Film Festival Confidential

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

Torontonian William Marshall, co-founder of the prestigious Toronto
International Film Festival, ranges far and wide in this tell-all
exposé of the TIFF’s founding, development, and achievements. The
book includes revelations about the author’s marriage breakups,
assessments of various festival employees and their contributions to the
event, and descriptions of bacchanals involving such celebrities as
Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro. Pop culture researchers and film
scholars will appreciate Marshall’s account of how the festival got
started and it how survived the difficult early years. Just as rewarding
are his insightful evaluations of other major film festivals, his
recommendations for improving the TIFF, and his “Hitchhiker’s Guide
to International Film Festivals by Month.” Although not a definitive
account of the TIFF, Film Festival Confidential is an excellent starting
point.