TIFF looked much different when it launched as Festival of Festivals in 1976

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO – Starting next week, Toronto will host its 40th TIFF — and it sure looks different than it once did.

When the Toronto International Film Festival launched as the Festival of Festivals in October 1976, there were few hints at the industry behemoth it would become. Here’s a look at the annual movie marathon, then and now:

Number of filmgoers in 1976: 35,000

Number of filmgoers expected in 2015: more than 500,000 (including visitors to a street fair, free festival programming, and red carpet fan zones)

Number of films presented in 1976: 127

Number of films to be presented in 2015: 399

Number of countries that contributed movies in 1976: 30

Number of countries that contributed movies in 2015: 79

Number of Canadian features in 1976, including co-productions: 9

Number of Canadian features in 2015, including co-productions: 39

Cost of a festival ticket in 1976: $6 for any three daytime shows and seminars

Cost of a single TIFF ticket in 2015: $25

Cost of a festival all-access pass in 1976: $50.

Cost of TIFF’s five-film “buzz list” package in 2015: $1,500

Number of screening venues in 1976: 5

Number of screening venues to be used in 2015: 11

Capacity of the Ontario Place Cinesphere, which hosted the opening gala in 1976: 752

Capacity of Roy Thomson Hall, hosting this year’s opening gala: 2,630

Number of festival staff in 1976: 15 paid staff, 12 consultants and a number of volunteers

Number of festival staff today: More than 200 full-time staff and 500 seasonal employees

Number of Oscar nominations for 1976 festival opener “Cousin Cousine”: 3

Number of best picture Oscar winners that have screened at TIFF: 10 (“Chariots of Fire,” “American Beauty,” “Crash,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Hurt Locker,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Artist,” “Argo,” “12 Years a Slave.”)

— compiled from data from the Toronto International Film Festival

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