These three cities were surprised with a mini TIFF
This year saw Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) return in-person for the first time since the pandemic, and it came back bigger than ever. The festival always programs massive mainstream hits, this year premiering Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Weird: The AL Yankovic Story, with plenty of Canadian films, such as I Like Movies, Queens of the Qing Dynasty, and North of Normal.
People come from all over the world to see films at TIFF, but smaller communities in Ontario often feel pushed out of the busy city, just out of arm’s reach of the glitz and glam of big movie premieres.
This year, however, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) partnered with TIFF to bring the Hollywood premiere experience to those smaller communities with their recent event, TIFF On Tour.Â
We talked to Tony Bitonti, director of media relations at OLG, about his experience organizing TIFF On Tour and the impact it had on the communities they visited.
Taking the experience of TIFF to communities
OLG has been a sponsor of TIFF for many years, and this year Bitonti discussed wanting to do something different, as the company loves to tell the stories of the local Ontario communities.
“We brainstormed a number of ideas, and this one was kind of right in front of our faces,” Bitonti told Daily Hive. “Everyone comes to Toronto for TIFF, what if we turned it around and brought TIFF to everyone else?”
TIFF brought OLG a selection of films to be considered for the tour, but their choice, North of Normal, was one that ticked all their boxes.
“OLG is an Ontario-based company, and this film is based on a memoir of a Canadian woman, directed by a Toronto director, and shot in Ontario, around the North Bay Area,” says Bitonti. “It spoke to us because it talks about living and growing up in those small-town communities. And that’s what OLG is all about. These small communities, these great Ontario stories.”
Finding the right communities
When choosing the three communities to take TIFF On Tour to, Bitonti says that the company wanted to stop in a small-, medium-, and large-sized community to gauge the different experiences — this first stop being their small community of choice, Campbellford, Ontario.
“One of the reasons we chose Campbellford as our small community was because of the Aron theatre, which is a great little community theatre with a lot of history,” says Bitonti. “Campbellford is also not right off the highway, you have to kind of go a bit more into the heart of Ontario, off the beaten path, and they welcomed us with open arms.”
While their second stop, North Bay, was chosen for its connection to the film, as North of Normal was shot in and around the North Bay Area, Bitonti says they discovered a vibrant film club community in the area.
“We didn’t find out afterwards, but this was the first time that the film community met since the pandemic and it was the first film to be shown in the Capitol Theatre since the pandemic as well.”
Their final stop, Windsor, also had a special connection to the film through one of its stars, River Price-Maenpaa, who is from the area.
“While River wasn’t able to attend, her parents, who were also extras in the movie, were there and hadn’t seen the film in its entirety. So they brought all their friends and family to the theatre. They were recognized at the beginning of the film. We introduced them, they stood up and got a big cheer from the crowd. That was so wonderful.”
Rolling out the red carpet
After deciding on the communities and theatres they were going to bring TIFF On Tour to, Bitonti tells us that OLG wanted these events to have an authentic red-carpet experience for attendants. And it was all free to those (over the age of 18) who were lucky to snag tickets.Â
“People showed up to the events in suits and fancy dresses, and we would nudge them to walk the red carpet,” says Bitonti. “Some were reluctant, and this happened in every community, but we directed them onto that red carpet. It was an experience that you would see at TIFF, with the reporters yelling out, ‘what are you wearing tonight?’ ‘Why are you here?’ And boy, when those folks that were reluctant to walk the red carpet, stepped in front of those step and repeat banners, they came out of their shells and had so much fun.”
Typically, with free events, Bitonti has noted some hesitation in the past with attending. But he says that 99% of people who claimed a free ticket for TIFF On Tour attended, which he claims speaks to these communities’ desire to have a unique experience.
“It really was a real movie premiere for their community. They saw friends they hadn’t seen for months, or for a couple of years. In North Bay, again, this was the first time there was a film at the Capitol since the pandemic. It was great to have that film community together. See friends in this great location, eat free popcorn, have free non-alcoholic beverages, and chit-chat. It was wonderful.”
The future of TIFF On Tour
When asked about the future of TIFF On Tour, Bitonti says that they’re still in the review process.
“This is the first time that we’ve done it, and after every first, we sit back and evaluate,” says Bitonti. “We haven’t done the evaluation for this event yet to see what worked and what didn’t. But I personally thought it worked really well, so fingers crossed for such future events.”
OLG sponsors over 200 music, arts, and culture festivals each year across Ontario, and Bitonti wants people to engage with their communities when events like TIFF On Tour come up.
“These tickets were snapped up very quickly, within a week of us putting it out. That’s good news for us, but some people missed out, unfortunately. My advice is, next time that something like this happens, take advantage of it. Because any different experience that comes to your community is, especially if it’s free to try out, is always going to be an adventure.”
Visit OLG.ca to stay up to date with their latest events and initiatives.
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