🤝Meet Jennifer Frees. She’s the chief business and marketing officer of the Toronto International Film Festival. Frees returned to the organization in 2023 after a few years away in order to revive its commercial strategy and evolve it from an annual celeb-filled week to a year-long destination for filmmakers, film lovers, and brands. We chatted about movies, work ethic, and keeping TIFF at the top of the festival circuit.
How are you feeling a week out from TIFF at the moment of this conversation?
Honestly, I feel absolutely great. This will be my 14th festival, but I have other teammates who have been around for even longer. But then we also have this really nice mix of new people. So you've got that old historic knowledge and people who are totally unintimidated. And then you've got all these fresh new ideas and that mix. It's really perfect.
Where did TIFF stand when you came into this role?
My role is similar to a Chief Commercial Officer in that it spans quite broadly. When I came back, it felt like TIFF was getting back to being celebrated for that world-class 10-day festival. And all of those efforts that we were making to be this amazing year-round organization really suffered through the pandemic. We were still a premier September destination, but it was super concentrated. What I really focused on was evolving TIFF into more of a year-round brand universe that encompasses curated retail, year-round theatrical and community programming, digital channels, and these amazing, innovative brand partnerships.
Was that your vision when you came back to TIFF or was it a mandate you were given?
I didn't pitch anything. Cameron [Bailey, TIFF CEO] and I have known each other for so long and he texted me and said, "We're coming out of the pandemic. It's the middle of the Hollywood strikes. We'd love to have you come back as a consultant just a couple days a week and just take a look at things and give your point of view." And it took about two and a half weeks for me to go back to him and say, "This is my point of view." And he was like, "Oh, I get it. I see it." Then I started full-time in this role just a couple of months later.
It feels like we’re going through a really great time for film. There’s so much buzz.
Oh, we're so back. Film is having such a massive year overall. The coolest thing is that it’s totally driven by Gen Z audiences who are watching more movies on a regular basis than any other demographic. And the movies that they're choosing to watch are cool. They're edgy. They're independent. They've got a point of view. They're pushing boundaries. They're being created and written by people who have no experience in professional movie making who come off YouTube and here they are being leaders in the industry. So it's actually a very cool time.
Do you feel the pressure to make every year better than the last? How do you do that?
Obviously we do. But what we try to do is measure success not just on annual attendee or revenue volume, but deeper cultural resonance. Last year for us was a really great example because we premiered Obsession in our Midnight Madness program and nobody had ever heard of this film. It was this tiny little film, no budget. And in typical TIFF fashion, our amazing programmer, Peter Kuplowsky, found this film and he was like, “This is going to be a big deal. This is so of the moment, this film's going places." And 10 months later, it was one of the biggest movies of the year. So that's how we measure that relevance.
Is that also how you define success?
It’s about treating film culture as an everyday lifestyle as opposed to an annual event or an isolated event. We've done really strategic diversification across our business models, and we've had this really intentional focus on Gen Z specifically — which has absolutely transformed the way that we engage with everyone. And this year in particular, how we came to build our festival campaign is all based on what happens when super premium crashes into the street, when gala red carpets meet indie art house gems, when a tailored CEO is sitting next to a student with a backpack and they're both experiencing something for two hours. And there's a magic that happens when worlds collide, and that's what TIFF is all about.
Is this job as glamorous as it might seem from the outside?
Yes, it's totally glamorous. In many ways it's amazing. When I have five minutes of free time on the weekends I’m picking out my outfits and making sure that we’re showing up to make Toronto and Canada proud of us. But I will say overall, the day-to-day is deeply operational. My job is hugely analytical and strategic. I’m building this sustainable, multi-channel brand universe. And that requires an immense amount of rigour. We're negotiating partnerships, we’re managing retail supply chains — which in this political climate adds some spice — and engineering these multi-generational customer journeys. I find that part to be the most exciting. And while I absolutely love bringing people into green rooms and showing them the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood, I actually love when I can see the strategic vision turn into reality.
Is there a film or a moment you’re looking forward to at this year’s festival?
It's so hard to pick one. I like stories that are going to be bold and that are going to maybe challenge traditional genres, things that are a little bit complicated and you're like, "I'm not sure what I just saw." So that's why I really love our Midnight Madness program, and I always tell everybody it's worth being up until 2:30 in the morning. I promise you, it's the most amazing experience and just a totally different kind of energy. I also love our Next Wave slate, which is curated by an under-25 committee — actually, most of them are in high school. We train them how to become programmers and they actually curate a selection of films.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
