CONVERGENCE Toronto (TIFF) to add TV

See previous post for more, including analysis of how Kickstarter fits with this topic. There are further posts on convergence, including this detailed guide to convergence + digitisation.

“Film and television have been converging for years, with many filmmakers gravitating to television to experiment with that medium,” said Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the festival. “Primetime will highlight these developments internationally, spotlighting the growing intersection between these two moving-image cultures and industries.”

Benjamin Lee (2015, Guardian): Toronto film festival announces new focus on television.

As well as previous posts specifically on this topic, there is much more on convergence to be found on this blog!

The blurring of the line between TV and film has been increasingly evident: Shane Meadows following up This is England with two (soon to be three) C4 series, and Fargo one of many films adapted for TV series (Conal was yesterday recommending Daredevil, a fairly atrocious movie transformed into a critically acclaimed series). 

We even see a crossover between the comic book hegemony of cinema and TV, with the third biggest hit movie of all time, the $1.5bn grossing Avengers Assemble (aka Marvel's The Avengers outside the UK), spawning shows such as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the animated Avengers Assemble series, plus other spin-offs such as Gotham. The upcoming Terminator Genisys reboot may not have happened without the relative success of TV spin-off The Sarah Connor Chronicles, following the franchise-wrecking efforts of McG.

Of course this cuts both ways, with TV series from Star Trek to Veronica Mars to (shudder) Sex in the City all having film releases. This was routine for many British sitcoms back in the 70s, so isn't an entirely new phenomenon, with The Simpsons, South Park and Jackass amongst other earlier US examples.

But TIFF is a name we often encounter when looking at Warp Film's story, the acclaim for Tyrannosaur for example ensuring it earned a US release - even if that was slightly farcical in the end.

With the likes of Scorsese and Spielberg, cinema giants, heavily involved in TV, alongside a great many big screen stars, this convergence can surely only grow...