TIFF Turns 50: Cameron Bailey on the Films and the Festivities

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is turning 50, and the city is buzzing with anticipation. From September 4–14, TIFF will once again roll out the red carpet for movie lovers, stars, and industry insiders, but this year’s edition carries extra sparkle as the festival celebrates its golden anniversary.

Few people know TIFF better than its CEO, Cameron Bailey, who has helped shape its evolution into one of the world’s premier film events. Ahead of the milestone festival, I caught up with Bailey for our annual chat to talk about the films, the celebrations, and the magic that keeps audiences coming back year after year. From a heartfelt John Candy documentary to a new Guillermo del Toro reimagining of Frankenstein, Bailey shares an exciting lineup that proves TIFF 50 will be one to remember. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

OLM: What are some of the titles that you’re excited about for TIFF 50

Cameron Bailey: I have to begin with our opening night film. This is such a terrific documentary. John Candy: I Like Me, and it is essentially the story of this incredible, beloved comedy actor, movie star, Canadian; it’s going to be a fun way to launch the festival.

There are a lot of brand-new films that I’m excited about, including a new Steven Soderbergh film, The Christophers, which I think is great.

There is an up-and-coming director you will know. Her name is Maude Apatow, and she has made a film called Poetic License. It’s just terrific. It’s comedy, it’s a kind of romance. . . a movie where you need to get the tone exactly right, and she does. I think it’s going to be a real discovery for people.

I think people are also going to love to see Channing Tatum in Roofman with Kristen Dunst, where he plays a lovable criminal and can’t help himself. It’s a great performance from him.

There is an incredible treasure trove of archival footage of Elvis Presley as he’s starting his Vegas residency. Baz Luhrmann, having done the big fictional Elvis a couple of years ago, has now gone back into the archive and found this incredible, technicolour-looking imagery of Elvis rehearsing. You get a sense of his musicianship, you see how he was creating that big persona, and it is literally epic, and it’s called EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert. That’s a lot of fun as well.

Then there is Frankenstein, which, of course, is a Guillermo del Toro movie. There is also a really lovely film called Glenrothan that Brian Cox, the actor, has also directed. He’s in it with Alan Cumming. It is set in a whiskey distillery in Scotland, which is a nice world to immerse yourself in for a couple of hours.

There is such a range from all over the world. I learned a lot watching a movie called Kokuho, a Japanese film about Kabuki and the exact and rigorous art of Kabuki theatre. It’s told in this very engaging, accessible way, but you’re also immersed in the story. There’s just so much to see, and I think we’re lucky we’ve been able to pull together a great lineup.

OLM: Of course, as the 50th year of the festival, this is a huge and important milestone. What plans do you have to make this festival feel even more special?

Cameron Bailey: Well, you know, we started marking the 50th edition from the beginning of the year with a fun, fifty-fifty raffle. We’ve also been doing the TIFF story in 50 films, a retrospective of 50 movies that I think helped define the festival—that’s been going on since June and runs through the end of this month.

We’re going to kick off the opening day of the festival by unveiling a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, which will honour TIFF. We’re going to have past leaders of TIFF present on opening night, and we’re going to have lots of different ways of celebrating what we’ve been able to accomplish.

OLM: Let’s talk about some of the Canadian films at this year’s festival. There is a lot of buzz around Modern Whore. What are some other films?

Cameron Bailey: Oh, so many, I am glad you mentioned Modern Whore, it’s a surprisingly fun film to watch. A lot of people may be a little bit nervous about watching some of the sex workers. It’s made by, you know, people who know the sex work trade very well. It’s really a story of that kind of work. It’s made it a very fun way with colourful sets. It is graphic in some cases, but it’s all done in the spirit of celebrating sex workers, which is great.

Other films include Mile End Kicks, a movie that essentially takes place between Toronto and Montreal, and that rivalry of those two cities that I’m sure Ottawans see a lot of. Directed by Chandra Levack, it’s her second feature after I Like Movies. The story is based, in part, on her experience of a young music critic from Toronto, who goes to Montreal, attracted by that incredible indie music scene in the early 2000s and finds that it’s a complicated world, with all kinds of things that she has to learn in order to grow up herself. Barbie Ferreira plays the lead, and Jay Baruchel plays a jerk — I think he’d define the character that way himself. It’s a lovely homegrown story that many people who live in this part of the country will empathize with, especially if you love the bands from back in the day.

Clement Virgo has a new film called Steal Away, which is really strong and plays to his strengths as a visual stylist, someone who can immerse the audience in the swirl of a story. It is beautifully told, and I think it’s going to get a lot of people talking.

We’re closing with this movie that is just hilarious, but also very timely. It’s called Peak Everything by Anne Emond from Quebec. It premiered at Cannes, where I saw it and liked it so much I wanted to have it here as well. It’s the story of a man who’s really anxious about how environmental collapse seems to be on the horizon, and trying to figure out what he can do in response. He’s also torn about how to start a relationship when the world just might be coming to an end. It sounds like a big dark movie, but it’s actually quite funny and lovely and a great way to close out at the festival.

