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As of August 17, 2021. General public information coming soon.
As we look forward to welcoming talent, press, and industry back to the Toronto International Film Festival and the city of Toronto, we are working closely with the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, and public health officials on the safe opening of our TIFF Festival venues. In order to guarantee the safety of all, the Toronto International Film Festival has put in place strict health protocols. To assist you, we are also providing an overview of information about vaccination rates and Government of Canada requirements to enter the country.
Canada has taken a characteristically cautious approach throughout the pandemic, which has allowed us to reach a point of safety conducive to hosting an international festival. We reopened slowly, allowing time to reach a high vaccination rate, while still maintaining general COVID-19 safety protocols, including indoor masking and social distancing.
In Toronto, we have now reached Ontario’s final stage of reopening, which allows for the Festival to take place in person while still mitigating risks. Canada is one of the safest places to visit, with the lowest case incidence in the Western Hemisphere (North America and mainland South America). Weekly case counts data is available on the City of Toronto’s COVID-19 webpage.
As of August 17, 72.4% of Canada’s eligible population is fully vaccinated, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. Toronto boasts the highest percentage of fully-vaccinated citizens in North America with 74.3% as of the same date.
The Government of Canada opened its borders to non-essential travel from US citizens and permanent residents on August 9, and intends to open to citizens of any country on September 7, provided that:
While quarantine is not required, travellers must also:
Those meeting these requirements can cross the border into Canada without having to quarantine, including the elimination of the three-night hotel quarantine policy. These government measures now in place will allow TIFF to welcome a portion of its traditional volume of international press, industry, and talent back to Toronto to be a part of the Festival. Additional Border information is available on the Government of Canada’s Travel and Tourism website.
TIFF continues to work closely with the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, and public health officials on the safe execution of the Festival, with its number-one priority being the health and well-being of both Festival audiences, talent, press and industry, and residents of the community.
To help ensure the safest possible experience, TIFF has once again partnered with Medcan, a global health care leader providing medical expertise, consultation, and health inspiration to achieve its mission to help people “Live Well, For Life.” Based on the pillars of evidence-based care, exceptional client service, and the latest in technology, Medcan’s team of over 90 physicians supports employee health care across the continuum of health, including its “Safe at Work System,” which helps organizations navigate the pandemic.
Masks are required at all TIFF Festival venues. Audience members and visitors will not be permitted entry into the venue without a mask. Where an audience member or visitor is unable to wear a mask due to health reasons, TIFF will provide them with a face shield as an alternative. If the audience member or visitor does not wish to wear a face shield, they will be denied entry into the venue and will be given a refund for their ticket.
Theatres will open, at minimum, one hour prior to the start of the screening to reduce lineups and to allow for distanced entry into the venue. All audience members and visitors must exit the venue directly after the screening.
TIFF will identify talent who will be in the country for more than 48 hours to do a PCR test and schedule them for a PCR test at our health care partner, Medcan, within 72 hours of their arrival and additionally every 48 hours until their departure. Talent will be required to wear a mask at all times at TIFF Festival venues and in TIFF-provided vehicles. The only exceptions include when talent are on the red carpet and on stage.
In addition to talent, TIFF Executives will be scheduled at Medcan for PCR testing every 48 hours. All staff at TIFF Festival venues with whom talent will have close interaction (TIFF photographers, TIFF drivers, TIFF venue liaisons, TIFF programmers, TIFF red carpet and TIFF backstage teams) will be required to take a Rapid Antigen Test every 48 hours with a negative result and wear a three-layered, non-medical mask. Wristbands will be provided to these staff members for clear identification.
These tests will be carried out free of charge with the option of transportation arranged by TIFF to and from the testing site.
Artistic teams are asked to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled photo call time with proof of a negative PCR test. It is requested that the date of collection of the test be less than 48 hours prior, so that the test can be valid for the duration of the public presentation of the film at the Festival.
Any person without a valid PCR test document will not be able to accompany the teams to present their film. Any person who, following a rapid nasopharyngeal PCR test, is found to be positive, will not be able to follow the teams to the presentation.
As an exception to the general rule to wear masks: during public appearances (photo calls, press conferences, red carpet, stage presentations, ceremonies) and exclusively at such times, artistic teams may, under the conditions defined in this document, remove their masks on condition that a minimum distance of two metres or six feet is observed indoors.
As the two-metre distance cannot be always respected in the green room or backstage due to the size of the stage, teams will have to:
Wherever possible, we request that the number of people accompanying participants be kept to a minimum, with a maximum of 20 people for photo call, red carpets, backstage and green-room areas. The maximum number of people for the stage area will be 10 participants on stage, including TIFF Executives.
For any additional COVID-19 protocol–related questions, please contact Laura Ryan, Vice President, Operations and Event Production at lryan@tiff.net.
As a result of the opening of the border and increased capacities in cinemas in Ontario, TIFF has added to its list of venues to accommodate a number of additional in-person Public and Press & Industry screenings. TIFF Festival venues include: TIFF Bell Lightbox and marquee venues the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall, Scotiabank Theatre, and the Cinesphere IMAX Theatre at Ontario Place, plus outdoor screening venues at Ontario Place Festival Village, including the Visa Skyline Drive-In, the RBC Lakeside Drive-In, and the West Island Open Air Cinema. Press & Industry screenings will be held at the Scotiabank Theatre and TIFF Bell Lightbox. Public in-person screenings will have limited Press & Industry access.
Films will be available to press and industry at TIFF Festival venues where government health and safety guidelines will be strictly enforced. Currently, those guidelines have social distancing measures in place, including a set capacity in each cinema, with masks required to be worn at all times. In addition, there will be no concessions available to audiences.
Continuing to provide high-profile publicity opportunities, TIFF red carpets will take place inside Roy Thomson Hall and the Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre, and all government-mandated social distancing measures will be in place. Any step and repeats will have limited access and will take place indoors or in designated secure locations. Red-carpet access for media outlets will be by invitation only and will be extremely limited.
Public digital screenings will be programmed on digital TIFF Bell Lightbox for the accessibility of Festival-goers, but are limited to Canadian audiences and to Festival time and date release windows (a four-hour window to watch films). The TIFF Digital Cinema Pro platform will host digital Press & Industry screenings with a 48-hour screening window, as well as the TIFF Industry Selects and Market screenings for industry buyers. Films available to press and industry on TIFF Digital Cinema Pro will be accessible to delegates worldwide; however, some exceptions may occur where the film rights holders have not authorized an online screening in selected regions. The TIFF Bell Digital Talks platform will host a variety of Public and Press & Industry talks, including the In Conversation With… talks series, the Industry Conference, and press conferences.
Over 1,400 journalists have been accredited and we anticipate 4,000 members of the industry will be accredited for this year’s Festival.
While TIFF does not have any plans to host major parties, receptions or dinners for TIFF 2021, hosting of Festival-adjacent events and gatherings are allowed, while abiding government-mandated public health and social distancing measures.