Netflix hopes to spark buzz at TIFF with big stars, major awards hype

While Netflix has successfully reshaped how we watch TV series, its foray into film hasn’t achieved anywhere near the same level of water-cooler chatter.

But that may change this week as the streaming giant heads to the Toronto International Film Festival with a heavy slate of movies that could bolster its reputation with cinephiles, appeal to mainstream audiences and grab some Oscar buzz along the way.

Eight Netflix films will screen at TIFF in the coming days, marking the largest number of movies the company has ever brought to the festival.

Its lineup includes historical epic “Outlaw King,” starring Chris Pine, which becomes the first-ever movie from a streaming giant to open an international film festival with its debut Thursday.

After that, Netflix showcases world premieres of the thriller “Hold the Dark” as well as a Quincy Jones documentary and the mid-life crisis drama “The Land of Steady Habits.” But it’s “Roma,” a new black-and-white film by “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuaron, that’s riding high on accolades from a debut at the Venice Film Festival last month.

Critics predict it’ll be a contender at the next Academy Awards.

All that positive attention bodes well for Netflix if the company wants to strengthen its image as a home to prestige films, and not a factory that’s pushing mediocre movies into the marketplace, said Hannah Woodhead, a U.k.-based film critic.

“Netflix is trying to demonstrate to all the naysayers that they’re a viable studio and not just any streaming service,” said Woodhead, who writes for the Little White Lies film site.

“It almost seems like a public relations offensive.”

But Netflix’s track record hasn’t exactly helped its regard in some corners of the film community.

Unlike other streaming giants like Amazon, the company has notoriously shunned a theatrical release for most of its films, agreeing only to the smallest rollouts in order to qualify certain movies for the Oscars.

It was enough to push organizers at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival to effectively boot Netflix from its red carpet premieres last May. A new rule banned any films from competing for the festival’s most prestigious prize if they weren’t playing in France’s theatres.

The decision singled out Netflix and led the company to walk away from the Cannes festival.