The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023.Victoria Ahearn, "TIFF reveals new programmers and other 2023 festival details". Playback, April 20, 2023.
The festival announced several changes to its programming team for the 2023 festival, following the retirement of Steve Gravestock at the end of 2022Tom Tapp, "Steve Gravestock Stepping Down As Toronto International Film Festival Senior Programmer After 25 Years". Deadline Hollywood, June 6, 2022. and the death of Ravi Srinivasan in early 2023.Naman Ramachandran, "Ravi Srinivasan, Toronto Film Festival Programmer, Dies at 37". Variety, January 16, 2023. Noted changes included Norman Wilner taking over Gravestock's role as programmer of Canadian films, and June Kim succeeding Srinivasan as programmer for South Asian films. The Contemporary World Cinema program was renamed Centrepiece.Jeremy Kay, "TIFF renames Contemporary World Cinema as Centrepiece ahead of 2023 edition". Screen Daily, April 20, 2023.
The festival indicated that with the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival having returned to "normal" attendance figures following the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the event would take place exclusively in-person, ending the online platform that had been offered since the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.Jeremy Kay, "Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ to world premiere at Toronto 2023". Screen Daily, June 28, 2023. An additional change from past years was that the film market screenings for industry professionals began on September 6, one day earlier than the festival's official opening to the public.Etan Vlessing, "Toronto Film Festival Unveils Industry Programming Amid Hollywood Strikes". The Hollywood Reporter, July 19, 2023.
Festival organizers acknowledged that the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike was likely to impact the festival if not resolved in time, in particular because the strike prevented actors from taking part in promotional appearances to support their films, but indicated that the festival would still proceed even if fewer celebrities than usual were in attendance.Noel Ransome, "A starless red carpet? TIFF attendees say festival enthusiasm waning due to strikes". Toronto Star, July 18, 2023. The rule did not necessarily bar all American actors from attending the event, however; for instance, as Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils was a Canadian production shot under ACTRA rather than SAG-AFTRA contracts, lead actress Amanda Seyfried remained able to attend the premiere,Etan Vlessing, "Amanda Seyfried’s ‘Seven Veils’ to World Premiere at Toronto Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter, July 19, 2023. though she ultimately chose not to attend. As well, several films in the 2023 program were directed by notable movie stars, who were able to attend the premieres in their capacity as directors.Jenna Benchetrit, "Canadian films to take the spotlight during 2023 Toronto International Film Festival". CBC News, August 17, 2023. The festival indicated that overall, 70 per cent of its planned program for 2023 came from independent and/or international producers, and would not be affected by the strike.Jeremy Kay, "TIFF “continuing to plan” upcoming edition amid double strike". Screen Daily, July 19, 2023.
In 2024, chief executive officer Anita Lee confirmed that despite the ongoing strike, attendance at the 2023 festival was up compared to 2022, although still short of the pre-pandemic highs of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.Peter Howell, "TIFF 2024: First six movies announced, including Oscar-tipped dark comedy starring Amy Adams as a mother turning into a dog". Toronto Star, June 18, 2024.
Key programming announcements The first film in the festival's 2023 program, Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins, was announced on June 28."TIFF’s first 2023 lineup announcement: Taika Waititi’s soccer romp ‘Next Goal Wins’". Global News, June 28, 2023. Ladj Ly's Les IndésirablesMichael Rosser, "Ladj Ly’s ‘Les Indésirables’ to world premiere at Toronto 2023". Screen Daily, July 5, 2023. and Atom Egoyan's Seven VeilsJeremy Kay, "Atom Egoyan’s ‘Seven Veils’ to world premiere at TIFF". Screen Daily, July 19, 2023. were announced in July, prior to the announcement of the full Gala and Special Presentations programs on July 24.Anthony D'Alessandro, "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders ‘Dumb Money’, ‘The Holdovers’, ‘Rustin’; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline Hollywood, July 24, 2023. The TIFF Docs lineup followed on July 26.Leonard Pearce, "TIFF 2023 Adds Documentaries by Frederick Wiseman, Errol Morris, Raoul Peck, Roger Ross Williams & More". The Film Stage, July 26, 2023.
The festival's opener was the Japanese animated film The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki, which marked the first time in history that an animated film opened the festival."Animation master Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’ to open TIFF this year". Toronto Star, July 27, 2023.Rebecca Ford, "Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron Will Open the Toronto Film Festival". Vanity Fair, July 27, 2023. It concluded with Sly, Thom Zimny's documentary film about actor Sylvester Stallone;"Netflix’s Sylvester Stallone documentary Sly to close TIFF". The Globe and Mail, August 8, 2023. Stallone also participated in an In Conversation event in conjunction with the film.Melanie Goodfellow, "Sylvester Stallone To Talk Career At Toronto ‘In Conversation With...’ Event". Deadline Hollywood, August 21, 2023.
In Conversation events were held with film director Pedro Almodóvar and actors Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun and Andy Lau. Lee and Park costarred in the TIFF premiere Concrete Utopia, Lau starred in the TIFF premiere The Movie Emperor, and Almodóvar's talk was paired with the North American premiere of his short film Strange Way of Life (Extraña forma de vida).Jeremy Kay, "TIFF books Pedro Almodóvar, Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, Andy Lau for In Conversation With... series". Screen Daily, August 11, 2023.
