If you’ve attended any films at TIFF..by now you’re used to the string of pre-movie announcements – requests to turn off cellphones etc – but this year, the festival adds an acknowledgment of the Indigenous groups who traditionally occupied the land where screenings take place.
And similar gestures of reconciliation are unfolding across Canada.
At TIFF audiences hear “We would like to acknowledge the Mississaugas of New Credit, the Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat, the original keepers of this land for hosting us today – and for hosting TIFF on their land every day.”
The reading of the statement is not mandatory, but it’s done at every public event when possible.
The festival’s artistic director Cameron Bailey says “it’s a simple sign of respect.”