TIFF 2020 Announces Screening Venues And Ticket Sale Dates

TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival, is going to be very different this year. For one thing, non-Canadian press accredited for the fest will be partaking of the films virtually. As for those on the ground in Toronto, they'll have an option of indoor cinemas, digital screenings, drive-ins, and open-air cinemas to enjoy this year's offerings. And today, the TIFF 2020 screening venues and ticket sale dates were revealed.

I love TIFF. It's my favorite film festival, and while I am deathly afraid of flying, I look forward to jetting off to Toronto every year to partake in great movies. Unfortunately, that's not happening this year, because the coronavirus has ruined everything. While some film festivals have gone ahead and completely canceled this year, TIFF is still happening, albeit in a different form. I'll (hopefully) still be covering it, but virtually.

But if you're in Canada (lucky you!), and still want to attend TIFF in some capacity, here are the options awaiting you. In keeping with safety measures provided by the City of Toronto and Public Health Ontario, there will be reduced capacity at the TIFF Bell Lightbox cinemas and Isabel Bader Theatre. There will also be limited capacity for the Bell Digital Cinema – the secure digital platform developed for this year – drive-ins, and open-air cinemas.

Here are the venues for the drive-ins and open-air cinemas: Visa Skyline Drive-In at CityView, RBC Lakeside Drive-In at Ontario Place, and West Island Open Air Cinema at Ontario Place. As for the Bell Digital Cinema, the platform will be geolocked to Canada for general attendees and will house most of this year's lineup. Here are some specifics:

Festival-goers will be able to watch Festival films at home on their television screens by using Chromecast, or a newly developed digital TIFF app, which was created for the Festival and will be available in the Apple App Store on September 9. TIFF remains committed to the protection of copyrighted material, and strict anti-piracy measures such as forensic watermarking and visible watermarking are in place on Bell Digital Cinema for each film.

TIFF 2020's official list of films, screening schedule, and info on where each film will screen across the in-person venues and Bell Digital Cinema will be released Tuesday, August 25, along with an announcement on TIFF Special Events and ancillary screenings. Here are some key dates.

And here are the ticket prices.

TIFF Bell Lightbox & Isabel Bader Theatre

Regular film screenings: $19 including taxes+fees

Premium film screenings: $26 including taxes+fees

Bell Digital Cinema

Regular film screenings: $19 including taxes+fees

Premium film screenings: $26 including taxes+fees

Drive-in screenings – Visa Skyline Drive-In at CityView and RBC Lakeside Drive-In at Ontario Place

Car with 1–2 people: $49 including taxes+fees

Car with 3+ people: $69 including taxes+fees

Open-air cinema screenings – West Island Open Air Cinema at Ontario Place

Lawn Pod for 2 people (pedestrian): $38 including taxes+fees

TIFF runs from September 10 through September 19.