TIFF

From September 4^th-14^th a spotlight of arts and culture shines down on our city. TIFF has grown from its humble beginning in 1976 to become the most recognized film festival in the world, second only to Cannes. Each year thousands of locals, celebrities,directors and film buffs flock to Toronto’s downtown core for the festival. From this years new introduction of “festival street” in front of TIFF Bell Lightbox, to red carpet premiers at the Elgin Theatre and late night after parties at the Thompson Hotel- TIFF does it all.

TIFF is a not-for profit organization that seeks to promote and preserve Toronto’s arts and cultural scene. The volunteers and staff at TIFF work year round to bring the community a variety of programs including: festivals, film education and preservation, exhibitions and community outreach initiatives.

This year I became part of the festival experience when I volunteered with the marketing department. Here are 3 reasons why you should do the same next year:

The energy is amazing! Each volunteer, industry member and guest is excited about the festival and all it has to offer.
The films are unique. TIFF is a great chance to see a new movie or even a genre of film you might not normally be exposed to.
The celebrities. It’s definitely cool getting to see Channing Tatum hanging at the Calvin or Jennifer Aniston stopping into Holt’s on Bloor, but ushering Martin Scorcese into a premiere tops the list.

TIFF is definitely one of the coolest things Toronto has to offer, so if you have the time during next year’s festival (or throughout the year!) I would highly recommend getting involved.