For the fifteenth year in a row, Christie is the official projection partner to the 40th Toronto International Film Festival. Taking place from September 10-20, the Toronto International Film Festival hosts over 1,300 screenings from 71 countries and attracts a galaxy of stars and worldwide attention. Christie will screen 99 percent of festival selections digitally, and a growing number in 4K.
“As we celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we reflect positively on our wonderful 15 year partnership with Christie and we feel truly privileged to have their continued support year after year,” said Diane Cappelletto, TIFF’s director of technical production services. “From our first HD screening, to Digital Cinema, to 4K, Christie has been with us every step of the way. As a festival, we continue to be entrusted with world premiere screenings because there is the confidence that the projected image is nothing short of being world class.”
Andrei Gravelle, TIFF’s senior technical manager noted, “As an organization that is committed to the preservation of our film heritage, the colour accuracy of Christie projectors are a natural fit to be true to the axiom of ‘presenting films as they were meant to be seen.’ Christie 4K projectors faithfully reproduce the color palette of digital restorations of cinema classics like Vertigo.”
Highlights at this year’s Festival include a gala screening of the worldwide premiere of The Martian, starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott. An epic film about an astronaut stranded on Mars, the story unfolds in some of the most spectacular 3D imagery to have graced the cinema. Showing in brilliant 4K digital resolution will be a special presentation of Sicario, a drug-war thriller directed by Quebec’s Denis Villeneuve and starring Emily Blunt. Additionally, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo will be shown in a special event celebrating TIFF’s 40th anniversary. Screening with a live accompaniment from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, this free event promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Christie is proud to celebrate 15 years as the official projection partner to the Toronto International Film Festival,” said Kathryn Cress, vice president, global and corporate marketing, Christie. “Christie offers the best in digital projection technology, allowing filmmakers to bring their creative vision to life on the screen.”
Known as an audience-friendly film festival, moviegoers vote to determine the winner of the major prize at the Festival, the Grolsch People’s Choice Award. New for 2015, the Festival is offering two new programs including Primetime, a focus on storytelling in television; and Platform, a programme focused on directors cinema, that features a juried award of $25,000.
“The Festival offers an opportunity for artists and audiences to connect that’s unlike any other film festival,” noted John Hallman, Christie’s director of Canadian sales. “Christie puts the brightest and sharpest images in the industry onto screens, offering an unparalleled movie-going experience for audiences.”
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