TIFF co-directors toast 35th anniversary of the festival

Toronto International Film Festival co-directors Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey raised a glass of champagne to toast the 35th anniversary of the festival, Wednesday.

In front of Bell Lightbox, located on King Street, with a glass of Perrier-Jouet bubbly in hand, Handling said he is ready for the opening.

"It's a big big moment for us. I mean the building is just extraordinary, it's going to be our permanent house, our permanent home - a city of film, it's going to allow us to do so many things during the course of a year."

The Lightbox is slated to host small events for donors next week, including the official naming of Reitman Square.

Handling said it is being named after Canadian film producer and Director Ivan Reitman and his family.

"So that will be a very emotional event - I think - for them because it was their parents piece of property and they were holocaust survivors so it meant a lot to them."

TIFF runs from Sept. 9 - 19.