For 2020: Note the information below is out-of-date, given the changes for this year due to the pandemic. Consult the TIFF website at https://tiff.net/tiff-20-faq for the latest info on how this year's festival will work.
Online at http://www.tiff.net/.
At the Festival Box Office at Metro Centre, 225 King St W, Concourse level (enter off Duncan St).
By phone at (416) 599-TIFF, or 1-888-599-8433.
On the day of the screening, in addition to the above methods you can also purchase tickets at the venue box office; i.e. the box office located at each theatre showing films for the festival. Venue box offices usually open one hour before the first scheduled screening of the day at that theatre, and close 30 minutes after the last scheduled screening of the day at that theatre.
For 2015, prices for individual tickets for regular screenings are:
- Adult: $25.00
- Senior (65+): $21.00
- Youth (25 & under): $18.00
- Adult: $48.00
- Senior (65+): $40.00
- Youth (25 & under): $30.00
Note service fees may also apply. The above prices include taxes, but not service fees.
You can usually purchase a maximum of 4 tickets to a single screening. All sales are final; to exchange tickets, there is a $2.50 fee per ticket, and you can only do exchanges up to 7:00 PM the day before the screening (i.e. no same day exchanges allowed). Exchanges can usually only be performed at the Festival Box Office.
For Youth and Senior discounts, ID is required when purchasing.
If a particular screening is marked as Off Sale, i.e. sold out, then keeping trying throughout the festival. People may exchange their tickets for other movies, and those originals are then released back for sale.
Additional tickets may also be made available the day of the screening, so try checking then. The TIFF website will list their "best bets" for same day tickets available on the following day, on the website, and through e-mail if you subscribe to their TIFF Alerts.
You can also try a different screening. Screenings early in the week tend to sell out faster than those later in the festival.
I also create a posting every year where people looking to trade or sell tickets can post.
If all else fails, you can try the rush line outside the theatre screening your film. If any last minute seats open up, because someone doesn't show up for their screening, or seats reserved for people associated with the film aren't all filled, the theatre may release those seats. People in the rush line will get first crack at purchasing any seats that come available (sales are usually cash only, so make sure you have enough on you). Note there is no guarantee anyone in the rush line will be able to get in.
On occasion, ticket holders that don't want to see the film or that have extra tickets, may go down the rush line offering their extras; I've been on both ends of this before, where I've sold my ticket to someone in the line, or been in the line and bought a ticket off of someone looking to sell.
Some tips for the festival:
- Make sure you are in the right line. Ask festival volunteers (the ones with the headsets or festival t-shirts) what line you should be in. Multiplexes like the Scotiabank or the Lightbox will have multiple films lining up at the same time, so you want to make sure you are in the right one. Plus, each theatre has a rush line as well, which is for people who still want to buy tickets, not those who already have one.
- Be at the theatre at least 15 minutes before the start of the screening, otherwise you are not guaranteed a seat, even if you have a ticket. If you arrive more than 10 minutes after the scheduled start of a movie, they may not let you in.
- Not all theatres allow food and/or drink; the Ryerson Theatre is a good example of this. So don't buy take-out or a big coffee right before you go into one of those.
- Don't leave empty seats next to you. Squeeze in, because generally speaking, every film will be playing to a packed house. Note the festival also says you aren't allowed to save seats in the theatre.
- Be aware of where you sit if you are watching a subtitled movie. Not all theaters have good sight lines to the bottom of the screen.
- If you have limited time between screenings, don't forget all the factors that might affect you: many screenings will have a Q&A after the movie, and the time for any Q&A is not factored into the screening time in the schedule (you're not obliged to stick around for the Q&A, though); films will occasionally start late for a variety of reasons; some theatres are far apart from one another.
- If you're watching a Midnight Madness film at midnight, don't forget that the subway may not be running by the time the film ends, so plan accordingly.
- Speaking of Q&As, if you're going to speak up, make sure you actually have a question or keep it short. No one else wants to hear you gush over the director or cast for 5 minutes, no matter how good the film was. If you want to do that, try to catch them after the Q&A is over. In a similar vein, it generally does not go over well if you want to spend your question severely criticizing the director without anything constructive to say or ask.
- Don't forget to turn off your cell phone, and for pete's sake, don't text or talk through the movie (especially if you're in the industry; the rest of us don't care how much of a Hollywood bigshot you are :-))
- It should go without saying that you shouldn't be taping movies, but in case that's not obvious, I've been at a number of films where they've had people scanning the audience during the screening, with and without night-vision goggles. Also note that taping movies is a criminal offense that could net you 2 years in prison.
- Be nice to the volunteers; they don't get paid for this (other than getting a ticket from whatever is still available after having worked for several hours in a row). Just think about how much *more* expensive the festival would be without them. :-)
