Updated
Updated · Deadline · Jul 10
TIFF Launches 1st Film Market With 150 Exhibitors to Fill Cannes-Berlin Sales Gap
Updated
Updated · Deadline · Jul 10

TIFF Launches 1st Film Market With 150 Exhibitors to Fill Cannes-Berlin Sales Gap

2 articles · Updated · Deadline · Jul 10

Summary

  • September 10-16, TIFF will run its first official market from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with about 150 exhibitors and promotional bodies signed by end-June.
  • The push aims to revive international sales activity that never fully recovered after the pandemic and to fill a calendar gap between Cannes in May and Berlin the following February.
  • Sales executives including Roeg Sutherland, Arianna Bocco, Vincent Maraval and Michael Barker say a September market lets buyers plan 2027 slates earlier and helps films launch in time for early-year production.
  • TIFF is adding 400 industry screening slots and curated public-professional audiences, hoping festival energy will spur both pre-sales and acquisitions beyond the unofficial dealmaking Toronto already attracts.
  • Attendance remains the main unknown: backers say some international players may wait and see, though they argue the festival-linked format could eventually pull buyers away from a slower November AFM cycle.

Insights

Can Toronto's new C$23M market truly challenge the dominance of established film sales hubs like Cannes?
As TIFF embraces commerce, will its new market sacrifice artistic discovery for blockbuster deal-making?