, in America in particular, as Black artists and have a body of work that people took serious," Holness said. "That people saw us as filmmakers and as artists — it really cemented our ability to go and negotiate."

That opportunity opened a window into the industry for Holness and others — as well as allowing them access to the "informal market" of collaborators, potential partners and buyers without having to take a trip through international customs. 

"I think if TIFF didn't exist, I don't know if we would have been able to sustain our careers."

One of the reasons many bigger films make the trip to Toronto is because TIFF has more and more become an awards bellwether. With the exception of 2011's Where Do We Go Now?, every winner of the festival's People's Choice Award since 2008 has been at least nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards.