The Toronto Film Festival recently unveiled its industry conference lineup, headlined by The Hollywood Reporter’s Visionaries series of onstage discussions.
Among the notable speakers featured in this year’s Visionaries program are Donna Langley, Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios; Andrea Scrosati, Group COO and CEO of Continental Europe at Fremantle; Yelena Rachitsky, Head of Emerging Formats at Meta; director Edward Berger, known for Ballad of a Small Player; and Sterlin Harjo, who will present a first look at his FX series, The Lowdown, during the festival.
The Dialogues program will feature insightful conversations with director Maude Apatow and screenwriter Raffi Donatich (Poetic License), Jonatan Etzler, as well as indie producers Diana Bustamante, Julia Lebedev, Yulia Evina Bhara, Alex C. Lo, and Daniel Bekerman, among others.
Additionally, the TIFF Industry Conference will host panel discussions aimed at enhancing inclusive production practices, promoting Latin American cinema, producing art-house television series, and exploring storytelling approaches involving artificial intelligence. Indigenous perspectives on creative sovereignty in film co-productions will also be a key focus of the discussions.
Marking its 50th anniversary, the festival has introduced a new program titled Buyers in Focus, designed to enhance access to decision-makers as TIFF prepares for its inaugural official content market set to launch in 2026, amid a challenging global indie film marketplace.
Looking to attract new producers, distributors, buyers, and sales agents from both established and emerging international markets, TIFF will draw upon the experience of major Hollywood studios and U.S. specialty distributors, who have traditionally operated independently in Toronto.
The TIFF content market aims to refocus on content packaging and financing, as the festival transitions from an informal film market—previously centered around the sale of completed films—to one that extends the potential for collaboration and innovation throughout the filmmaking process. The festival, scheduled to run from September 4 to 14, will commence with Colin Hanks’ documentary, John Candy: I Like Me.
Based on reporting by Hollywood Reporter. Read the full story at Hollywood Reporter.