TIFF Lightbox facts for kids
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Exterior of TIFF Lightbox from King Street
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| Established | 2009 |
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| Location | 350 King Street West Toronto, Ontario M5V 3X5 |
| Public transit access |  504 514 Alternate: ■ St. Andrew 510 Spadina |
TIFF Lightbox is a cool cultural spot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It's found in the first five floors of a building called the Lightbox and Festival Tower. You can find it at the corner of King Street and John Street.
This awesome place has five movie theaters, two restaurants, and big art shows. It also has a gift shop, a rooftop patio, and special learning rooms. TIFF Lightbox is the main home for the Toronto International Film Festival. All year long, it also shows other movies and hosts smaller film festivals.
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History of TIFF Lightbox
TIFF Lightbox first opened its doors in 2010. The land it was built on was given by Ivan Reitman and his family. This new building took the place of Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario for showing movies for Cinematheque Ontario.
While they were building it, workers found old items from York General Hospital. This hospital used to be on the same spot way back in 1829. TIFF Lightbox was built as a movie complex. It also holds the offices for the Toronto International Film Festival. There's a restaurant on the ground floor and a rooftop patio. The five-story building is part of the base of the Festival Tower.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, TIFF started something new called Digital TIFF Lightbox. This was an online place to stream movies. It was used for the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival when it went online. It also let people rent movies that were like the ones shown at Lightbox.
In November 2022, TIFF shared some exciting news. Cinema 1, which is the biggest movie room at Lightbox, will be renamed the Viola Desmond Theatre in 2023.
What's Inside TIFF Lightbox
| Festival Tower | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Theatre, Residential, Retail |
| Location | Corner of King Street & John Street Toronto, Ontario |
| Completed | September 12, 2010 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 157 m (515 ft) |
| Roof | 152 m (499 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 46 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB Architects |
| Developer | Toronto International Film Festival Group Daniels Corporation & the Reitman Family |
| Main contractor | PCL Constructors Canada |
TIFF Lightbox is located in the lower part of the Lightbox and Festival Tower. This lower part is a five-story building. The entrance to the 46-story condo tower is on John Street. It is set back from the older, smaller buildings on King Street.
The Main Building (Podium)
As the main home for the Toronto International Film Festival, the building has many cool features:
- Five movie theaters of different sizes
- A three-story public area
- Two art galleries
- Three learning studios
- A special center for students and researchers
- A casual bistro and a restaurant
- A lounge area
- A gift shop
- A rooftop patio
The five movie theaters show special movies and some new releases. Some films are connected to the art shows or look back at the work of actors and filmmakers. There's also a huge library about film that is open to everyone. It has books, old movies, and places to study. The main building has been used by the Toronto International Film Festival since 2010. Other events like the Inside Out Film and Video Festival and the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival also happen here.
Since 2010, TIFF Lightbox has been the festival's permanent home. It moved from Yorkville to King West. There are plans for a "Cinema Tower" on the north side of the block. This tower will have five more movie theaters. Other important festival places nearby include Roy Thomson Hall and the Scotiabank Theatre.
The whole complex officially opened on September 12, 2010, with a big block party. The first movie shown there was Trigger by Bruce McDonald.
Art Galleries at Lightbox
The galleries at TIFF Lightbox show art related to film and art history. The gallery on the fourth floor is free for everyone to visit. The bigger main gallery on the first floor hosts large shows that you need to buy tickets for. The very first show was about Tim Burton from the MoMA. Later shows have featured famous people and topics like Federico Fellini, Grace Kelly, James Bond, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, and most recently, Andy Warhol.
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TIFF Lightbox Lobby
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TIFF Lightbox Lounge
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TIFF Lightbox projectionist booth
Festival Tower Condos
Festival Tower was built by The Daniels Corporation. It was designed by architects from Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) and Kirkor Architects. While TIFF Lightbox is the home of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Festival Tower holds many homes for people. The whole project was a team effort between the Toronto International Film Festival Group and the King and John Festival Corporation.
How TIFF Lightbox Gets Support
TIFF is a non-profit group. This means it doesn't try to make money for owners. Instead, it uses its money to support its goals. It brings in about $189 million CAD to the economy each year. TIFF Lightbox gets help from many groups and people. Major supporters include Royal Bank of Canada and Visa. The Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, and the City of Toronto also help. The Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel, and Susan Michaels) and The Daniels Corporation also provide support.
See Also
- List of tallest buildings in Toronto
- List of tallest buildings in Canada
- VIFF Centre (This used to be called the Vancouver International Film Centre.)
