TIFF industry speakers include Dustin Lance Black, John Sayles

The Toronto International Film Festival’s industry-targeted workshops, topics and international speakers will include filmmakers John Sayles, Dustin Lance Black, producer Jon Landau, and a special conversation between documentary titans Werner Herzog and Errol Morris.

There’s a Master Class with Robert Lantos (Being Julia, Barney’s Version) and two new programmes (Moguls and Focus On) as well as returning programmes such as Meet With…, the Doc Conference and Doc Roundtables.

The Screenwriters discussion may steal the show when scriptwriter and filmmaker John Sayles engages Oscar-winning scriptwriter Dustin Lance Black in a talk (moderated by Universal Pictures development director Franklin Leonard) about the challenges of keeping one’s vision while making the work marketable.

New this year, TIFF launches the Filmmakers’ Lounge, an activity hub for all badge-holders that’s only a five-minute walk from the new festival headquarters (TIFF Bell Lightbox), its adjacent host hotel (Hyatt Regency) and the Scotiabank theatres, earmarked for industry and press screenings. It’s open from Sept 9-18, from 9 a.m. until late into the night.

The Filmmaker’s Lounge will also host two new series: MOGULS with independent powerhouses such as producers Christine Vachon and Bob Berney and FOCUS ON,  a series of extended industry sessions designed to explore issues that are having an undeniable impact on filmmaking and the state of the film industry.

FOCUS ON’s line-up of sessions include “3D 4U”, which promises to go beyond the hype and ask how the format can serve the independent producer, and “Get in the Game: The Worlds of Films and Gaming Collide”, with special guest Jon Landau, producer of Titantic and Avatar. In addition “Cinematic Bedfellows” (about creative co-producing for consenting independents) brings together Jan Chapman (the Australia-based Bright Star producer) and Alex Francis (the UK producer of Moon), amongst others.

Back this year is the “Meet With…” series of informal and intimate information sessions with seasoned professionals on hot industry topics such as no-budget ways to build buzz around an independent film and do-it-yourself distribution.

“Instant Producers” (another Meet With session about online crowd-funding and crowd-sourcing) engages internet pioneers such as indieWIRE editor-in-chief and co-founder, Eugene Hernandez, and IndieGoGo CEO and co-founder Slava Rubin in a panel with filmmakers, moderated by Screen International editor Mike Goodridge.

Meanwhile, Doc Conference is back to discuss the current landscape of documentary production, financing and distribution (Sept 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox). Its Filmmaker Dialogue between two documentary visionaries Werner Herzog & Errol Morris is a must-see.

The sophomore year of TIFF’s City to City programme, spotlighting Istanbul this year, will also host a special panel. “Istanbul - A Conversation” will feature author Richard Florida and filmmakers Reha Erdem, Pelin Esmer, and Seren Yüce.