Toronto Film Festival loses main sponsor after 28 years – Variety

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Bell Canada has ended its long-standing sponsorship of the Toronto International Film Festival. miscellaneousY confirmed.

The telecom company, a major sponsor since 1995, will not continue its partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival after the 48th edition of the festival this year.

“Bell has had an amazing partnership with TIFF over the past 28 years,” the company said in a statement shared with TIFF. diverse on saturday. “We are proud of our partnership to help make TIFF a leading global destination for film and to support Canadian content and talent on the global stage.”

The statement continued: “Earlier this year, we determined that the end of 2023 would be a good time to step back from our partnership with TIFF and chose not to renew our sponsorship in order to invest in other opportunities that are core to our business. We are confident that TIFF will continue to develop and showcase world-leading content to inform, educate and entertain the best cinema audiences. We’re grateful to be a part of it all.”

TIFF representatives have not responded to this miscellaneous Comment request.

Last July, TIFF revealed this year’s shortlist of 60 films, representing 70 countries around the world. The 2023 lineup includes Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, Kurida Hirokazu’s Monster, and Justin Tritt’s Anatomy of a Fall, which premiered at Cannes and won the Palme d’Or. Netflix films such as “Rustin” by George C. Wolfe, “Pain Hustlers” by David Yates, and “Nyad” by Elizabeth Chai Vasarheli and Jimmy Chin will also be shown at the 48th annual festival.

The world premiere of Sylvester Stallone’s documentary “Sly” will close the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 16 at Roy Thompson Auditorium. The festival starts on September 7th.