The Toronto Film Festival said Thursday that it is planning a return to an in-person festival for this year’s edition, which it confirmed will run September 8-18. The festival had been all but virtual the past two years because of the global pandemic.
Plans call for a return of TIFF’s networking and events as well including the TIFF Opening Night Party, the Industry Conference, Filmmaker Dinners, Industry Networking Events, Press & Programmers Events and the TIFF Tribute Awards Gala.
TIFF also said it has added five members to its curating team including Robyn Citizen, who has been at TIFF since 2018 and has been appointed Director of Festival Programming & Cinematheque. She most directly Diana Sanchez, who exited her role as Senior Director, Film in January after three years. Other additions include Jane Schoettle returning to lead programming in the Special Presentations section; imagineNative’s Jason Ryle in the new role of selecting Indigenous-made films from around the world; journalist Kelly Boutsalis as Associate Programmer for Canadian feature films; and Ravi Srinivasan rejoining as Senior Manager, TIFF Programming.
Andréa Picard, a writer and curator of film and art, has been named Senior Curator, TIFF & TIFF Cinematheque.
“We’re thrilled to share this news about TIFF 2022 and to introduce fresh voices to our programming team,” said festival CEO Cameron Bailey. “Their expertise, passion, and perspectives will both deepen and broaden TIFF’s curation. As we prepare our selections both for TIFF Bell Lightbox year-round and for the 47th Toronto International Film Festival, we can’t wait to see what our new programmers will add to the mix.”
Bailey was named CEO in November, taking the top spot after serving as co-head with Joana Vicente, who moved to the Sundance Film Festival. Later that month, Jeffrey Remedios, the Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Canada, was appointed chair of the festival’s board. He replaced Jennifer Tory, who has held the role since 2016 and had completed her term. Six other board members exited, and five were appointed.