The 1st

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

(TIFF) took place at Windsor Arms Hotel,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, 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 different 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 reason that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their films. ''

Cousin Cousine ''Cousin Cousine'' is a 1975 French romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella and starring Marie-Christine Barrault, Victor Lanoux, and Marie-France Pisier. Written by Tacchella and Danièle Thompson, the film is about two cousins by ...

'', 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 Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

and

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

. Producer Dino De Laurentiis, screened a 90-second preview of his then-unreleased '' King Kong'' at the festival.

Programme

Gala Presentation

*''

'' by Jean-Charles Tacchella *''

Illustrious Corpses ''Illustrious Corpses'' ( it, Cadaveri eccellenti) is a 1976 Italian-French thriller film directed by Francesco Rosi and starring Lino Ventura, based on the novel '' Equal Danger'' by Leonardo Sciascia (1971). The film was screened at the 1976 C ...

'' by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

*''

Death Race 2000 ''Death Race 2000'' is a 1975 American science fiction action film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transco ...

'' by Paul Bartel *'' Queen of the Gypsies'' by

Emil Loteanu Emil Vladimirovich Loteanu (6 November 1936 – 18 April 2003) was a Romanian-Soviet film director born in what is now Moldova. He moved to Moscow in his early life. His best known films are ''Lăutarii'', ''Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven'', '' A H ...

*''Lumière'' by

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

*''

Dersu Uzala Dersu Uzala (russian: Дерсу Узала; 1849–1908) was a Nanai trapper and hunter. He worked as a guide for Vladimir Arsenyev who immortalized him in his 1923 book '' Dersu Uzala''. The book was adapted into two feature films, with the ve ...

'' by Akira Kurosawa *''

Adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

'' by

Márta Mészáros Márta Mészáros (born 19 September 1931) is a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. The daughter of László Mészáros, a sculptor, Mészáros began her career working in documentary film, having made 25 documentary shorts over the span ...

*''

Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven ''Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven'' (german: Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel) is a 1975 German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It stars Brigitte Mira, Ingrid Caven, Karlheinz Böhm and Margit Carstensen. The film was sho ...

'' by

*'' The Devil's Playground'' by Fred Schepisi *''

Bernice Bobs Her Hair "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was first published in May 1920 in the ''Saturday Evening Post''. The original publication was illustrated by May Wilson Preston. The work later appeared in the September 1920 ...

'' by Joan Micklin Silver *''

The Best Way to Walk ''The Best Way to Walk'' (French: ''La meilleure façon de marcher'') is a 1976 French film directed by Claude Miller, his directorial debut. It stars Patrick Dewaere, Patrick Bouchitey, Christine Pascal, Claude Piéplu and Michel Blanc. Plot ...

'' by

Claude Miller Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his fi ...

*''

Kings of the Road ''Kings of the Road'' (german: Im Lauf der Zeit, "in the course of time") is a 1976 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It was the third part of Wenders' "Road Movie trilogy" which included ''Alice in the Cities'' (1974) and '' The Wrong Mo ...

'' by

*'' Heart of Glass'' by

*''Herfra min verden går'' by Christian Braad Thomsen *''Hustruer'' by

Anja Breien Anja Breien (born 12 July 1940) is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. One of the leading figures of the Norwegian film industry, and one of the first women to rise to prominence as a writer-director in Norway, Breien's body of work in f ...

*''Cantata de Chile'' by

Humberto Solás Humberto Solás (4 December 1941 – 18 September 2008) was a Cuban film director, credited with directing the film ''Lucía'' (1968), which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history. His cinematic style borr ...

*''Scandalo'' by Salvatore Samperi *'' Harvest: 3,000 Years'' by

Haile Gerima Haile Gerima (born March 4, 1946) is an Ethiopian filmmaker who lives and works in the United States. He is a leading member of the L.A. Rebellion film movement, also known as the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers. His films have receive ...

*''Independence Day '' by Bobby Roth

Canadian Cinema

The Canadian Cinema program had been slated to include Don Owen's film ''

Partners Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

'', 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. *'' The Absence (L'Absence)'' by Brigitte Sauriol *'' The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane'' by

Nicolas Gessner Nicolas Gessner (born 17 August 1931, in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian-born filmmaker who mostly worked in France. His movies are often characterized by strange, quirky atmospheres and unusual cast mixing French and international actors. Sta ...

*''

A Pacemaker and a Sidecar ''A Pacemaker and a Sidecar'' (french: L'Eau chaude, l'eau frette, lit. "Hot Water, Cold Water") is a Canadian black comedy film, directed by André Forcier and released in 1976.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. ...

(L'Eau chaude, l'eau frette)'' by

André Forcier André Forcier (born Marc-André Forcier on July 19, 1947) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. His work has been linked to Latin American magic realism by its use of fantasy but is firmly rooted in Quebec's reality. His unromanticized, e ...

*'' The Supreme Kid'' by Peter Bryant

Documentaries

*'' Grey Gardens'' by Albert Maysles,

David Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films i ...

, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer *''

Harlan County, USA ''Harlan County, USA'' is a 1976 American documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike", a 1973 effort of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan C ...

'' by Barbara Kopple *'' Small Change'' by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

*''

Hollywood on Trial ''Hollywood on Trial'' is a 1976 American documentary film directed by David Helpern. Synopsis The film chronicles the 1947 hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee, with a focus on the Hollywood Ten directors, screenwriters and ...

'' by David Helpern *''

Not a Pretty Picture ''Not a Pretty Picture'' is a 1976 American docudrama film. The film was written, produced and directed by Martha Coolidge, marking her narrative feature film directorial debut, after years of working as a documentary filmmaker in the early to m ...

'' by Martha Coolidge

References

External links

Official site

TIFF: A Reel History: 1976 - 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto International Film Festival 1976

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1976 film festivals 1976 in Toronto 1976 in Canadian cinema