29th Toronto International Film Festival Coverage

The 29th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 9th to the 18th, 2004. DigitalHit.com was there, attending screenings, red carpet premieres, and press conferences.

From Kevin Spacey’s labour of love, Beyond the Sea to Terry George’s moving Hotel Rwanda with Don Cheadle, the Toronto festival has something for every movie lover. Shorts, documentaries, national cinema and cult flicks are all part of the hustle and bustle that comprises the ten days of this remarkable event.

The team of programmers, headed by festival co-directors Piers Handling and Noah Cowan, scoured the globe for cinematic treats. The 2004 edition of the festival was comprised of 328 films of which 253 were features and 75 were shorts. 81% of the features were world, international, or North American premieres.

This is truly an international festival, a reflection of the multicultural centre that Toronto is. 148 of the films screened were in a language other than English.

With a shorter awards season, studios from around the world see Toronto as an important place to launch their films and their hopes of recognition. This fact was really evident this year as both our inbox at the press office — and the one on our computer — were overflowing with invitations, reminders, and press notes. About the only thing missing from the experience was the absence of unmarked vans full of publicists who would kidnap reporters and take them to screenings at undisclosed locations.

The 29th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival may be over, but that just means that the countdown to the 30th anniversary edition has just begun.