Industry festivals and markets

tiff and Content Canada Back in Full Swing for 2022

After modified events the last few years, tiff came back with a vengeance thanks to big films and big name stars returning to Toronto including Stephen Spielberg’s first bow at the festival with The Fabelmans (which won the People’s Choice Award), Viola Davis ruling the screen in The Woman King and Harry Styles’ forbidden romance in My Policeman. Canadian filmmakers such as Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Clement Virgo (Brother) and Lindsay MacKay (The Swearing Jar) also had audiences taking notice. 

For industry insiders it was a chance to reconnect with colleagues and meet face to face to talk shop. Good Measure Productions’ Founder, Sholeh Alemi Fabbri, was busy meeting with writers and directors to discuss new potential projects to add to their growing development slate. As a genre agnostic production company the conversations ran the gamut from fantastical and adventure dramas to social issue documentaries. While on paper the storytelling styles and narratives are different, the common thread of inspiring impact is always top of mind. 

At Content Canada the conversations centred around the small screen with sessions held by the leading Canadian broadcasters and global streamers sharing their upcoming plans for commissioning. The sold out two-day event, which felt like a mini-Banff Media Festival, also gave attendees the chance to catch up and set meetings to get the ball rolling. 

If these events are any indication of what’s in the pipeline, there’s no doubt that the next few years will feel like an explosion of exciting content and Canadian creators will be leading the way.