Toronto: Cheryl Boone Isaacs, David Glasser, Jonathan Demme Among Speakers at Industry Conference

Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is set to bring her push to improve diversity and inclusion in Hollywood to the Toronto International Film Festival.

Boone Isaacs is headed to Toronto as the Academy continues to work to create more opportunities for minorities in the film industry. Her appearance as part of the festival’s Moguls section, alongside onstage conversations by The Weinstein Company president and COO David Glasser and Olsberg-SPI chair Jonathan Olsberg, comes as TIFF on Thursday filled out the lineup for its industry conference next month.

Fest organizers also announced master classes by Invisible director Doug Liman, Queen of Katwe helmer Mira Nair and Feng Xiagang, often hailed as the Steven Spielberg of China as that country’s top-grossing filmmaker. And Toronto booked additional panels, including one on indie film distribution with Picturehouse’s Clare Binns and Mongrel Media’s Tom Alexander, and another on film casting, which will include Sony Pictures vp of casting Tamara Hunter and casting director Stephanie Holbrook.

The seven-day industry conference previously announced that it would feature panels assessing the impact of Brexit and the film industry’s gender gap. The fest’s Doc Conference on Thursday also revealed it will feature onstage conversations with Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme; I Am Not Your Negro helmer Raoul Peck; Joe Bini, editor on Werner Herzog films including Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Into the Inferno; and the creative team behind CNN’s Great Big Story digital video series, including executive producer Courtney Coupe.

TIFF also unwrapped its Primetime sidebar of global TV premieres by announcing first looks for new episodes of Amazon’s Transparent from Jill Soloway; Netflix’s Black Mirror, Charles Booker’s dystopian anthology series from the U.K.; Kenyan crime thriller Tuko Macho; and Czech Republic mystery miniseries Wasteland for HBO Europe. 

“We are proud and excited to be producing this major original piece from one of the most talented young screenwriters in our region,” Antony Root, executive vp, original programming and production at HBO Europe, said in a statement about Wasteland series creator Stepan Hulik.

The Toronto International Film Festival is set to run Sept. 8-18.

Aug. 18, 10:15 a.m. Updated with quote from HBO Europe about Wasteland drama.

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