The Toronto International Film Festival will be radically different in 2020. The pandemic has changed the considerations the festival has tried to make, and they’re trying to split the difference with a “socially distanced” festival with a major online component. Keep in mind that TIFF is a necessary stop for movies hoping to become major players in the Oscar race. Almost every film for over a decade that has won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award has earned a nomination for Best Picture and a few (The King’s Speech, Spotlight, Green Book) have even gone on to win Oscar’s top prize. But how do you get buzz at a festival that can’t have the same presence? What does that festival even look like?
TIFF has announced that their opening night movie will be, in a notable change-of-pace, a filmed Broadway show. David Byrne’s American Utopia will be the opening night movie and premiere on September 10th. Directed by Spike Lee, “The film documents musical innovator and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s powerful Broadway show, where he performs songs on stage and shares the spotlight with 11 musicians from around the world, including Toronto’s own Jacquelene Acevedo. Lee masterfully directs a transformative experience, as the show raises social and political issues, revealing how audiences can come together during challenging times through the power of entertainment.”
While the TIFF opening night film is rarely the movie to make a splash (openers in past years include Once Were Brothers, Outlaw King, and Borg/McEnroe), it’s still notable that this selection could be a harbinger of a lower-key festival. TIFF has already told press that there will be no on-site Press & Industry screenings this year, and all the P&I screenings will be on the digital platform. If studios are nervous about piracy or if they want to make a bigger splash with their awards contenders, they may bypass TIFF entirely and hold out until 2021. We’ll have a better idea of what TIFF has in store when they announce their 2020 lineup in the weeks ahead.