| 1976 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Host: | Toronto International Film Festival Group |
| Number: | 127 feature films |
| Opening: | Cousin Cousine |
| Closing: | Queen of the Gypsies |
| Location: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Date: | – |
The 1st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place at Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada between October 18 and October 24, 1976.[1] Initially its name was Festival of Festivals, which remained until 1994 after which it became the Toronto International Film Festival.[2] [3]
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.[4] [5] [6] [7] Most of the Hollywood studios later withdrew their submissions citing reason that Toronto audiences would be too parochial for their films.[8]
Cousin Cousine, a French film directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella was selected as the opening film and screened at Ontario Place Cinesphere[9] [10] [11] [12] and Queen of the Gypsies was the closing film. German cinema was focused upon, with films from German directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis, screened a 90-second preview of his then-unreleased King Kong at the festival.[13]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cousin Cousine | France | |||
| Illustrious Corpses | Cadaveri eccellenti | Italy, France | ||
| Death Race 2000 | United States | |||
| Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven | Табор уходит в небо | Soviet Union | ||
| Lumière | France, Italy | |||
| Dersu Uzala | Soviet Union, Japan | |||
| Adoption | Örökbefogadás | Hungary | ||
| Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven | Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel | West Germany | ||
| The Devil's Playground | Australia | |||
| Bernice Bobs Her Hair | United States | |||
| The Best Way to Walk | La meilleure façon de marcher | France | ||
| Kings of the Road | Im Lauf der Zeit | West Germany | ||
| Heart of Glass | Herz aus Glas | West Germany | ||
| Wellspring of My World | Herfra min verden går | Christian Braad Thomsen | Denmark | |
| Wives | Hustruer | Norway | ||
| Cantata de Chile | Cuba | |||
| Submission | Scandalo | Italy | ||
| ምርት ሦስት ሺህ ዓመት | Ethiopia | |||
| Independence Day | United States | |||
The Canadian Cinema program had been slated to include Don Owen's film Partners, 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.[14]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Absence | L'Absence | Canada | ||
| Before the Time Comes | Le temps de l'avant | Anne Claire Poirier | Canada | |
| The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane | France, Canada | |||
| Love at First Sight | Rex Bromfield | Canada | ||
| A Pacemaker and a Sidecar | L'Eau chaude, l'eau frette | Canada | ||
| The Supreme Kid | Peter Bryant | Canada | ||
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deepa Mehta | Canada | |||
| Grey Gardens | Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer | United States | ||
| Harlan County, USA | United States | |||
| Hollywood on Trial | David Helpern | United States | ||
| Not a Pretty Picture | United States | |||