TIFF is expanding its industry influence with the launch of an official content market, designed as a central hub for buying and selling screen-based projects, intellectual property, and immersive and innovative content across all platforms.
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey and chief programming officer Anita Lee made the announcement on Thursday in Cannes.
“Whether you’re buying, selling, pitching, or connecting, Toronto has long been a great place for the film industry to do business,” stated Bailey. “As screen storytelling and how it reaches audiences evolve, we plan to grow the platform and the services we offer to professionals telling stories on every possible screen. We’ll bridge Canada’s advantages as a globally connected, North American nation with the exciting talent, ideas, and resources cropping up all around the world.”
The news comes as TIFF prepares for the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The content market is planned to launch with the 2026 festival. Key to the plans is the Canadian federal government’s investment of $23 million CAD in this initiative. The three-year investment is the single largest government backing that TIFF has received since the campaign to build TIFF Lightbox nearly two decades ago.
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Adds Lee: “This market will be a game-changing catalyst for the international industry overall and will further drive the importance and economic value of not only TIFF’s work, but also of the entire cultural sector, within Canada and globally. This is the right time for TIFF to build and launch a new market initiative, and it will enable us to champion Canadian content within the larger industry in an even more meaningful way.”
