Twenty-five years later, Toronto International Film Festival senior programmer Steve Greewestock decided to retire in late 2022.
Gravestock oversees the organization’s Canadian programming initiatives, including a selection of the top ten Canadian films and the annual See the North program, a free screening of Native Classics. As the festival’s programmer, he has been selecting Canadian feature films since 2004 and was responsible for the selection of the Scandinavian region.
Many of his films have been nominated for Oscars, including Peter Nass. EllingMichael Hafstrom Baddennis villeneuve FiresFilippo Fallardo Mr. LazarusSusan Birer In a better world – who won the 2011 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film – and Joachim Trier the worst person in the world.
Gravestock also oversaw a series of TIFF monographs on Canadian films in collaboration with the University of Toronto Press. In 2005, he scheduled a Canadian retrospective of Toronto director Don Owen, as well as Dialogues, a series of interviews that spanned the festival for nearly a decade and included John Siles, Frederick Thor Friedrickson, Sally Potter, Sylvia Chter, Tim Roer. and Guy Medina.
“Steve Graystock is unique and we love him for it,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF. “His knowledge of Canadian and Nordic cinema is unparalleled, as is his commitment to directing.”
Commenting on his time at TIFF, Grevestock said, “One of the first times I walked into Toronto from my suburbs was to see a gift from Jean-Luc Godard. About the souffle At the 1978 Festival of Festivals. I remember someone in the audience asking Godard what the meaning of life was and the programmer laughed saying it was Godard and not God. I was behind the balcony of the Blur cinema, so I just couldn’t figure out who he was. the programmer. I had no idea what a programmer was or what I did, but it seemed like the most beautiful and fun job. And so it was, more than I could have imagined. I can travel Canada and around the world, see many great movies, meet amazing artists, publish books, walk through volcanic ash, see geysers and eat cheese for free with the Canadian film elite.
As previously announced, Anita Lee, TIFF’s new Director of Programming, along with Kelly Butsall, Associate International Programmer for Canadian Features, and Ravi Srinivasan, the festival’s Senior Programming Manager, will continue to celebrate TIFF’s commitment and enhance Canadian programming. . Following Gravestock’s departure, TIFF will reveal details on the Cart Blanche series, a selection of films that are of personal importance to him and which he plans to schedule in 2023 for TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Source: Deadline
