In the beginning, the founders of the upstart Festival of Festivals, could not even get Hollywood to pay attention to their little film festival in Toronto.
No one from the major studios paid attention as Bill Marshall, Dusty Cohl, and Henk Van der Kolk created their fall film extravaganza.
It was only after the premiere of “Midnight Express” (1978), which would garner international attention and two Academy Awards, that the festival began to be taken seriously. Gradually, Hollywood took note — bringing “The Big Chill” (1983) and “Places in the Heart” (1984) to Toronto before those films moved on to Oscar nominations and awards.