TIFF Kids – a festival retires

The Toronto Kids Int. Film Festival TIFF recently announced a reimagining of its family programming. The longstanding annual TIFF will be retired and digiPlaySpace, the interactive playground for kids, will be rebranded for a 14+ audience.

 

This shift reflects the organisation’s five year strategic plan and the evolution of TIFF audiences. Artistic Director and Co-Head Cameron Bailey: “The TIFF Kids Int. Film Festival has held a special place at the organisation over the past two decades, and the decision to retire the festival was not made lightly. We refreshed our offerings because we’re listening very closely to our audiences. Through our Audience First strategy, we found out that people are seeking unique experiences and more variety, and this pivot means we can invest greater energy and resources into better serving our family and youth audiences.” Many professionals in the European children’s film landscape, who treasure great memories of the festival, will regret this new evolution and wish all the best to those who invested their passion and energy in setting new and unique festival standards for the North American continent through TIFF.

 

The TIFF Next Wave Film Festival for youth will be running February 14–17, 2019.