Punjab '95, by Indian director Honey Trahan, was originally announced in the "Gala Presentations" section, but was pulled out from the festival."Indian activist drama ‘Punjab ’95’ pulled from Toronto film festival". Screen Daily, August 11, 2023. TIFF clarified that the film was pulled by its Indian distributor,Peter Howell, "‘Potentially incendiary’ Punjab ‘95 withdrawn from TIFF gala". Toronto Star, August 14, 2023. with sources telling Variety that political pressure was being applied to the distributor due to the film's "potentially incendiary" content.Naman Ramachandran, "‘Punjab ’95’ Based on Indian Human Rights Activist Jaswant Singh Khalra Removed From Toronto Lineup". Variety, August 11, 2023.
The festival also staged a special 40th anniversary screening of a new 4K restoration of the classic concert film Stop Making Sense.Jeremy Kay, "TIFF, Spike Lee, Talking Heads unite for 40th anniversary screening of ‘Stop Making Sense’". Screen Daily, August 16, 2023.
The festival's annual "Rising Stars" program, a networking and development program for emerging actors in festival films, spotlighted Adwa Bader (NAGA), Almudena González (The Ravaging Wind), Amrit Kaur (The Queen of My Dreams), Aria Mia Loberti (All the Light We Cannot See), Cody Lightning (Hey, Viktor!), Kudakwashe Rutendo (Backspot), Léah Aubert (Sisterhood), Mark Clennon (I Don't Know Who You Are) and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne (The Convert).Taimur Sikander Mirza, "TIFF announces Filmmaker Lab, Series Accelerator participants". Playback, August 31, 2023.
Awards TIFF Tribute Awards The TIFF Tribute Awards, the festival's program of honouring film personnel for their overall achievements in cinema, were presented early during the festival run.
Spike Lee was announced as the recipient of the Ebert Director Award, and Pedro Almodóvar was announced as the recipient of the Jeffrey Skoll Award in Impact Media."Spike Lee and Pedro Almodóvar to receive TIFF Tribute Awards, while ‘Dicks: The Musical’ to open Midnight Madness". Toronto Star, August 3, 2023. Shawn Levy was announced as the recipient of the inaugural Norman Jewison Award for career achievement.Jeremy Kay, "Shawn Levy to receive inaugural TIFF Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award". Screen Daily, August 16, 2023. Performer awards were presented to Colman DomingoJeremy Kay, "TIFF to present ‘Sing Sing’ star Colman Domingo with Tribute Performer Award". Screen Daily, August 28, 2023. and Vicky Krieps;Jeremy Kay, "Vicky Krieps to receive TIFF Tribute Performer Award". Screen Daily, September 5, 2023. Patricia Arquette was the recipient of the Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award.Jeremy Kay, "Patricia Arquette to receive TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award". Screen Daily, September 6, 2023.
Polish cinematographer Łukasz Żal was the recipient of the Variety Artisan Award, Brazilian film director Carolina Markowicz was presented with the Emerging Talent Award, and Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Lau received a Special Tribute award.Jeremy Kay, "TIFF adds Carolina Markowicz, Lukasz Zal, Andy Lau to tribute line-up". Screen Daily, August 22, 2023.
Regular awards
Award Film Director People's Choice Award American Fiction Cord Jefferson People's Choice Award, First Runner Up The Holdovers Alexander Payne People's Choice Award, Second Runner Up The Boy and the Heron Hayao Miyazaki People's Choice Award: Documentaries Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe Robert McCallum Documentary, First Runner Up Summer Qamp Jen Markowitz Documentary, Second Runner Up Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa Lucy Walker People's Choice Award: Midnight Madness Dicks: The Musical Larry Charles Midnight Madness, First Runner Up KILL Nikhil Nagesh Bhat Midnight Madness, Second Runner Up Hell of a Summer Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk Platform Prize Dear Jassi Tarsem Singh Best Canadian Feature Film Solo Sophie Dupuis Best Canadian Feature Film, Honorable Mention Kanaval Henri Pardo Best Canadian Short Film Motherland Jasmin Mozaffari Best International Short Film Electra Daria Kashcheeva FIPRESCI Award Seagrass Meredith Hama-Brown NETPAC Award A Match (Sthal) Jayant Digambar Somalkar NETPAC Award, Honorable Mention Mimang Kim Taeyang Amplify Voices, Best Film Kanaval Henri Pardo Amplify Voices, Best First Film Tautuktavuk (What We See) Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk Amplify Voices, Trailblazer Damon D'Oliveira Changemaker Award We Grown Now Minhal Baig Share Her Journey Shé (Snake) Renee Zhan Share Her Journey, Honorable Mention Gaby's Hills (Gaby les collines) Zoé Pelchat
Programme
Gala Presentations The following films were selected to the Gala Presentations section: English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Boy and the Heron (opening film) 君たちはどう生きるか Hayao Miyazaki Japan Concrete Utopia 콘크리트 유토피아 Um Tae-hwa South Korea Dumb Money Craig Gillespie United States The End We Start From Mahalia Belo United Kingdom Fair Play Chloe Domont United States Finestkind Brian Helgeland United States Flora and Son John Carney Ireland, United States Hate to Love: Nickelback Leigh Brooks Canada Lee Ellen Kuras United Kingdom, United States Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero Carlos López Estrada, Zac Manuel United States The Movie Emperor 红毯先生 Ning Hao China The New Boy Warwick Thornton Australia A Normal Family 보통의 가족 Hur Jin-ho South Korea Nyad Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin United States Origin Ava DuVernay United States The Royal Hotel Kitty Green Australia, United Kingdom Sly Thom Zimny United States Smugglers 밀수 Ryoo Seung-wan South Korea Solo Sophie Dupuis Canada Swan Song Chelsea McMullan Canada Thank You for Coming Karan Boolani India
Special Presentations The following films were selected to the Special Presentations section: