First opening its doors in 1976, this year’s Toronto Film Festival looks to be the biggest version yet. Throughout its lifespan, the Toronto Film Festival has become renowned as a premier event for film buffs. In fact, some of the world’s most prestigious films premiered during the film festival.
However, if you’re not fortunate enough to live in Canada, you’re probably concerned about missing out. But don’t fret, even if you can’t physically attend the event, you can still catch some featured movies on streaming services.
So here is a list of the films promoted at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and the streaming alternatives you need to catch them.
What is the Toronto International Film Festival?
The Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF, is one of the largest and most attended film festivals in the world, bringing in over 480,000 people each year. Since 1976, TIFF has grown to become an iconic film festival that many acclaimed actors, directors, and film fanatics attend.
Usually, the Toronto Film Festival opens its doors during the beginning days of fall and attendees show up to watch an array of featured films. They can either buy individual tickets to catch the films they want to watch, or they can purchase bundles that cover a select number of films.
On top of that, the festival has a reputation for being a preview of the Oscar lineup. According to Time magazine, the festival’s reputation comes from its ability to generate Oscar-buzz. And that it’s the festival that can generate the most star power and media attention, only coming second to the Canne’s Film Festival.
When is the Toronto International Film Festival?
Every year, the Toronto International Film Festival usually lasts just over a week, with this year’s festival scheduled to run from September 8th to 18th. For tickets, you can find more information on the TIFF website.
What to Watch at The Toronto Film Festival
So, what can we expect from this year’s Toronto Film Festival? Well, we’ve got some heavy hitters lined up.
For instance, there’s “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” to look forward to. The movie is a true story about a veteran’s experiences during the Vietnam War. It depicts Joanna Malloy’s experience in the US Marine Corp as he tries to share a duffel bag full of beer with his squadmates in Vietnam. It’s also Peter Farrelly’s return to filmmaking after his award-winning “Green Book.”
Fans of Nicolas Cage can also check out “Butcher’s Crossing.” The film stars Fred Hechinger as a college dropout, opposite Nicolas Cage as a buffalo hunter that Hechinger’s character befriends. Despite the sparse information, you can bet we’re in for a wild ride in this film.
There are also plenty of international films worth watching. “Hunt” is a South Korean film that will make its North American debut at TIFF. The film is a fictional depiction of Korea’s political climate during the 80s. It’s an espionage-action film that pits South Korean operatives against their North counterparts in an attempt to stop an assassination plot against the South Korean President. Lee Jung-jae stars, directs, and writes the film.
All in all, there’s something for everyone at the Toronto Film Festival.
Where to Watch Toronto Film Festival films?
Most of the films set to release during TIFF will first debut during the festival. But, once they’ve aired, you can expect to find them on some of your favorite streaming services.
1. Sling TV
If unsatisfied with the default Sling TV lineup, you just need to add the Hollywood bundle to your Sling TV account. With the bundle, you’ll get some cinephile-friendly channels like Cinemoi, SundanceTV, and Reelz, to name a few. Here, you’ll get first-day access to some of the Toronto Film Festival premiers as soon as they hit mainstream channels.
You can expect film premiers like Steven Spielberg’s “The Fablemans” and Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” on Sling TV in the near future.
If you’re interested in learning more about Sling TV, you can check our full review here.
2. HBO Max
HBO has always had a reputation as one of the leading channels for early film releases. So, once these films hit streaming services, you can expect to find HBO Max at the head of the line.
Like Sling TV, films like “The Fablemans” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” will shortly make the rounds on HBO Max’s streaming catalog. Add to that, though, you’ll probably find more eclectic films to show up on HBO Max’s library. For example, sooner or later, you might find the above-mentioned Korean film “Hunt” within HBO Max’s content vault. Besides that, “My Policeman” will also likely make a splash on HBO Max.
And if you’re looking for more cinephile-friendly movies on HBO Max, you can read about it here.
3. Netflix
If you weren’t aware, Netflix already has a hand on some of the films set to premiere during the Canadian film festival. For instance, “The Swimmers” is a Netflix-funded adaptation of the real-life story of Syrian-born Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini and her sister, Sara Mardini, as they make their way to the 2016 Rio Olympics. Then there’s the Tyler Perry vehicle, “A Jazzman’s Blues,” also produced by Netflix.
Both these films are set to make their home on Netflix after their premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
But if you’re looking for an in-depth look at Netflix, you can read about it here.
Enjoy World Class TIFF Films with Streaming
Unless you’re one of the few lucky people to reserve tickets for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, you’ll have to wait a while before the films hit the mainstream. The good news is that you can still catch the films elsewhere.
Thanks to streaming platforms like Sling TV, you won’t have to wait that long. With access to cinephile-friendly channels and robust on-demand libraries, streaming services are a cinephile’s go-to avenue for catching the latest and greatest films.