OLM: One of the wonderful things about TIFF is that it’s constantly adapting, like when it dealt with a pandemic, and adjusting on the fly. How has TIFF evolved over the last 50 years?

Cameron Bailey: We have never stopped changing, you know, and it’s not because we could see the future coming, just because we always want to stay current.

OLM: There will be many people who have been going to the festival for many years, but there are also first-timers. What is your advice for a new festival goer?

Cameron Bailey: If you have time to watch only three films, I would choose one that is from a filmmaker you know or a star you know — maybe Frankenstein, or the Channing Tatum movie (Roofman), or the Jodie Foster movie (A Private Life) — whatever it might be.

Then, choose one you know nothing about, that is from a country where you’ve never seen a film before, don’t know the filmmaker, don’t know much about the subject matter or the actors or anything. Just be curious, and go far afield and take a chance on a movie from a place where you’d never ordinarily get a chance to watch.

For the third one, find something Canadian. There’s a great selection, like the Lillith Fair documentary (Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery), or one of the films that I mentioned already, and see what our own storytellers are making these days. This can be really inspiring.

OLM: I love that. I want to give a quick shout-out to your Wavelengths program and the film BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions. I had the opportunity to see this at another festival, and I’m thrilled that the Toronto audience is going to get a chance to see this incredible film.

Cameron Bailey: It is. Khalil Joseph is a genuine, groundbreaking, and innovative artist. Films like BLKNWS make you realize what this art form can do that you might not have ever seen before. So glad you saw it, and yeah, I’m excited that we’re going to be able to show it.

OLM: How is the relationship with Rogers Communications going?

Cameron Bailey: Roger’s has been amazing. We started last year with them as the presenting sponsor for the festival, and we had a great time with that, and I think they had a great time with it as well. They’ve been made really great at capturing the excitement of the festival. They’ve been very supportive with what we do every September, and not just the festival brings to the city, but what it brings to the country and the great celebration that our festival aims to be every year. We are very glad to have them with us, and they will be with us for another three years.

OLM: Let’s drift into some fun Rapid Fire questions. We always talk about movies, but do you have a favourite TV show of all time?

Cameron Bailey: Oh man, all time, hard to say. I used to love those 70s sitcoms, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and Taxi, those kinds of shows.

More recently, I would say, I have been really thrilled to see some what I call cinematic series like Succession, or shows that are very cool to watch. I like limited series like Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake, which is literally six episodes. We showed the Alfonso Cuaron series, Disclaimer, with Cate Blanchett last year. That kind of stuff I really enjoy, because I am not often going to commit to seven seasons, but I like a good limited series.

OLM: Over the years, 21 TIFF People’s Choice Award-winning films (TIFF’s top award) have gone on to compete for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. In 2024, The Life of Chuck won the People’s Choice Award, but its theatrical release was in June of this year. Have you thought about the potential of having two People’s Choice winners? 

Cameron Bailey: You are the first person to mention that. I had not even thought about that; it would be wild. Gotta say, I would love that.

OLM: Cameron Bailey, what is your go-to movie snack?

Cameron Bailey: Oh, so at home, I like something a little salty, but not too salty, and maybe I’ll go for salty sweet. Sometimes I’ll go with sunflower seeds and dried cranberries mixed together. That’s really nice, with a nice cold drink. I do love a good bag of popcorn. I happen to think that here at the light box, we have some of the best popcorn in the city.

Many years ago, I had the chance to attend the Busan Film Festival in South Korea, where I was introduced to the classic Korean movie snack of dried squid. It’s delicious; I highly recommend it if you can find it.

OLM: Good to know. You’ve been doing this for a while, but does the handsome man in the suit walking across the stage to the podium as the audience applauds get stressed? Is there any part of the festival that you find stressful?

Cameron Bailey: We’ve got hundreds of people working to make sure that it all comes off well for everybody who’s coming to town for the festival. Whether it is a film premiere or an interview someone needs to get, I feel for our team. I know how hard they work. We try to make it the best possible experience for everybody who’s working on the festival. As for the stars, it’s not the big stars or anything really of that kind that stresses me out anymore. TIFF is an opportunity to celebrate the work and to have them here to present their work. And that’s always great.

I always want to make sure things happen on time as much as possible, because we’ve got a lot of different things happening all at once and a lot of variables, but I think we’ve got a great record, recently, of improving on-time starts for everything we do.

That first night, opening at night, after we’ve done our remarks on stage, when the curtain finally rises and the movie’s about to start, I think, okay, the train has left the station, and we just got to let it run. That’s a real pleasure.

OLM: Thanks so much for your time.

Cameron Bailey: Thank you.