TIFF Bell Lightbox opened in 2010, on land donated by Ivan Reitman and family. It is the headquarters for the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as serving throughout the year as a venue for other film screenings and smaller specialty film festivals. The venue replaced the Art Gallery of Ontario's Jackman Hall as the primary screening venue of Cinematheque Ontario. The entrance for the structure's 46-storey tower of condominiums is on John Street, set back from the much smaller 19th-century buildings along King Street. TIFF Bell Lightbox cinema complex, the TorontoInternational Film Festival offices, a ground-floor restaurant and a roof-top terrace are housed in a five-storey structure on King. TIFF Bell Lightbox is a five-storey structure that features five cinemas, two restaurants, major exhibitions and galleries, a gift shop, rooftop terrace, and learning studios. The five-screen cinema complex also includes a film reference library, galleries and workshops. During construction, crews found artifacts belonging to York General Hospital which was located on the site in 1829.
TIFF
The podium is a five-storey complex that forms the base of the Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower. As the new headquarters for the Toronto International Film Festival, it contains five cinemas of various sizes, a three-storey public atrium, two galleries, three learning studios, a centre for students and scholars, a bistro, a restaurant, a lounge, a gift shop, and a rooftop terrace. The theatres present specially-curated programming, as well as some new releases. Some of the films presented tie-in with exhibitions, and retrospectives of actors or filmmakers. The extensive reference library and archives of film, which is open to the public, includes publications and archival movies, as well as research and study space. Since 2010, TIFF Bell Lightbox has been the home of the festival, marking its permanent move from Yorkville to King West. Future plans include a "Cinema Tower" on the north side on the block, which will contain five additional theatres. The area also includes other prominent venues for the festival, such as Roy Thomson Hall and the Scotiabank Theatre. The complex opened officially on September 12, 2010 with a block party. Bruce McDonald's Trigger was the first film screened at the theatre. Other events staged at the Lightbox include the Inside Out Film and Video Festival and the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
Festival Tower was developed by The Daniels Corporation and designed by Toronto-based architectural firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects and Kirkor Architects. TIFF Bell Lightbox is the home of the Toronto International Film Festival, while Festival Tower contains condominium residences. The project was conceived in partnership by the Toronto International Film Festival Group and the King and John Festival Corporation.