Abdy & De Luca to Headline TIFF's Inaugural Market
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- Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca will headline an onstage in-conversation session at this year's Toronto Film Festival, appearing as part of the TIFF Market's Dialogues programme.
- The discussion will focus on the evolving role of studios in a global marketplace, identifying and developing award-winning content, and challenges shaping the entertainment landscape's future, per TIFF.
- TIFF's inaugural Market will run September 10 through 16 and will cover TV, interactive, and digital content in addition to film.
- The new Market received C$23M ($16.5M) in funding from Canada's Federal Government.
- Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, said Abdy and De Luca "have consistently combined creative excellence with strategic vision and strong business leadership" and called them ideal voices for this pivotal moment.
- Abdy and De Luca, in a joint statement, framed TIFF's half-century of championing bold creative visions alongside Warner Bros.' commitment to nurturing distinctive voices across the studio's theatrical labels.
Why it matters: TIFF is launching its first-ever Market with significant federal backing (C$23M), positioning Toronto as a year-round industry hub rather than just a festival. Booking Abdy and De Luca — who oversee Warner Bros.' theatrical labels — as the marquee conversation signals TIFF is courting major studio firepower for a market designed to compete with Cannes and Berlin on deal-making.
