Concrete Cowboy TIFF 2020 provides free online screening of 'Concrete Cowboy' to 500 frontline workers
Toronto/IBNS: In recognition of hard work and dedication of essential frontline workers in the community, who are ensuring everyone has access to critical services including health care, food, and transportation since March after the global coronavirus outbreak, TIFF is offering a free digital screening of 'Concrete Cowboy', sponsored by Fasken for these heroes, TIFF reports said.
'Concrete Cowboy' will be screened on Monday, Sept 14, at 6 pm on TIFF’s online film platform, Bell Digital Cinema, to invited frontline workers.
“It is still hard to believe that we are all living through a global medical crisis,” stated Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente, Co-Heads, TIFF in a news release. “We could never have anticipated the global seismic changes we would be facing in 2020. We stayed true to the original spirit of the Festival from when it began in 1976 as our guiding light. We want to share our deep love of film, passion for our loyal audiences, and our gratitude to the frontline workers for the risks they took - and continue to take - during a time when it was safest to stay home. It is our pleasure to bring this great film to them.”
TIFF has partnered with Toronto area hospitals Sinai Health, Toronto General, St. Michael’s, St. Joseph’s (Unity); long-term care facilities Baycrest Hospital, Homes First, South Riverdale Community Health Centre; and mental health care partners CAMH (PHP, ENCORE, Gifts of Light), CMHA, Real Canadian Superstore, and the TTC in order to give screening access to 500 frontline workers in the Greater Toronto Area.
As part of the Mental Health Outreach program, many of these partners work closely with TIFF year-round to support individuals on their recovery by the imaginative power of film which encourages curiosity.
Starring Idris Elba as a Philadelphia cowboy and Caleb McLaughlin as his estranged son, Concrete Cowboy, directed by Ricky Staub is a story of family reconciliation into one of America’s generations-old world of Black horse trainers on the streets of North Philly.
Best Seats in the House for frontline workers and COVID-19 community heroes at each of ten film screenings throughout the Festival have been reserved by RBC, the official bank of the Toronto International Film Festival, and the presenting sponsor of the RBC Lakeside Drive-In at Ontario Place.
Continuing to work closely with the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto, and public health officials on the safe execution of the Festival, TIFF's number-one priority is the health and well-being of both Festival filmgoers and the residents of the entire community.
An international leader in film culture, and a not-for-profit cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world through film, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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