tiff festival street

TIFF shutting down King Street in Toronto with festival and free movie screenings

TIFF 2024 is just around the corner, kicking off ten days celebrating film and artistry starting Sept 5, and with it comes a slew of fun activations and events, like the annual Festival Street and free outdoor movie screenings.

While the various film screenings and premieres taking place at cinemas and theatres across downtown Toronto over the early half of September tend to get all the glory when it comes to TIFF — and rightfully so — the city is equally flooded with other events to keep the buzz alive.

On opening day of the festival this Thursday, Sept 5, for example. the World Premiere of four-part docuseries The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, produced and directed by Mike Downie, brother of the legendary Gord Downie, will screen.

Following the screening, Choir! Choir! Choir! is leading a massive public Tragically Hip sing-a-long on Festival Street to celebrate the Canadian rock band's 40th anniversary.

Also beginning on Thursday, Sept 5, Festival Street (better known as King West between Peter and University) will be full of booths and activations from a host of different brands, from Rogers and RBC to Lavazza and Peroni.

Snacks, beverages, samples, free swag, activities and photo-ops are just a few of the attractions you can explore while strolling festival street, to say nothing of some star-spotting opportunities.

Of course, you can also expect an impressive showing of some of the city's favourite food trucks alongside live music and entertainment.

If the screenings happening all day every day over the festival's run aren't enough to satisfy your cinephilia (or if you just want to save a few bucks), Cinema Park (David Pecaut Square) will be home to 10 free movie screenings happening every night of the festival, starting at 10 p.m. nightly.

Here are all the movies screening at Cinema Park during TIFF.

  • Thursday, Sept. 5 - Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
  • Friday, Sept. 6 - Ghost
  • Saturday, Sept. 7 - Gattaca
  • Sunday, Sept. 8 - Arrival
  • Monday, Sept. 9 - Drumline
  • Tuesday, Sept. 10 - The Outsiders
  • Wednesday, Sept. 11 - Ghostbusters
  • Thursday, Sept. 12 - Footloose
  • Friday, Sept. 13 - The Karate Kid
  • Saturday, Sept. 14 - Pitch Perfect

For more details about the things going on at and around TIFF 2024, be sure to visit the festival's website or check out our roundup of the movies screening this year you need to check out.

Lead photo by

Fareen Karim


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