35 - A good age for Toronto Film Festival (TIFF)

Toronto International Film Festival (or tiff as it is affectionately known by the locals) is one of the largest and most recognised films festivals in the world. 2010 saw it turn an impressive 35.  The milestone was marked with the opening of TIFF BELL LIGHT BOX (on the corner of John and King Streets) a wonderful modern building akin to the National Film Theatre on London's South Bank, which as well as being a stand out festival venue will also be the year round home of international cinema in Toronto.

The Lightbox was made possible by numerous public donations not least of which came in the form of the land on which the building now stands by the Reitman family.  On 12th September there was a dedication and official opening which Jason Reitman  (Director of Juno, Thank you for Smoking and Up In the Air)  attended along with his family, industry and some famous acting faces including Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters II).

The Lightbox has 5 Cinemas, 2 bars, 1 cafe and  2 large exhibitions spaces. The Tim Burton exhibition which was recently a huge success at MOMA and ACMI in Melbourne will open there in October. There is also a free exibition on Essential Cinema. These are the 100 top films of all time, as voted for by Tiff programmers and attendees. These films will screen throughout the year at Bell. So for those based in Toronto you can now see great cinema all year round. And the rest of us will have to made do with the home DVD player until our next trip Toronto bound.

More details can be found at http://tiff.net/tiffbelllightbox

Tiff - Opened it's doors with this question!

And an exihibit showing extracts from the top 100 Essential Films of All Time

A quiet moment before the lines start