Like you, we have been following the updates on COVID-19 closely. We have taken measures to help protect our staff and audience, including social distancing. We made the decision in mid-March to close our doors and temporarily halt our year-round programming to help mitigate the spread of the disease. We continue to follow the recommendations of our local health agencies and governments, and look forward to reopening when it is deemed safe for our community.

This has been a heartbreaking but necessary decision. The health and safety of our community remains of the utmost importance to us. Medical evidence and guidance from all levels of government tell us that we can slow the progress of the virus by gathering less in groups. We want to do everything we can to contribute to safeguarding our collective well-being. We continue to monitor news of the pandemic daily, and will follow the advice of Toronto Public Health and provincial and federal authorities.

In the worst of times, we need the illumination that art provides more than ever. We need the comfort of community more than ever. At TIFF, we stand with our fellow film and arts organizations that have seen their events cancelled or postponed. We stand with artists eager to engage audiences with their work. To that end, we will be looking for every opportunity to continue doing what we do best, building bridges between great films and passionate audiences.

We encourage you to do the same. Check in on your friends and family. Share your favourite films with them to watch at home. Champion independent artists who need to be better known via your social networks. Let’s use great art to confront our fears, soothe our anxieties, and connect with one another. Let’s keep talking, and sharing, and responding to the power of film and every artform. Brighter days are coming.

We look forward to when we can welcome audiences back to TIFF Bell Lightbox. In the meantime, we’ll continue having conversations about film, and keep our film community strong, on our social media channels.

We are wishing you all good health.

Thank you,

Joana Vicente, Executive Director & Co-Head and
Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director & Co-Head
TIFF

Source: TIFF Directors speak to Audience