The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz, "TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’s hybrid event". The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2021. Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Canada, the festival was staged as a "hybrid" of in-person and digital screenings."Toronto film festival plans return to in-person, digital hybrid model for 2021". Toronto Star, May 6, 2021. Most films were screened both in-person and on the digital platform, although a few titles were withheld by their distributors from the digital platform and instead were screened exclusively in-person.
Artistic director Cameron Bailey indicated that while the 2021 festival would not fully return to the size of program that it offered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, it would be significantly bigger than the reduced lineup that was offered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. Overall, the festival featured over 100 films, including a special retrospective program devoted to the work of Canadian documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.Peter Howell, "TIFF cautiously rebounds from pandemic with 100-plus features planned, but no popcorn". Toronto Star, June 23, 2021.
Venues In-person screenings were held at the festival's traditional venues, including the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the Princess of Wales Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall, the latter two of which hosted the world premiere of Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, the festival's opening night gala presentation. Denis Villeneuve's film Dune received an IMAX world premiere screening at the Cinesphere.
As in 2020, digital screenings took place on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform.
In addition to Toronto, the festival also staged a number of satellite screenings in other Canadian cities for the first time.
Awards TIFF Tribute Awards The festival presented the TIFF Tribute Awards, which were introduced in 2019 to honour actors and filmmakers for distinguished achievements over the course of their careers.Victoria Ahearn, "Alanis Obomsawin, Denis Villeneuve to get TIFF Tribute Awards at Toronto film fest". Toronto Star, July 22, 2021. The ceremony took place on September 18; as in 2020, it was broadcast by CTV.
The first two honorees announced were Alanis Obomsawin as the recipient of the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media and Denis Villeneuve as the winner of the Ebert Director Award. Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch were subsequently announced as the recipient of the Actor Awards.Etan Vlessing, "Toronto: Jessica Chastain to Receive TIFF Tribute Actor Award". The Hollywood Reporter, August 5, 2021.Etan Vlessing, "Toronto: Benedict Cumberbatch to Receive TIFF Tribute Actor Award". The Hollywood Reporter, August 12, 2021. Dionne Warwick received the special tribute award,Selome Hailu, "Dionne Warwick and Danis Goulet to Receive TIFF Tribute Awards". Variety, August 26, 2021. filmmaker Danis Goulet was named the recipient of the Emerging Talent Award, and cinematographer Ari Wegner received the Variety Artisan Award.Pat Saperstein, "‘Power of the Dog’ Cinematographer Ari Wegner to Be Honored With TIFF Variety Artisan Award". Variety, September 2, 2021.
Regular awards The festival's main awards were announced on September 18, some live during the Tribute Awards broadcast and others on social media following the ceremony's conclusion.Steve Pond, "‘Belfast’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award". TheWrap, September 18, 2021. A few high-profile titles in the festival program, namely Dune, Last Night in Soho and Spencer, were not eligible for the People's Choice Award, as their distributors had not permitted them to be screened online on the digital platform.Anthony D'Alessandro, "‘Dune’, ‘Last Night In Soho’ & ‘Spencer’ Among Those Movies Not Eligible To Compete For TIFF’s Top Prize, The People’s Choice Award". Deadline Hollywood, September 14, 2021.
Award English title Director(s)Production country People's Choice Award Belfast Kenneth BranaghUnited Kingdom People's Choice Award, First Runner Up Scarborough Shasha Nakhai, Rich WilliamsonCanada People's Choice Award, Second Runner Up The Power of the Dog Jane CampionNew Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia People's Choice Award: Documentaries The Rescue Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy ChinUnited States, United Kingdom Documentary, First Runner Up Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over Dave Wooley, David HeilbronerUnited States Documentary, Second Runner Up Flee Jonas Poher RasmussenDenmark, France, Norway, Sweden People's Choice Award: Midnight Madness Titane Julia Ducournau France, Belgium Midnight Madness, First Runner Up You Are Not My Mother Kate DolanIreland Midnight Madness, Second Runner Up Dashcam Rob SavageUnited Kingdom, United States Platform Prize Yuni Kamila AndiniIndonesia, Singapore, France, Australia Platform Prize, Honorable Mention Good Madam Jenna Cato BassSouth Africa Best Canadian Feature Film Ste. Anne Rhayne VermetteCanada Best Canadian Feature Film, Honorable Mention Scarborough Shasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson Best Canadian Short Film Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice Zacharias Kunuk Best Canadian Short Film, Honorable Mention Nuisance Bear Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden Best International Short Film Displaced (Pa vend) Kosovo Best International Short Film, Honorable Mention Trumpets in the Sky Rakan MayasiPalestine, Lebanon, France, Belgium FIPRESCI Award Anatolian Leopard (Anadolu Leoparı) Emre KayişTurkey, Poland, Germany, Denmark NETPAC Award Costa Brava, Lebanon Mounia AkiLebanon, France, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, United States Amplify Voices The Gravedigger's Wife Khadar Ayderus AhmedSomalia, France, Germany, Finland A Night of Knowing Nothing Payal KapadiaIndia, France Changemaker Award Scarborough Shasha Nakhai, Rich WilliamsonCanada Share Her Journey Astel Ramata-Toulaye SySenegal, France Share Her Journey, Honorable Mention Love, Dad (Milý tati) Diana Cam Van NguyenCzech Republic, Slovakia
Programme The first 13 films selected for the festival were announced in June 2021. The gala and special presentation programs were announced on July 20, while Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery titles were announced on July 28,Rebecca Rubin, "Toronto Film Festival Unveils Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery Lineup". Variety, July 28, 2021. TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths were announced on August 4,Anthony D'Alessandro, "TIFF Unveils Docs, Midnight Madness & Wavelengths Lineup With Palme d’Or Winner ‘Titane’, Liz Garbus’ ‘Becoming Cousteau’ & More". Deadline Hollywood, August 4, 2021. Shortcuts and Platform were announced on August 11,Brian Welk, "‘Spencer,’ Princess Diana Film Starring Kristen Stewart, Added to Toronto Lineup". TheWrap, August 11, 2021. and Primetime was announced on August 13."Julia Child doc, Colin Kaepernick drama, CBC genderfluid dramedy join TIFF lineup" . Victoria Times-Colonist, August 13, 2021.
