The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has taken a significant step to distinguish itself from the world’s most prestigious film festival in Cannes, France.
According to the L.A. Times, this year’s TIFF will not only feature a number of Netflix-helmed productions, but the entire festival will open with a screening of David Mackenzie’s Outlaw King, two months before it premieres on Netflix on November 9th, 2018.
Outlaw King stars Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Florence Pugh, and tells the story of Robert the Bruce, the King of Scots from 1306 until 1329.
TIFF’s decision to open the festival with the screening of a Netflix film is contrary to the position taken by the prestigious Cannes film festival in France.
This year’s Cannes festival banned any film that won’t screen in physical French theatres — including Netflix productions — from competing for the Palme d’Or grand prize.
In spite of the fact that Cannes allowed streaming service properties from participating in a non-competitive manner, Netflix responded to the Cannes ban by refusing to screen any films at the festival.
Source: L.A. Times
