The 1st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place at Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada between October 18 and October 24, 1976. Initially its name was Festival of Festivals, which remained until 1994 after which it became the Toronto International Film Festival.
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. Most of the Hollywood studios later withdrew their submissions citing the reason that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their films.
Cousin Cousine, a French film directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella was selected as the opening film and screened at Ontario Place Cinesphere and Queen of the Gypsies was the closing film. German cinema was focused upon, with films from German directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis, screened a 90-second preview of his then-unreleased King Kong at the festival.
Programme
Gala Presentation English title Original title Director(s) Production country Cousin Cousine Jean-Charles Tacchella France Illustrious Corpses Cadaveri eccellenti Francesco Rosi Italy, France Death Race 2000 Paul Bartel United States Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven Табор уходит в небо Emil Loteanu Soviet Union Lumière Jeanne Moreau France, Italy Dersu Uzala Akira Kurosawa Soviet Union, Japan Adoption Örökbefogadás Márta Mészáros Hungary Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel Rainer Werner Fassbinder West Germany The Devil's Playground Fred Schepisi Australia Bernice Bobs Her Hair Joan Micklin Silver United States The Best Way to Walk La meilleure façon de marcher Claude Miller France Kings of the Road Im Lauf der Zeit Wim Wenders West Germany Heart of Glass Herz aus Glas Werner Herzog West Germany Wellspring of My World Herfra min verden går Christian Braad Thomsen Denmark Wives Hustruer Anja Breien Norway Cantata de Chile Humberto Solás Cuba Submission Scandalo Salvatore Samperi Italy Harvest: 3,000 Years ምርት ሦስት ሺህ ዓመት Haile Gerima Ethiopia Independence Day Bobby Roth United States
Canadian Cinema The Canadian Cinema program had been slated to include Don Owen's film Partners, but it was pulled from the festival at the last minute after a dispute with the Ontario Censor Board about a brief sex scene in the film.Robert Martin, "Cens(or) nonsense?" The Globe and Mail, October 30, 1976. English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Absence L'Absence Brigitte Sauriol Canada Before the Time Comes Le temps de l'avant Anne Claire Poirier Canada The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Nicolas Gessner France, Canada Love at First Sight Rex Bromfield Canada A Pacemaker and a Sidecar L'Eau chaude, l'eau frette André Forcier Canada The Supreme Kid Peter Bryant Canada
Documentaries English title Original title Director(s) Production country At 99: A Portrait of Louise Tandy Murch Deepa Mehta Canada Grey Gardens Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer United States Harlan County, USA Barbara Kopple United States Hollywood on Trial David Helpern United States Not a Pretty Picture Martha Coolidge United States
References
External links Official site TIFF: A Reel History: 1976 - 2012