The show must go on: The physical meets virtual at TIFF this year

The film festival, counted among the top 3, opens this week in a toned-down avatar

Cannes cancelled its film festival this year, while Venice went ahead with its event earlier this month with red carpets, photo calls, water taxi runs and the works. The Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF, which along with Cannes and Venice rounds off the Top 3 major global film festivals, is trying to take the middle path. Running September 10-19, TIFF will offer a mix of physical, drive-in and digital screenings and host virtual red carpets, industry conferences and special events.

The festival’s public offering of about 60 feature films is down sharply to a quarter of last year’s slate,