1976 Toronto International Film Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Festival poster | |
| Opening film | Cousin Cousine[1] |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Queen of the Gypsies[2] |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Hosted by | Toronto International Film Festival Group |
| No. of films | 127 feature films |
| Festival date | October 18, 1976–October 24, 1976[2] |
| Language | English |
| Website | tiff |
The 1st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place at Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada between October 18 and October 24, 1976.[2] Initially its name was Festival of Festivals, which remained until 1994 after which it became the Toronto International Film Festival.[3][4]
It showcased 127 feature films from 30 countries with the audience of 35,000. It featured some of the best films from film festivals around the world.[5][6][7][8] Most of the Hollywood studios later withdrew their submissions citing the reason that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their films.[9]
Cousin Cousine, a French film directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella was selected as the opening film and screened at Ontario Place Cinesphere[1][10][11][12] and Queen of the Gypsies was the closing film.[2] German cinema was focused upon, with films from German directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog.[6]
Producer Dino De Laurentiis, screened a 90-second preview of his then-unreleased King Kong at the festival.[13]