The bidding wars for on-screen reel estate

Despite all the hoopla that happens every September during the Toronto International Film Festival, there is one aspect of it that thousands of filmgoers are only subliminally aware of. That’s the annual tango played by the film buyers and film sellers who hang around TIFF’s sales and industry office playing a high-stakes game of “Let’s Make a Deal.”

And while the world may seem stuck in an economic downturn, you’d never know that from the business-as-usual behaviour of the film-industry players who flock here.

Certainly the shocking economic meltdown in late 2008 was reflected in the film world, according to Cameron Bailey, TIFF’s artistic director, and Justin Cutler, director of the festival’s sales office.

“Major distributors are a bit more flush than they were a couple of years ago,” says Bailey.

“They all need films to fill their slate,”

TIFF will have close to 4,000 industry passholders from 77 countries at this year’s festival.

adds Cutler.

And Toronto is a convenient place to shop for movies — especially those made in the English language that arrive here without a U.S. distributor.

Unlike several other major festivals, Toronto does not have a separate film market. But that can prove to be an advantage. Buyers may prefer to see a movie with an audience of regular film goers, because it gives them a sense of how the movie might play once it is released in theatres. And since this festival takes place in a large North American city rather than somewhere in Europe or Asia, the audience response is a useful measure of how it will play in U.S. cities.

That helps explain why TIFF will have close to 4,000 industry pass-holders from 77 countries at this year’s festival. The price of an industry pass ranges from $350 to $850, with five pass categories available.

That includes about 1,500 film buyers and 500 film sellers. Since they occupy hotel rooms and eat at restaurants, these visitors account for a significant chunk of the $170 million in economic impact that TIFF generates.

“More and more, we need to be as global in our reach as the industry itself,” says Bailey. And in recent years, TIFF has enjoyed a steady increase in buyers coming from Asian countries, such as Korea and Japan.

Nevertheless, the eye-popping sevenfigure deals will most likely concern U.S. distribution rights for English- language movies with big names in the cast.

Among the potentially hot sales titles up for grabs:

The Company You Keep, directed by Robert Redford

The Place Beyond the Pines, with Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes

Midnight’s Children, directed by Deepa Mehta based on the Salman Rushdie book

Much Ado About Nothing, a new take by Joss Whedon ( The Avengers)

Ginger and Rosa, directed by Sally Potter, starring Elle Fanning

To the Wonder, directed by Terence Malick, with Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Ben Affleck

the doc Free Angela & All Political Prisoners, featuring Angela Davis

The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Mira Nair, with Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson.

Let the bidding begin. mknelman@thestar.ca