By Aboubakar Sanogo and Kester Dyer
From September 5th to 8th, 2024, 14 Carleton fourth-year undergraduate and graduate Film Studies students went to Toronto with Professors Aboubakar Sanogo and Kester Dyer to attend the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). They watched an array of international films, attended masterclasses, and listened in on public conversations with leaders in the film world. On the less official end, professors and students ate breakfast together, walked in a group to and from screenings, and mingled with one another.
TIFF itself is an essential festival for film students and budding film scholars. The breadth of films from around the world being screened at the festival, the subsequent discussions amongst my fellow students after screenings, plus the countless Master classes and industry panels makes this a must annual event for senior Carleton Film Studies students. - Patrick
TIFF itself is an essential festival for film students and budding film scholars. The breadth of films from around the world being screened at the festival, the subsequent discussions amongst my fellow students after screenings, plus the countless Master classes and industry panels makes this a must annual event for senior Carleton Film Studies students.
Film Studies consider this trip central to its program. Students are offered an exceptional opportunity to see and meet film artists, industry personnel (producers, distributors, exhibitors, sales agents, festival programmers, etc.) and scholars, and to explore the best and most recent offerings in world cinema at the most prestigious film festival in North America. This is a unique opportunity for students to put their fingers on the very pulse of contemporary cinema and be part of debates related to both its past and its future directions.
My experience at TIFF was enriched by many memorable moments, such as witnessing Malala Yousafzai speak about her production company and film goals. I also watched some interesting African and Black Canadian films. I am deeply grateful to the organizers of this trip for broadening our horizons and providing us with such enriching experiences. I wholeheartedly encourage other students to take advantage of similar opportunities in the future!- Jessica
My experience at TIFF was enriched by many memorable moments, such as witnessing Malala Yousafzai speak about her production company and film goals. I also watched some interesting African and Black Canadian films. I am deeply grateful to the organizers of this trip for broadening our horizons and providing us with such enriching experiences. I wholeheartedly encourage other students to take advantage of similar opportunities in the future!
This trip is made possible through a unique partnership that Professor Sanogo, an expert in African Cinema and film festivals, has developed over the years with TIFF organizers. The trip was organized in a way that strove for a flexible balance between common activities and student freedom to choose the screenings or events they wished to attend. As for common activities, students saw Chinese director Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides, which was followed by a conversation on stage with the film’s director. Students also watched Columbian director César Augusto Acevedo’s Horizonte and Mexican-Canadian director Nicolas Pereda César’s Lazaro at Night. The following day they attended two specially organized masterclasses with Acevedo and Pereda.
The experience of interacting with film directors and discussing their films is invaluable. I would hope that with this being the first trip to TIFF post-Covid that it will be the first of many more as part of an overall enrichment of film studies being offered to students at Carleton. - Patrick
The experience of interacting with film directors and discussing their films is invaluable. I would hope that with this being the first trip to TIFF post-Covid that it will be the first of many more as part of an overall enrichment of film studies being offered to students at Carleton.
Carleton@TIFF is an initiative that builds on and draws from Carleton’s Film Studies program with its strong focus on world cinema. It also speaks to Carleton’s course offerings on film festivals, curatorial practice, film authorship, genre, and other topics, as well as on national cinemas, including Japanese, Scandinavian, American, African, Canadian, Québécois, and Indigenous.