TORONTO –– The 40th Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 10-20, 2015, will also mark the 15th year where Christie has been a sponsor of the event. There are 1,300+ screenings from 71 countries. As official projection partner, Christie is screening almost all (99 percent) of the films digitally, with a growing number in 4K.
More details from Christie (www.christiedigital.com):
“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 colour palette of digital restorations of cinema classics like Vertigo.”
Christie projectors will power Festival venues, including Roy Thomson Hall, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the VISA Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre, and the Ryerson Theatre, all illuminated by Christie® Solaria® Series CP4230 projectors, which are 4K resolution and provide 34,000 lumens of brightness. Christie projectors will also illuminate the Winter Garden Theatre, Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario and TIFF Bell Lightbox, giving audiences at the Festival the best possible movie-going experience. Additionally, Christie is co-sponsoring the Filmmakers Lounge, a meeting space where industry delegates relax, work and network.
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 program 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.”