Walt Becker's Clifford the Big Red Dog was initially selected to be one of the Gala Presentations, but was withdrawn from the festival, after US distributor Paramount Pictures pulled it from its release schedule due to the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19.Erik Pedersen and Anthony D'Alessandro, "‘Clifford The Big Red Dog’ Pulled From Paramount Release Schedule Over Delta Concerns; Pic Looking For New Date". Deadline Hollywood, July 30, 2021.
The festival also announced a special event screening of an unspecified new film by Steven Soderbergh.Anthony D'Allessandro, "Steven Soderbergh Surprise Movie To Premiere At TIFF". Deadline Hollywood, September 2, 2021. Details of the film were not announced in advance, except that it was not expected to be his known upcoming film KIMI. Soderbergh ultimately premiered a reedited version of his 1991 film Kafka titled Mr. Kneff.
Gala presentations English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Belfast Kenneth Branagh United Kingdom, Ireland Bergman Island Mia Hansen-Løve France, Mexico, Brazil, Germany Dear Evan Hansen Stephen Chbosky United States The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Will Sharpe United Kingdom, United States The Forgiven John Michael McDonagh The Good House Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky United States Jagged Alison Klayman Lakewood Phillip Noyce United States, Canada Last Night in Soho Edgar Wright United Kingdom The Mad Women's Ball Le Bal des folles Mélanie Laurent France Night Raiders Danis Goulet Canada, New Zealand One Second 一秒钟 Zhang Yimou China Silent Night Camille Griffin United Kingdom The Survivor Barry Levinson United States The Worst Person in the World Verdens verste menneske Joachim Trier Norway
Special Presentations English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Ahed's Knee הַבֶּרֶךְ Nadav Lapid Israel, France, Germany Ali & Ava Clio Barnard United Kingdom All My Puny Sorrows Michael McGowan Canada The Box La Caja Lorenzo Vigas Mexico Benediction Terence Davies United Kingdom, United States Charlotte Eric Warin, Tahir Rana Canada, France, Belgium Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner United States Drive My Car ドライブ・マイ・カー Ryusuke Hamaguchi Japan Encounter Michael Pearce United Kingdom, United States The Eyes of Tammy Faye Michael Showalter United States The Falls 瀑布 Chung Mong-hong Taiwan France Bruno Dumont France, Italy, Germany, Belgium The Guilty Antoine Fuqua United States The Humans Stephen Karam I'm Your Man Ich bin dein Mensch Maria Schrader Germany Inexorable Fabrice Du Welz Belgium, France Inu-Oh Masaaki Yuasa Japan, China Lingui, The Sacred Bonds Lingui, les liens sacrés Mahamat-Saleh Haroun France, Chad, Germany, Belgium The Middle Man Bent Hamer Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway Mothering Sunday Eva Husson United Kingdom Official Competition Competencia oficial Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn Spain Petite Maman Céline Sciamma France The Power of the Dog Jane Campion United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Canada, New Zealand The Starling Theodore Melfi United States The Story of My Wife A feleségem története Ildikó Enyedi Hungary, Germany, France, Italy Sundown Michel Franco Mexico, France, Sweden Three Floors Tre piani Nanni Moretti Italy, France Violet Justine Bateman United States Where Is Anne Frank Ari Folman Belgium, Luxembourg, Israel, Netherlands, France Wolf Nathalie Biancheri Ireland, Poland
Special Events English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Dune Denis Villeneuve United States A Hero قهرمان Asghar Farhadi Iran Memoria Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thailand, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, China Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11 Bjørn Johnson, David Belton United Kingdom, United States Mr. Kneff Steven Soderbergh United States NBA Films for Fans("Shorty", "Inheritance", "Born Identities", "Draft Day", "The Shot") Romeo Candido, Shawn Gerrard, Kathleen Jayme, Thyrone Tommy, S.M. Turrell Canada Spencer Pablo Larraín United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Chile Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine Sam Dunn, Marc Ricciardelli Canada
Contemporary World Cinema