2024 Toronto International Film Festival
[6] In addition to new and current films, the schedule included anniversary special event screenings of Damien Chazelle's Whiplash and Mina Shum's Double Happiness.[7] Nutcrackers marked the first time that an acquisitions title not already attached to a commercial distributor opened the festival since Creation launched the 2009 edition.[8] Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail linked this choice to the festival's announcement earlier in the year that it plans to launch a full film market in 2026, suggesting that it signaled an effort by the festival to play an active role in helping the film to secure a distribution deal and thus demonstrate the business case for the market project.[10] Actor Jharrel Jerome was also honoured in the performance category, and actress Zhao Tao received a special tribute award.[11] Cate Blanchett was the recipient of the Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award for women who have made a positive difference in the film industry.[16] In Conversation with... events were held featuring Cate Blanchett, Zoe Saldaña, Steven Soderbergh, and Hyun Bin and Lee Dong-wook.