TIFF 2024 opens with celebration of the Tragically Hip
CBC
The 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is kicking off its opening day with a celebration of one of Canada's most acclaimed bands.
The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal — a four-part documentary directed by Mike Downie, brother of the band's late frontman — will have its world premiere at The Royal Alexandra Theatre on Sept 5.
The documentary looks at the band's founding moments — as friends Gord Downie, Gord Sinclair, Rob Baker, Paul Langlois and Johnny Fay are living in Kingston, Ont. — and follows its evolution over the course of the group's 40-year music career.
The Tragically Hip's manager, and the film's executive director, Jake Gold calls the picture "the definitive documentary on their whole career," one that uses "never before seen" footage, photos and audio.
"I think that when people see it they'll see a band of brothers that really saw each other as family," Gold told CBC Toronto.
"Through all the ups and downs, they all still supported each other and each other's vision."
TIFF is well-known for showcasing the best of Canadian and international films each summer, attracting some of the industry's biggest stars to the city.
After the film's premiere, there will be a free public sing-along to celebrate the Hip, led by Choir!Choir!Choir!, a singing event launched in Toronto.
"To be able to sing these songs in a public place in downtown Toronto, which is namechecked in their songs, I just feel like the collective joy and love for the band will be felt in a way that will be remembered for a really long time," said co-creator Nobu Adilman ahead of the event.
Choir!Choir!Choir! has previously put on tributes for the Tragically Hip and Downie, including one at Yonge-Dundas Square in 2018, a year after the frontman's death. At that event, members of the band played along live.
Adilman said people with the documentary reached out to him and co-creator Daveed Goldman to put on Thursday's show and they "said yes immediately because it's just so meaningful."
"It'll be like seriously controlled chaos," Adilman said.
"The electricity of Festival Street and TIFF and the excitement that people have for the festival, the fact that [the singalong is] free — we just want everybody to show up."
This year's buzzworthy list of expected celebrities includes Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Will Ferrell and Matt Damon, among others.
One of two pilots killed in a plane crash at New York's LaGuardia Airport Sunday earned his wings at an Ontario college, CBC News has learned.
Air Canada passengers who were aboard Flight 8646 when the CRJ-900 aircraft struck a fire truck upon landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening say the collision was sudden and forceful, and they may owe their lives to the pilots who died in the incident.
Cardiac services are set to expand at a Winnipeg hospital once regarded as one of the best in Canada for heart care.
A 26-second TikTok video has ignited a larger conversation about vulnerable populations, theft and content creation.
Some family doctors and emergency room physicians working in Edmonton hospitals warn that an April 1 end to stipend pay arrangements could put patient care at risk and increase suffering.
An Auditor General of Canada report has found that B.C. saw drastically fewer international students than was forecast ever since wide-ranging federal immigration cuts began in 2024.
Six years after e-learning became a mandatory requirement to get an Ontario high school diploma, students don't appear to be taking online school to diversify their course selection as the province had intended, according to a CBC News analysis of provincial enrolment data.
Sarnia City Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday morning to respond to social media comments made by Coun. Bill Dennis, who criticized city spending on a new mural by Indigenous artist Kennady Osborne as “virtue signalling by woke politicians” — then made a series of comments in response to a reply from Aamjiwnaang Chief Janelle Nahmabin that some have characterized as unprofessional and aggressive.
While many Albertans continue to feel the pinch at the pump, Premier Danielle Smith says the government is not considering any fuel tax breaks, as it does not believe it will make much of a difference.
WARNING: This story contains disturbing details about gruesome deaths and sexual abuse.
Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) says they will take part in the federal government's buyback program for assault-style rifles this year, but a local member of parliament says she "can't get behind this decision."
The use of American contracts and services is down by nearly half on Prince Edward Island following tariffs and shaky trade relations under the Donald Trump administration.
The first set of deadlines included in the energy and climate deal struck between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are not expected to be met, showing early challenges with the agreement that includes pursuing a new export pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast.