Photo of the day: TIFF rolls out the red carpet on unique year
The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival is forging ahead despite an expected lack of Hollywood star power.
It’s an unusual year for the Toronto International Film Festival, which — along with the rest of the world — has had its fair share of them in recent times.
But unlike in 2020 and 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic limited crowds and in-person events, the 2023 edition is open to serious cinephiles and looky-loos alike. There will be screenings, parties, free street events, and more.
There’s just one problem: Much of Hollywood won’t be showing up, out of respect for strike action from both the writers and screen actors guilds.
In a festival-kickoff piece for The Canadian Press, Noel Ransome wrote:
Even as red carpets rolled out around TIFF’s downtown headquarters, many questions lingered about how the notoriously celebrity-drenched event would look in a year when most famous people weren't expected to attend.
On hand for the literal red-carpet rolling was photographer Spencer Colby, also working for The Canadian Press. Colby got the shot you see above of workers giving the sidewalk its starry makeover.
And to be fair, the carpet won’t go unused. In the aforementioned story, Ransome also noted that some actors have been granted special union permission to promote their films in Toronto, including Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn. They’ll be seen alongside a selection of other A-list stars and directors, from Pedro Almodovar and Lil Nas X to Spike Lee and the Talking Heads.
For more, click here to read Ransome’s full story, or here to check out the rundown from his CP colleague Jake Coyle.
Code and markup by Craig Battle. ©Torontoverse, 2023