The brand new film centre will be unveiled to the public three days into year’s edition of the festival.

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced that its brand new film centre TIFF Bell Lightbox will open its doors to the public on September 12 this year, three days into this year’s festival (September 9 to 19).

TIFF director and CEO Piers Handling made the announcement at an event celebrating Canadian film-makers yesterday hosted by TIFF and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

Designed by Toronto-based Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), TIFF Bell Lightbox houses five public cinemas, ranging from 550- to 80-seat theatres, a three-storey atrium, two galleries, three learning studios, a centre for students and scholars, the staff offices of TIFF, a bistro, a restaurant and a lounge.

It has yet to be determined how many of the screens will be fully operational in time for the festival.

“TIFF Bell Lightbox is a permanent home for cinema lovers from around the world,” said Handling. “We have spent a decade working on this project and its opening marks a new step in the evolution of TIFF. Audiences visiting our new home and experiencing our wide range of programming will see that we are so much more than a 10-day event in September.”

The year-round programming in TIFF Bell Lightbox is being driven by Noah Cowan, Artistic Director.

Topics