WINNIPEG — The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is spotlighting Manitoba’s film industry like never before, with seven films connected to the province set to be screened during the 2024 festival.
Additionally, another Manitoba-linked feature will debut in theatres nationwide during the festival’s first week.
“This is an unprecedented year for Manitoba’s film industry,” said Lynne Skromeda, CEO and film commissioner at Manitoba Film & Music. “We had a strong showing at Cannes with two films and now, during TIFF’s run, it’s a record-breaking eight films.”
Among the films with Manitoba ties are “Rumours” by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, and “Universal Language” by Matthew Rankin, both of which will have their North American premieres after first appearing at Cannes. The world premieres of “The Mother and the Bear” by Johnny Ma and “Aberdeen” by Ryan Cooper and Eva Thomas are also part of TIFF’s lineup. Two short films, “Serve the Country” by Fabian Velasco and Milos Mitrovic, and “The Best” by Ian Bawa, will be featured in the Short Cuts 2024 Programmes 03 and 04, respectively. Additionally, Rhayne Vermette’s experimental short, “A Black Screen Too,” will be showcased in Wavelengths 1: Eye & Ear Control.
Watch the trailer for “Rumours”:
Manitoba is also seeing an exceptional number of productions filming in the province.
“2024 is proving to be an unmatched year of production, with several films and TV series slated to shoot through the summer and fall,” Skromeda added. “We are, in fact, estimating that we will see approximately double that of last year, which was impacted by the US writers’ and actors’ strikes.”
Manitoba Film & Music is projecting production volume in Manitoba to total approximately $435 million this year.
