The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a
publicly-attended film festival held each September in
Toronto, Ontario. The festival begins the Thursday night
after Labour Day (the first Monday in September, in Canada)
and lasts for ten days. Between 300-400 films are screened
at approximately 23 screens in downtown Toronto venues.
Annual attendance at TIFF exceeds 300,000 from public and
industry audiences.
Founded in 1976, the TIFF is now among the top prestigious
film festivals in the world. In 1998, Variety magazine
acknowledged that "the Festival is second only to Cannes in
terms of high-profile pics, stars and market activity."
Quoted by the National Post in 1999, Roger Ebert claimed
"...although Cannes is still larger, Toronto is just as
great...." It is the premiere film festival in North
America, from which the Oscars race begins.
