The Canadian Movie Marketplace led the New York Times’ weekly Canada Letter newsletter.
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In Toronto, a Spotlight on Canadian Films
The Toronto International Film Festival celebrates a big anniversary amid a trade war with the U.S. that has galvanized Canadians to support local filmmakers.
By Vjosa Isai
Sept. 13, 2025, 6:00 a.m. ET
There is a stereotype about Canadian movies that watching local productions can feel more like a dutiful task than a carefree escape.
“A bit like homework,” said Sonya Yokota William, director of the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors, an organization whose members include indie cinemas, film festivals and programmers.
But that view is changing fast, she said. Nowhere is that more apparent than at the Toronto International Film Festival, which wraps up its 50th year on Sunday.
The festival’s milestone comes amid a groundswell of national pride as Canadians cope with punishing tariffs by President Trump and focus on supporting all things homegrown.
This has brought an increased appetite for Canadian films among local audiences, Ms. William told me.
To satisfy it, her organization this week debuted the Canadian Movie Marketplace, a database that provides information about Canadian films to exhibitors and makes it easier for local theaters to book them. Around 400 titles have already been added to the platform.
Indie theater operators have shown particular interest in the tool, she said, seeing it as a way to help them navigate a highly centralized movie theater market.
About 75 percent of national box office revenues go to Cineplex, the Canadian screening giant, a drastically higher share than in other global markets. By comparison, AMC Entertainment, the largest theater chain in the United States, has two main competitors, and industry analysts put its market share at about 30 percent of the country’s total.
“I see audiences really claiming and celebrating Canadian films, and being interested in a film when it’s marketed as Canadian in a way that maybe they weren’t before,” Ms. William said.
For this edition of the Canada Letter, I attended the Toronto film festival with an eye for Canadian movies.
(Manohla Dargis, a film critic at The Times, reported from the festival. Here are her highlights: It’s a “good news” story.)